George Raveling obit

Coaching Icon George Raveling passes away

 

He was not on the list.

College basketball coaching icon George Raveling passed away today. The announcement was made by his family on social media:

Raveling, who was a standout player at Villanova, dedicated over three decades to college basketball coaching. His impressive career spanned 22 years as head coach at Washington State (1972–1983), Iowa (1983–1986), and USC (1986–1994).

Raveling amassed 336 career victories, earned three Pac-12 Coach of the Year honors, and was named NABC Coach of the Year in 1992, cementing his legacy as one of the sport’s most respected leaders.

After retiring from coaching, Raveling transitioned into a global role as Director of International Basketball at Nike, where he continued to shape the game on a broader scale. He also authored two influential books on rebounding—War on the Boards and A Rebounder’s Workshop—and lent his insights as a color commentator for CBS Sports and FOX Sports Net.

He played at Villanova University, and was the head coach at Washington State University (1972–1983), the University of Iowa (1983–1986), and the University of Southern California (1986–1994).

Raveling served as Nike's global basketball sports marketing director from 1994 until his death in 2025. A former FOX Sports Net color commentator, he was a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon produced a film called Air about Nike's signing of Michael Jordan and ultimately the Air Jordan brand. Marlon Wayans plays Raveling in the film.

Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Raveling did not play basketball until his ninth grade year. He was enrolled at St. Michael's, a Catholic boarding school in Hoban Heights, Pennsylvania; it was founded as an orphanage in 1916 near Scranton 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.

Raveling attended college at Villanova University near Philadelphia and played basketball for the Wildcats. 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 (NIT) in 1959 and 1960. The Philadelphia Warriors selected him in the eighth round (pick 7) of the 1960 NBA draft.

Raveling became an assistant coach at his alma mater Villanova, then moved to Maryland in 1969 on the staff of new head coach Lefty Driesell. At College Park, he became the first African American coach in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).

Raveling was the first African-American basketball coach in the Pacific-8 Conference (Pac-8, now Pac-12). He guided the Washington State Cougars from 1972–1983 with two NCAA tournament appearances during his eleven years. The first was in 1980 and marked the first time WSU was included in the NCAA bracket since the runner-up finish in 1941; the second was three years later in 1983. Raveling was one of the winningest coaches in Washington State basketball history, with a 167–136 (.551) 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 1980.

Among his outstanding players were James Donaldson, Craig Ehlo, Don Collins, Bryan Rison, and Steve Harriel, who all earned All-Pac-10 first team honors. Donaldson went on to play in the NBA for 14 years and was on the Western Conference team for the All-Star Game in 1988. 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 by the Houston Rockets; 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 twice (1976 (shared), 1983). and was the national runner-up for AP coach of the year in 1983. He was honored by WSU with his induction into the Pac-12 Hall of Honor.

At the Olympics in 1984 in Los Angeles, he served as the assistant coach for the USA team, composed of collegians. Bob Knight was the head coach, and Steve Alford and Michael Jordan 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, Ed Horton, Roy Marble, and Greg Stokes, all of whom went on to play in the NBA.

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

Hank Gathers and Bo Kimble were recruited to USC by Head Coach Stan Morrison 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. 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. Lewis transferred to Pepperdine. Grande remained at USC.

During Raveling's career at USC, the Trojans advanced to the NCAA tournament in 1991 and 1992 and competed in the NIT in 1993 and 1994.

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 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.

 

Coaching career (HC unless noted)

1963–1969      Villanova (assistant)

1969–1972      Maryland (assistant)

1972–1983      Washington State

1983–1986      Iowa

1986–1994      USC

Head coaching record

Overall            336–292 (.535)

Tournaments    2–6 (NCAA Division I)

2–2 (NIT)

Accomplishments and honors

Awards

NABC Coach of the Year (1992)

3× Pac-10 Coach of the Year (1976, 1983, 1992)

John Bunn Award (2013)

Basketball Hall of Fame

Inducted in 2015

College Basketball Hall of Fame

Inducted in 2013