When he got the telephone call in 2003 that the biopsy showed cancer, Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun made three calls. The first was to his wife. The second was to his brother, who is a physician. And the third was to Syracuse coach Jim Boehim.
“The first two words he said were, ‘Oh bleep,’ ” said Calhoun. “He asked me a few questions and said it sounded like they got it early. And then he took me through his experience and said that he was here for me.
“At that moment, I really appreciated what a strong person Jim Boeheim is,” Calhoun said. “And I understood that I had talked the talk; now it was time for me to walk the walk.”
Calhoun and Boeheim, long-time competitors, national champion coaches, Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame inductees, and prostate cancer survivors, take another step together in their life journeys tonight when they’re honored as “Spirit of Jimmy V” honorees by the V Foundation at Chelsea Piers.
The “Spirit of Jimmy V” honoree is presented to someone who exemplifies Jim Valvano, the former N.C. State and Iona coach who, before dying of cancer in 1993, issued his life-affirming challenge, “Don’t give up, don’t ever give up!”
Former mayor Rudy Giuliani was the first recipient of the honor.
“Winning basketball games and championships is great and it’s important, but you hope it’s not what they’re going to put on your tombstone,” said Boeheim. “What you do in the community to help people and to help raise awareness is what’s important because we’re under attack from this disease. Every day we’re under attack.”
Both coaches were way ahead of the curve in getting involved with the fight against cancer and other health-related issues. Boeheim’s central New York campaign for Coaches vs. Cancer, which is highlighted by his Basket Ball gala, has been the top money raiser among coaches for seven years running.
Calhoun, who lost his parents to cardiac illness, established the Calhoun Cardiology Research Fund at the University of Connecticut Health Center with an initial gift of $125,000 in 1998. He and has wife, Pat, have raised some $2 million.
Cancer research now has become an important charity to Calhoun. His surgeon in 2003, Dr. Peter A Albertsen, had received a research grant from the V Foundation. He’ll receive another for Calhoun’s honor. Dr. George Y.C. Wong will receive a research grant in honor of Boeheim.
All of this because a guy from Brooklyn named Jimmy V could connect with people.
“Jim Valvano was the Will Rogers of college basketball,” said Calhoun. “You’d stop to talk to him for two minutes and be there for two hours. It’s been 13 years since he passed away and look at how this has grown. Jimmy had a great gift. He made everyone feel special, being a part of the V Foundation “
