IU-Pitt more than just a game

Having lost four of its last five games, the IU men’s basketball team wants nothing more than to win today at Madison Square Garden.

“We need a win bad right now,” freshman forward Christian Watford said.

In talking to Watford, fellow freshman Jordan Hulls and IU coach Tom Crean on Sunday, it was clear that the Hoosiers are hungry for a victory.  

But when IU makes its way out onto the floor of the Garden, it should be more than just about winning or losing. It should be more than just a game. This is the Jimmy V Men’s Basketball Classic.  

The images of Jim Valvano running frantically across the court after winning the 1983 NCAA Championship on a last-second dunk against “Phi Slama Jama,” still reigns as one of the greatest moments in college basketball history. Valvano just wanted a hug.

But nine years later, the beloved former North Carolina State coach was diagnosed with bone cancer and, before long, it was spreading.  

The following year, on March 3, 1993, Valvano gave both sports fans and non-fans alike a lasting image by which to remember him. At the inaugural ESPY Awards, Valvano, the recipient of the inaugural Arthur Ashe Courage Award, gave an inspirational 10-minute speech.

During his speech, Valvano announced the creation of the V Foundation for Cancer Research and then spoke of its motto: “Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up.”

Valvano never gave up, living by the words he famously proclaimed, but on April 28, Jimmy V succumbed to cancer and passed away at the age of 47.  

Since the Maryland game, IU has been set on accomplishing two things: getting better and beating Pitt. Though the players are in the Big Apple and playing at “The World’s Most Famous Arena,” hopefully they take something else away from today’s 9 p.m. showdown.  

Aside from junior guard Jeremiah Rivers, none of IU’s other starters were more than three years old when Valvano died. In fact, Watford was celebrating his second birthday that very day.

While none of the players were old enough, or in some cases alive, to watch Valvano coach, it is vital to carry on his legacy. That means more than just flying to New York and playing 40 minutes of ball on national TV and then coming back to prepare for Kentucky.

Crean has been donating to The V Foundation the last few years and is “very supportive of it,” he said. The second-year IU coach added that he became a fan of Valvano in his days as a young coach himself and is looking forward to playing in the annual doubleheader.

Yet most of his excitement on Sunday seemed centered around the opportunity for the Hoosiers to play on the national stage and to still be valued as one of the elite programs. Certainly, this is important in terms of IU basketball moving forward.

But for a team that, a year ago, went by the motto “Passion for the past ... excitement for the future,” it should not just be about the great moments in IU basketball history and the prospect of returning to the glory days.  

This “Next Generation” should be developing an appreciation for all of the college basketball greats that played and coached before them, whether at IU or anywhere else in the nation.

Crean is not just a coach, but rather an educator and an ambassador to the game of basketball.

That’s why before tonight’s game, since he has yet to do so, he truly should speak with his young team about what it means to play in a game honoring the memory of “Jimmy V.”

For one or two minutes at practice or in the locker room, he should forget about winning and correcting the team’s past mistakes. Instead, he should teach his players about the strength and the courage Valvano possessed.

Hulls, who said he has watched Jimmy V Classic games “forever,” is one player who understands the meaning of tonight’s game.

“What they’ve been doing with (the foundation) and how big it’s become, it’s awesome,” the point guard said. “Jimmy V was a great coach and a great guy, and a lot of people looked up to him. It’s just an honor to be able to play in this tournament.”

But Hulls is just one player, and like Watford, he said Crean never really mentioned anything to the team about the late Valvano.

All day and in the two hours of the actual game tonight, the Hoosiers should be focused purely on winning. But for just a moment or two, they should realize why they are in New York City in the first place.  

And perhaps, if the Hoosiers find themselves down late in the game, they just might recall Valvano’s motto: “Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up.”

IU may be looking for a “W”  tonight, but it should also not overlook “V” – Jimmy V.