Former USC men’s basketball Head Coach George Raveling, who was also known for his key role in Nike’s signing of Michael Jordan, died Monday after a battle with cancer, his family announced Tuesday in a post on X. He was 88.

“There are no words to fully capture what George meant to his family, friends, colleagues, former players, and assistants — and to the world,” the post read. “He will be profoundly missed, yet his aura, energy, divine presence, and timeless wisdom live on in all those he touched and transformed.”

Raveling led the Trojans from 1987 to 1994 and earned a National Association of Basketball Coaches Coach of the Year award in 1992. While he held a middling combined record of 115-118, Raveling found success late in his tenure at USC, making back-to-back NCAA Tournament berths in 1991 and 1992. In his last four years with USC, the Trojans went 77-40.

‘He will be missed at USC’

In the 1991-92 season, the Raveling-led Trojans — including USC’s all-time leading scorer, then-junior guard Harold Miner — went 24-6 and got second place in the Pacific-10 before losing narrowly in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

“Coach Rav was not only a Hall of Fame basketball mind but a tremendous person who paved the way on and off the court,” current Head Coach Eric Musselman wrote in a post on X. “He will be missed at USC and throughout the basketball community.”

Raveling’s coaching career was cut short ahead of the 1994-95 season when he broke nine ribs and sustained a collapsed lung in a serious car accident, which led to his retirement.

“I was hurt and shocked when I first heard him say that he was retiring,” then-senior forward Lorenzo Orr said of Raveling’s retirement in a Los Angeles Times article following the accident. “I still can’t come up with the words about my feelings inside. Coach Rav meant so much to all of us.”

Before coming to USC, Raveling spent 11 years as the head coach of Washington State and three years at Iowa. With the Cougars, he became the first Black coach to lead a Pacific-8 team.

He also served as an assistant coach for the 1984 and 1988 United States Olympic teams and spent time as an assistant at Maryland and his alma mater, Villanova, where he played three seasons, averaging roughly 10 points and 12 rebounds per game.

Raveling was ‘a mentor’ to Jordan

After retiring from coaching, Raveling worked in multiple executive positions for Nike, including director of international basketball and director of grassroots basketball.

However, his most notable contribution was through Jordan, who said Raveling was the reason why he signed with Nike in a statement obtained by the Associated Press.

“For more than 40 years, he blessed my life with wisdom, encouragement, and friendship. He was a mentor in every sense and I’ll always carry deep gratitude for his guidance,” Jordan wrote. “Without him, there would be no Air Jordan.”

Raveling was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015 as a “contributor,” a catch-all category that represents his time as a player, coach and executive for Nike. He is also a member of the College Basketball Hall of Fame.

“The fingerprint George Raveling has left on the game of basketball spreads far and wide,” his page on the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame’s website reads.

Raveling’s goals went beyond basketball

The former USC coach was also a volunteer security guard at Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” speech. Afterward, he was personally given a copy of the speech by King, which he later donated to Villanova despite a reported offer of over $3 million.

Raveling grew up in a small apartment in Washington, D.C., where four families shared one bathroom, according to the L.A. Times. His father died when he was 9, and his mother, who was working two jobs at the time, was later institutionalized into a mental health hospital, causing him to attend boarding school at 14.

He told the L.A. Times that nobody expected him to go to college, but after earning a basketball scholarship to Villanova, Raveling said the experience significantly changed him. Due to his circumstances, Raveling became an advocate for attending college and helping his players succeed beyond the court.

“If all I can say is that I taught a kid how to shoot a jump shot, well, that’s not good enough,” Raveling told the L.A. Times in 1994. “These kids come out of underprivileged, inner-city areas, and I’m just wasting my time if I haven’t put something of substance into their lives.”