
September 3, 2025
He has been credited with main NBA nice Michael Jordan to Nike.
George Raveling, a Naismith Memorial Basketball Corridor of Fame faculty coach, died on Sept. 1. He was 88.
The dying was introduced by Raveling’s household on his social media account.
“It’s with deep disappointment and unimaginable ache that we share the passing of our beloved ‘Coach,’ George Henry Raveling, who confronted most cancers with braveness and beauty,” the submit learn. “He transitioned peacefully at 88, surrounded by household in addition to love, religion, and sacred safety.”
Raveling, who was a head coach at Washington State, Iowa, and Southern California, from 1972 to 1994, was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Corridor of Fame in 2015. He had a profession document of 335-293, in line with The Related Press.
He has been credited with main NBA nice Michael Jordan to Nike. Raveling was on the basketball workers for the U.S. Olympic basketball groups in 1984 and 1988. In 1984, he launched Jordan, who starred for the Olympic group, to Sonny Vaccaro at Nike, which blossomed into Jordan serving to the model develop exponentially, resulting in most likely essentially the most worthwhile and most recognizable sneakers on the planet, Air Jordan.
“For greater than 40 years, he blessed my life with knowledge, encouragement, and friendship,” Jordan stated in a written assertion. “He was a mentor in each sense, and I’ll all the time carry deep gratitude for his steering. I signed with Nike due to George, and with out him, there can be no Air Jordan.”
The Corridor of Fame coach plated collegiately at Villanova from 1957-60, averaging 12.3 factors and 14.6 rebounds over his final two seasons. He by no means performed within the NBA despite the fact that he was drafted within the eighth spherical by the Philadelphia Warriors in 1960.
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