“Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up.”
Seven of the most memorable, heart-felt words ever uttered in sports. Naturally, that was famously delivered by Jim Valvano during the 1993 ESPY’s, pertaining to his battle with cancer. Hard to believe that was 18 years ago. However, Valvano’s spirit and memory both remain as strong as they’ve ever been. That is thanks in large part to the Jimmy V Foundation for Cancer Research, which is named in Valvano’s honor.
The Jimmy V Foundation is one of the most recognizable cancer research foundations and routinely stages events to draw awareness. One of those is the annual Jimmy V Basketball Classic, which will take place this year on December 6 for both men and women. As part of the Basketball Classic, the V Foundation holds a dinner auction in advance. This took place a few days ago in New York, and ESPN and The V Foundation were kind enough to invite The Hoop Doctors.
At the event were a litany of prominent figures in college basketball, including coaches namely from the Big East Conference. Given the recent changes that have impacted to landscape of the conference, we spoke with Geno Auriemma from UConn, Jay Wright from Villanova and Buzz Williams of Marquette, to get a sense for their take on the changes, in addition to other compelling topics.
If you’re looking for your everyday, predictable basketball talk, then go somewhere else, because Kevin Burke of The Kevin Burke Project brings provocative, thought provoking content about basketball as only he can. Kevin also hosts The Hoop Doctors weekly podcast show, which you can subscribe to for free on iTunes. Follow Kevin on Twitter and Facebook
