I asked a ref if he could give me a technical foul for thinking bad things about him. He said, of course not. I said, well, I think you stink. And he gave me a technical. You can’t trust em.

Meaning of the quote

In this quote, Coach Jim Valvano is describing a funny incident where he tried to get a technical foul just for thinking bad things about the referee. The referee said he couldn't give him a technical for that, but then when Valvano actually said the referee "stinks," the referee gave him a technical foul anyway. The quote shows that even though the referee said he couldn't get a technical for just thinking bad things, he ended up giving one to Valvano anyway, which suggests that you can't always trust referees to be fair and honest.

About Jim Valvano

Jim Valvano was an American college basketball player, coach, and broadcaster. He had a successful coaching career, culminating in a 1983 NCAA championship win at NC State. Valvano is remembered for his inspiring ESPY Awards speech and the formation of The V Foundation for Cancer Research.

More about the author

More quotes from Jim Valvano

People think I have courage. The courage in my family are my wife Pam, my three daughters, here, Nicole, Jamie, LeeAnn, my mom, who’s right here too.

Jim Valvano

American basketball player-coach (1946-1993)

Be a dreamer. If you don’t know how to dream, you’re dead.

Jim Valvano

American basketball player-coach (1946-1993)

I just got one last thing, I urge all of you, all of you, to enjoy your life, the precious moments you have. To spend each day with some laughter and some thought, to get you’re emotions going.

Jim Valvano

American basketball player-coach (1946-1993)

My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person, he believed in me.

Jim Valvano

American basketball player-coach (1946-1993)

I asked a ref if he could give me a technical foul for thinking bad things about him. He said, of course not. I said, well, I think you stink. And he gave me a technical. You can’t trust em.

Jim Valvano

American basketball player-coach (1946-1993)

Cancer can take away all of my physical abilities. It cannot touch my mind, it cannot touch my heart, and it cannot touch my soul.

Jim Valvano

American basketball player-coach (1946-1993)

I will thank God for the day and the moment I have.

Jim Valvano

American basketball player-coach (1946-1993)

How do you go from where you are to where you wanna be? And I think you have to have an enthusiasm for life. You have to have a dream, a goal. And you have to be willing to work for it.

Jim Valvano

American basketball player-coach (1946-1993)

Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up.

Jim Valvano

American basketball player-coach (1946-1993)

But try if you can to support, whether it’s AIDS or the cancer foundation, so that someone else might survive, might prosper, and might actually be cured of this dreaded disease.

Jim Valvano

American basketball player-coach (1946-1993)

I can’t tell you what an honor it is, to even be mentioned in the same breath with Arthur Ashe. This is something I certainly will treasure forever.

Jim Valvano

American basketball player-coach (1946-1993)

If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that’s a full day. That’s a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, you’re going to have something special.

Jim Valvano

American basketball player-coach (1946-1993)

Now, I look at where I am now and I know what I wanna to do. What I would like to be able to do is to spend whatever time I have left and to give, and maybe some hope to others.

Jim Valvano

American basketball player-coach (1946-1993)

I’ll also tell you that five hundred thousand people will die this year of cancer. And I’ll also tell you that one in every four will be afflicted with this disease, and yet, somehow, we seem to have put it in a little bit of the background.

Jim Valvano

American basketball player-coach (1946-1993)

No matter what business you’re in, you can’t run in place or someone will pass you by. It doesn’t matter how many games you’ve won.

Jim Valvano

American basketball player-coach (1946-1993)

And I’m going to work as hard as I can… for cancer research and hopefully, maybe, we’ll have some cures and some breakthroughs. I’d like to think I’m going to fight my brains out to be back here again next year for the Arthur Ashe recipient. I want to give it next year!

Jim Valvano

American basketball player-coach (1946-1993)

We need your help. I need your help. We need money for research. It may not save my life. It may save my children’s life. It may save someone you love. And it’s very important.

Jim Valvano

American basketball player-coach (1946-1993)

I talked about my family, my family’s so important.

Jim Valvano

American basketball player-coach (1946-1993)

Time is very precious to me. I don’t know how much I have left and I have some things that I would like to say. Hopefully, at the end, I will have said something that will be important to other people too.

Jim Valvano

American basketball player-coach (1946-1993)

And if you see me, smile and maybe give me a hug. That’s important to me too.

Jim Valvano

American basketball player-coach (1946-1993)

Now I’m fighting cancer, everybody knows that. People ask me all the time about how you go through your life and how’s your day, and nothing is changed for me.

Jim Valvano

American basketball player-coach (1946-1993)