George Henry Raveling (born June 27, 1937) is an American former

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

player and coach. He played at

Villanova University Villanova University is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine in 1842 and named after Thomas of Villanova, Saint Thom ...

, and was the head coach at

Washington State University Washington State University (WSU, or colloquially Wazzu) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Pullman, Washington, United States. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest Land-grant uni ...

the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

and the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

Raveling has been

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine giv ...

's global basketball sports marketing director since he retired from coaching in 1994.Former Iowa coach Raveling among Lapchick winners
Associated Press (Newton Daily News), November 21, 2013

FOX Sports Net Fox Sports Networks (FSN), formerly known as Fox Sports Net, was the collective name for a group of regional sports channels in the United States. Formed in 1996 by News Corporation, the networks were acquired by the Walt Disney Company on Mar ...

color commentator A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The person may also be referred to as a summariser (outside North America) ...

, he is a member of the

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pre ...

Ben Affleck Benjamin Géza Affleck (born August 15, 1972) is an American actor and filmmaker. His accolades include two Academy Awards, two BAFTA Awards, and three Golden Globes. Affleck began his career as a child when he starred in the PBS educatio ...

and

Matt Damon Matthew Paige Damon ( ; born October 8, 1970) is an American actor, film producer, and screenwriter. He was ranked among ''Forbes'' most bankable stars in 2007, and in 2010 was one of the highest-grossing actors of all time. He has received va ...

produced a film called ''

Air An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosph ...

'' about Nike's signing of

Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player, who is currently a minority owner of the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Ass ...

and ultimately the

Air Jordan Air Jordan is a line of basketball and sportswear shoes produced by Nike, Inc. Related apparel and accessories are marketed under Jordan Brand. The first Air Jordan shoe was produced for basketball player Michael Jordan during his time with t ...

brand.

Marlon Wayans Marlon Lamont Wayans (born July 23, 1972) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. He is best known for his work with his brother Shawn Wayans on The WB sitcom ''The Wayans Bros.'' (1995–1999) and the comedy films ''Don't Be a M ...

plays Raveling in the film.

Early life

Born and raised in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, Raveling did not play basketball until his ninth grade year.Lefton, Terry
Champions 2017: George Raveling
George Raveling’s life in basketball has touched many, helped influence the game. Sports Business Daily. March 27, 2017 He was enrolled at St. Michael's, a Catholic boarding school in Hoban Heights,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

; it was founded as an orphanage in 1916 near

Scranton Scranton is a city in and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Scranton is the most populous city in Northeastern Pennsylvania and the ...

and closed in 2010. His grandmother's employer helped him enroll. Raveling's father died when he was 9 and his mother was institutionalized when he was 13, so academics became among the most influential forces in his life.

College and early career

Raveling attended college at

near

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

and played basketball for the

Wildcats The wildcat is a species complex comprising two small wild cat species: the European wildcat (''Felis silvestris'') and the African wildcat (''F. lybica''). The European wildcat inhabits forests in Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus, while th ...

.Villanova Basketball Media Guide. Villanova Sports Information An outstanding rebounder, he set school single game and season rebounding records in his time. Raveling was team captain in his senior season, featured on the cover of the 1960 media guide, and led the Wildcats to consecutive appearances in the

National Invitation Tournament The National Invitation Tournament (NIT) is an annual men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Since 2023, all rounds of the tournament are played at various sites across the country whi ...

(NIT) in

1959 Events January * January 1 – Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 – Soviet lunar probe Luna 1 is the first human-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reaches the ...

and

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Janu ...

. The

Philadelphia Warriors The history of the Golden State Warriors began in Philadelphia in 1946. In 1962, the franchise was relocated to San Francisco, California and became known as the San Francisco Warriors until 1971, when its name was changed to the current Golden ...

selected him in the eighth round (pick 7) of the

1960 NBA draft The 1960 NBA draft was the 14th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 11, 1960, before the 1960–61 season. In this draft, eight NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball pla ...

. Raveling became an assistant coach at his alma mater Villanova, then moved to

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

1969 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 2nd millennium, the 69th year of the 20th century, and the ...

on the staff of new head coach

Lefty Driesell Charles Grice "Lefty" Driesell (December 25, 1931 – February 17, 2024) was an American college basketball coach. He was the first coach to win more than 100 games at four different NCAA Division I schools, Driesell led the programs of Davidson ...

. he became the first African American coach in the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...

March on Washington with Martin Luther King Jr., 1963

On August 28, 1963, as

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, civil and political rights, civil rights activist and political philosopher who was a leader of the civil rights move ...

waved goodbye to an audience of over 250,000 "

March on Washington The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom (commonly known as the March on Washington or the Great March on Washington) was held in Washington, D.C., on August 28, 1963. The purpose of the march was to advocate for the civil and economic rig ...

" participants, Raveling asked King if he could have the speech. King handed Raveling the original typewritten "

I Have a Dream "I Have a Dream" is a Public speaking, public speech that was delivered by American civil rights activist and Baptist minister Martin Luther King Jr. during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on August 28, 1963. In the speech, Kin ...

" pages. Raveling was on the podium with King at that moment, having volunteered to provide security. He kept the original, and had been offered more than three million dollars for the speech in 2013. He declined the offer. In 2021, he gave it to Villanova University. It is intended to be used in a long-term "on loan" arrangement. It is currently on display at the

National Museum of African American History and Culture The National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), colloquially known as the Blacksonian, is a Smithsonian Institution museum located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., in the United States. It was established in 2003 an ...

in Washington, D.C.

Head coaching career

Washington State (1972–1983)

Hired in Pullman in Raveling was the first African-American basketball coach in the Pacific-8 Conference (Pac-8, now

Pac-12 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level for all sports, and its football teams compete in the Football Bowl ...

). He guided the

Washington State Cougars The Washington State Cougars (known informally as the Cougs) are the sport, athletic teams that represent Washington State University. Located in Pullman, Washington, WSU is a member of the Pac-12 Conference in NCAA Division I. The athletic pr ...

from with two NCAA tournament appearances during his eleven years. The first was in

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

and marked the first time WSU was included in the NCAA bracket since the runner-up finish in

1941 The Correlates of War project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 3.49 million. However, the Uppsala Conflict Data Program estimates that the subsequent year, 1942, wa ...

; the second was three years later in

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

. Raveling was one of the winningest coaches in Washington State basketball history, with a record and seven winning seasons, including five straight from the 1975–76 campaign through the 1980 season. While at WSU, Raveling was the West Regional coach at the 1979 U.S. Olympic Sports Festival, and an assistant coach for the U.S. Olympic Trials in

. Among his outstanding players were James Donaldson,

Craig Ehlo Joel Craig Ehlo (; born August 11, 1961) is an American former basketball player. He played fifteen seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with four teams, amassing career totals of 7,492 points, 2,456 assist (basketball), assists a ...

Don Collins Donald Collins (born November 28, 1958) is an American former professional basketball player. Collins was drafted by the Atlanta Hawks, in the first round (18th pick), of the 1980 NBA draft. Collins played in 303 National Basketball Associatio ...

, Bryan Rison, and Steve Harriel, who all earned All-Pac-10 first team honors. Donaldson went on to play in the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

for 14 years and was on the Western Conference team for the

All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that showcases the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or division, bu ...

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

. Collins played in both the NBA and CBA after setting the WSU record for career steals and finishing third in scoring. Ehlo, a junior college transfer from Texas, was selected in the third round of the

1983 NBA draft The 1983 NBA draft took place on June 28, 1983, in New York City. A total of 226 players were selected over 10 rounds by the league's 23 teams. The first overall pick of this draft was 7’4” center Ralph Sampson, predicted as an NBA supersta ...

by the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA) ...

; he played fourteen seasons with four NBA teams, amassing respectable career totals of 7,492 points, 2,456 assists, and 3,139 rebounds. Raveling was the UPI Pac-8 Coach of the Year winner in 1976, its

coach of the year Many sports leagues, sportswriting associations, and other organizations confer "Coach of the Year" awards. In some sports — including baseball and association football — the award is called the "Manager of the Year" award. Some of the ...

twice (1976 (shared), 1983), and was the national runner-up for AP coach of the year He was honored by WSU with his induction into the Pac-12 Hall of Honor.

Iowa (1983–1986)

Raveling succeeded

Lute Olson Robert Luther "Lute" Olson (September 22, 1934 – August 27, 2020) was an American basketball coach, who was inducted into both the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. He was the head co ...

as head coach at the University of Iowa in April

, and guided the Hawkeyes to consecutive 20-win seasons and NCAA tournament berths in

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

and

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

1984 Olympics, assistant coach

At the

Olympics The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competit ...

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

in Los Angeles, he served as the assistant coach for the USA team, composed of collegians.

Bob Knight Robert Montgomery Knight (October 25, 1940 – November 1, 2023) was an American men's college basketball coach (basketball), coach. Nicknamed "the General", he won 902 NCAA Division I men's basketball games, a record at the time of his retire ...

was the head coach, and

Steve Alford Stephen Todd Alford (born November 23, 1964) is an American men's college basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach for the Nevada Wolf Pack men's basketball, Nevada Wolf Pack of the Mountain West Conference (MWC). ...

and

were guards on that team. Shooting 63.9 percent from the floor, the U.S. team captured the ninth Olympic title with a convincing 96–65 victory over Spain in the gold medal game. During his three years at Iowa, Raveling is probably best known for his recruits and outstanding players, including B. J. Armstrong,

Kevin Gamble Kevin Douglas Gamble (born November 13, 1965) is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association and currently a scout with the Toronto Raptors. At , he played as both a shooting guard and small forward. ...

, Ed Horton,

Roy Marble Roy Lane Marble Jr. (December 13, 1966 – September 11, 2015) was an American professional basketball player, 6'6" tall, who played as a swingman. After playing four seasons at the University of Iowa from 1985 to 1989, Marble left the college ...

, and

Greg Stokes Gregory Lewis Stokes (born August 5, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player who was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers in the second round (33rd pick overall) of the 1985 NBA draft. A 6'10" forward-center from the University ...

, all of whom went on to play in the NBA.

USC (1986–1994)

In March 1986, he returned to the Pac-10 as head coach for the University of Southern California (USC) in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

Hank Gathers Eric Wilson "Hank" Gathers Jr. (February 11, 1967 – March 4, 1990) was an American college basketball player for the Loyola Marymount Lions in the West Coast Conference (WCC). As a junior in 1989, he became the second player in NCAA Division I ...

and

Bo Kimble Gregory Kevin "Bo" Kimble (born April 9, 1966) is an American basketball coach and former professional player. He played college basketball for the Loyola Marymount Lions. As a senior in the 1989–90 season, Kimble was named a consensus second-t ...

were recruited to USC by Head Coach

Stan Morrison Stanley Mack Morrison (born October 15, 1939) is an American retired college basketball coach and athletic director. He was head men's basketball coach at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California, from 1972 to 1979, University of ...

and his top assistant, David Spencer. They were joined by high school All-American, Tom Lewis, and Rich Grande as the "Four Freshmen" star recruiting class.Harvey, Randy �
Un-Raveling at USC: A Failure to Communicate
Los Angeles Times, May 13, 1986 Following an 11–17 season coaching USC, Morrison and Spencer were fired after the 1985–86 season was over, despite winning the Pac-10 the previous year. It was reported that the players would not remain unless certain conditions were met, including having a say in the next coaching staff. USC hired Raveling as the next head coach of the Trojans. Raveling gave the players a deadline to respond whether they would remain on the team. When they did not respond, he revoked the scholarships of Gathers, Kimble, and Lewis. Raveling's controversial statement was, "You can't let the Indians run the reservation," he said. "You've got to be strong, too. Sometimes you have to tell them that they have to exit." Kimble and Gathers transferred together from USC to

Loyola Marymount Loyola Marymount University (LMU) is a private Jesuit and Marymount research university in Los Angeles, California. LMU enrolls over 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students, making it the largest Catholic university on the west coast of the ...

. Lewis transferred to Pepperdine. Grande remained at USC. During Raveling's career at USC, the Trojans advanced to the NCAA tournament in

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

and

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

and competed in the NIT in

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

and

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

. Raveling was named Kodak National Coach of the Year (1992), Basketball Weekly Coach of the Year (1992), Black Coaches Association Coach of the Year (1992) and CBS/Chevrolet National Coach of the Year (1994). Raveling and

Sonny Vaccaro John Paul Vincent "Sonny" Vaccaro (born September 23, 1939) is an American former sports marketing executive. He lives in Santa Monica, California. Career Vaccaro is best known for his tenure with Nike, Inc., where he signed Michael Jordan to hi ...

had been close friends, to the point that he was the best man at Sonny's second wedding. But, Raveling had a falling out with Sonny over the business of summer high school basketball camps that Sonny ran.

Car crash and coaching retirement, 1994

On the morning of September 25, 1994, Raveling's Jeep was blindsided in a two-car collision in Los Angeles. He was seriously injured, suffering nine broken ribs, a fractured pelvis and clavicle, and a He was in intensive care due to bleeding in his chest cavity for two weeks. Citing the automobile crash and planned lengthy rehabilitation, he retired as head coach of USC at the age of 57 on

Post-coaching

Raveling has worked as the Director for International Basketball for

since his retirement from USC, and has authored two books on rebounding drills, ''War on the Boards'' and ''A Rebounder's Workshop''. He has served as a color commentator for

CBS Sports CBS Sports is the American sports programming division of Paramount Global that is responsible for sports broadcasts carried by its broadcast network CBS and streaming service Paramount+, as well as the operator of its cable channel CBS Sports N ...

and FOX Sports Net, often drawing assignments for Pac-10 conference games. Raveling has the original typewritten "

" speech given to him by

On September 8, 2018, he was selected by former

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

head basketball coach

as one of Driesell's presenters upon his induction into the Naismith Hall of Fame.

Awards

In 2013, he received the John W. Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award by the

. On November 21, 2013, he was a recipient of the Lapchick award (in memory of

Joe Lapchick Joseph Bohomiel Lapchick (April 12, 1900 – August 10, 1970) was an American professional basketball player, mostly known for playing with the Original Celtics in the 1920s and 1930s. He is commonly regarded as the best center of his era, ove ...

St. John's Basketball Coach, together with

Don Haskins Donald Lee Haskins (March 14, 1930 – September 7, 2008), nicknamed "The Bear", was an American basketball player and coach. He played college basketball for three years under coach Henry Iba at Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State University). He ...

and Theresa Grentz. Raveling was inducted into the

College Basketball Hall of Fame The National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, located in Kansas City, Missouri, is a hall of fame and museum dedicated to men's college basketball. The museum is an integral portion of the College Basketball Experience created by the Nation ...

in 2013. On February 14, 2015, it was announced that George Raveling would be inducted into the

when he selected for direct election by the Contributor Direct Election Committee.

Head coaching record

Bibliography

*''A Rebounder's Workshop: A Drill Manual on Rebounding'' *''War on the Boards'' *''What You're Made for: Powerful Life Lessons From My Career in Sports'' (with Ryan Holiday)https://search.worldcat.org/title/1476542852

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Raveling, George 1937 births Living people African-American basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Washington, D.C. Basketball players from Washington, D.C. College basketball announcers in the United States College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball coaches Maryland Terrapins men's basketball coaches Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame inductees Philadelphia Warriors draft picks USC Trojans men's basketball coaches Villanova Wildcats men's basketball players Villanova Wildcats men's basketball coaches Washington State Cougars men's basketball coaches 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportsmen