George Raveling
George Henry Raveling was an American college basketball player and coach. He played for the Villanova Wildcats, and was the men's head coach for the Washington State Cougars, Iowa Hawkeyes, and USC Trojans. He is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Early life
Raveling was born in a segregated hospital in Washington, D.C. on June 27, 1937. He was raised in Washington, D.C. and did not play basketball until he was in ninth grade. 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 and he converted to Catholicism while a student there. 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 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 in 1959 and 1960. The Philadelphia Warriors selected him in the eighth round 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.
March on Washington with Martin Luther King Jr., 1963
On August 28, 1963, as Martin Luther King Jr. waved goodbye to an audience of over 250,000 "March on Washington" participants, Raveling asked King if he could have the speech. King handed Raveling the original typewritten "I Have a Dream" 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 in Washington, D.C.Head coaching career
Washington State (1972–1983)
Hired in Pullman in April 1972, Raveling was the first African-American basketball coach in the Pacific-8 Conference. He guided the Washington State Cougars from 19721983 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 record and seven winning seasons, including five straight from the 1975–76 campaign through the 1980 season.While with the Cougars, Raveling was the UPI Pac-8 coach of the year twice, and was the national runner-up for AP coach of the year in 1983. He was honored by WSU with his induction into the WSU Athletics Hall of Fame and Pac-12 Hall of Honor in 2004.
Iowa (1983–1986)
Raveling succeeded Lute Olson as head coach at the University of Iowa in April 1983, and guided the Hawkeyes to consecutive 20-win seasons and NCAA tournament berths in 1985 and 1986.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.
USC (1986–1994)
Revocation of scholarships
In 1986, the University of Southern California hired Raveling as the next head coach of the Trojans.The previous season, Hank Gathers and Bo Kimble were recruited to USC by former 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.
After Morrison's firing, it was reported that the players would not remain unless certain conditions were met, including having a say in the next coaching staff. 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.
Later tenure
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, Basketball Weekly Coach of the Year, Black Coaches Association Coach of the Year and CBS/Chevrolet National Coach of the Year.
Car crash and retirement
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 collapsed lung. 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 November 14.Team USA coaching career
While at WSU, Raveling was an assistant coach for the USA team at the Pan American Games in 1979 and the West Regional coach at the 1979 U.S. Olympic Sports Festival.At the Olympics in 1984 in Los Angeles, he served as the assistant coach for the USA team, composed of collegians. He again served as assistant coach at the 1988 Olympics.
Post-coaching
Raveling authored two books on rebounding drills, War on the Boards and A Rebounder's Workshop. He served as a color commentator for CBS Sports and FOX Sports.Raveling served as Nike's global basketball sports marketing director from 1994 until his death. According to The New York Times, Raveling was instrumental in convincing Michael Jordan to sign with Nike in 1984, and the Air Jordan brand was born as a result of that partnership.
On September 8, 2018, he was selected by former University of Maryland head basketball coach Lefty Driesell as one of Driesell's presenters upon his induction into the Naismith Hall of Fame.
Raveling died on September 1, 2025, at the age of 88 due to cancer.
Awards
In 2013, he received the John W. Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.On November 21, 2013, he was a recipient of the Lapchick Award, together with Don Haskins and Theresa Grentz.
Raveling was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013.
On February 14, 2015, it was announced that George Raveling would be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame when he was selected for direct election by the Contributor Direct Election Committee.