Inductee
in Wichita Sports Hall of Fame, 2004
Valentine was Wichita’s first
McDonald’s All-American in 1977 playing for a Wichita Heights team which many
consider the best prep team in Kansas history. He averaged 26 points for a 23-0
Heights team that clinched the state Class 5A championship with a 40-point
victory in the title game. At Kansas University, he was named All-Big Eight four
times and averaged 15.4 points per game. He was drafted in the first round by
the Portland Trailblazers and during a nine-year NBA career, which also included
stints with the Los Angeles Clippers and Cleveland Cavaliers, scored in double
figures four times while averaging 5 assists. He was such a force as a
penetrating point guard that he forced KU nemesis Coach Jack Hartman of Kansas
State to create a 3-2 zone defense specially designed just to try to stop
Valentine. After his pro career, he became the regional representative for the
NBA Players Association and the liaison between the players and the union on the
West Coast.