Jim Valvano Quotes

You've got to understand, every kid in college basketball, if you ask them where they want to play a game, in the NBA or college, they will tell you Madison Square Garden, a huge percentage.

Swish: A made basket. Swoosh: The Nike logo. Swish-swoosh, swish-swoosh, swish-swoosh: A thousand coaches in nylon tracksuits, walking through hotel lobbies at the Final Four.

I am a basketball junkie, and as a product of the great basketball state of Kansas, I have watched many a ball game between the University of Kansas Jayhawks and the Tar Heels.

I probably follow all sports a little bit. I like hockey quite a bit. I like football. I like college basketball when it gets down to March Madness. I like baseball. I enjoy them all. I watch them all.

When I was 15 years old, the Duke-UNC game looked like the funnest game in the world to be a part of. So I chose to make sure I was a part of it for four years, and when I was at Duke, it exceeded all my expectations.

If you know people around me, even in college, I was confident, but the possible thought of making it to the NBA was crazy.

What Chris Webber and the Fab Five - Jalen, Juwan, Ray, Jimmy and those guys - they created a culture, and Michigan was a beneficiary of that. Chris Webber was a big part of it.

Of course, in college, you're traveling, especially when you're with Duke basketball, but in the NBA, it's on a whole entire level.

We have to make Toronto - we have to - we have to make Toronto the best atmosphere in the NBA.

I love basketball! When I'm flying, and I have on sweats, a hat, and sneakers, people always assume that I'm a high school kid going to an away game. And I always say no, I'm a fan of the game.

Sure, there's a lot of negativity, but basketball is such a huge thing in my community. Flint has a very rich tradition in basketball.

I think the thing that makes Indiana basketball special is that they have incredible teams, both college teams and pro teams, and they're all about grit.

If I'm playing for North Carolina, and Eric Montross goes up and dunks one, I might jump up and hug him like I was his girlfriend. It's supposed to be that way, in my opinion. Players should be able to express themselves and grow.

I was No. 11 because my mom played basketball in college and was always No. 22. I just cut it in half, and I kept that. I've been No. 11 most of my life, and in college, I was No. 22.

Many Americans follow pro basketball from November through June, for reasons that I found unexplainable, other than the fact that they were overly fascinated with soaring armpits.

Anybody involved in sports in Missouri knows it's a great sports state. It is a great sports state, particularly in basketball and baseball. Particularly. Not to demean football, but it's a baseball state and a basketball state.

There's no other state, none, that's as connected to their basketball program as this one. Because those other states have other programs. Michigan has Michigan State, California has UCLA, North Carolina has Duke. It's Kentucky throughout this whole state, and that's what makes us unique.

As a basketball fan, I get sick and tired of people talking about numbers. To me, the world is getting too materialistic.

Indiana gets credit for having the most rabid basketball fans in the union, but Maine is a very, very active basketball state.

Basketball really had its origin in Indiana, which remains the center of the sport.

The Boston Celtics are not a basketball team, they are a way of life.

These days I smile benignly at the fights that I see in NBA games. There aren't any broken noses or black eyes, which happened quite often when I played.

Cameron Indoor Stadium is a special place in sports and there's really nothing else out there quite like it. Anytime I'm inside Cameron, I've got memories. Cameron is like Yankee Stadium or the old Boston Garden.

People will always go to games. And not just Duke versus North Carolina. Even Appalachian State against Chatworth.

In college, the fans cheer the whole game, from start to finish. In the NBA it's really laid back.