The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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24 ■ THE WOLFPACKER TRACKING THE PACK Don Shea made people smile. Usually, it was because of the hilarious story he was telling about longtime friend Jim Valvano or an anecdote from nearly 50 years of covering sports in the Triangle as a newspaper, television and radio personality. Sometimes, it was because he maybe flubbed a name or said something only he thought was appropriate to the conversation or interview at hand. And those were among the many things that made him lovable to be around. Shea died on Feb. 2 at his home in Chapel Hill, just a few days after his 77th birthday. The former sports director at Durham's WTVD television station for 17 years and longtime host of NC State's football and basketball shows is survived by his two adult sons, Kyle and Derek. It was a sudden loss for someone who had spent time working the phones the week prior to his death, talking to longtime friend Becky Bumgardner about the slight touch of flu he had and to Wolfpack Club executive director Bobby Purcell on three different occasions. He called former Wolfpack baseball and football star Freddie Combs to tell him that he had been elected into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame, an organization for which Shea had served on the board of directors for decades. "Don was always so positive," Purcell said. "Every time you talked to him, you always felt better about life and the world." A native of San Francisco, Shea came to North Carolina when he was stationed at Fort Bragg as a member of the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Special Forces. When he left the Army, he went looking for a job and found himself as a sportswriter with the Durham Herald-Sun. After a year, he tried out for a sports casting job at WTVD, the Triangle's ABC affiliate located in Durham. "I didn't know lickety-split about television when I went over around 1967," he said in a 2008 feature story in The Wolfpacker. "I auditioned and was horrible. The producer told me to get in front of the camera and make love to it. It was hard." Throughout his career, however, Shea was meticulous with his words and rarely deviated from the script he wrote days in advance for both features and news stories. Never exactly on the cutting edge of technology, he pecked out his stories on a manual typewriter and faxed his scripts to the various outlets for which he produced many pieces. He would spend hours in the editing room getting the inflection just right. He did multiple takes on the television show, sometimes to the dismay of the coaches who were eager to finish up their television duties and get back to game dissection or preparation. Shea had a long association with NC State through his re - lationship with Valvano, but he was a man of all schools. One of his best friends was former North Carolina All-American running back Don McCauley. He attended the same church as Duke basketball head coach Mike Krzyzewski, and the two become close friends. And for more than a quarter century he helped raise money for the Duke Children's Hospital through charity golf events, like the Duke Chil- dren's Classic and the Jimmy V Kids Classic. "Don Shea was a terrific friend," Krzyzewski said. "We actually attended the same 7:45 Sunday mass together, and afterward, we would always make time to talk about what was going on in the world of sports. "Don was a great colleague to my special friend Jim Valvano. No one helped NC State more than Don. He also helped the Duke Children's Hospital and the fight against cancer." As much as he loved people and charity work, he loved sports even more, especially anything involving his home- town 49ers and Giants. He also fell in love with college football and basketball after moving to North Carolina. In 1983, Shea was on NC State's fateful trip to Corvallis, Ore., after Valvano and his team had won an improbable victory at the ACC Tournament in Atlanta with narrow victories over Wake Forest, defending national champion North Carolina (overtime) and No. 1 Virginia. He was sitting on the wooden bleachers with several writers when Valvano told them, "I think if we can get by Pepperdine, we can win the whole thing." It took double-overtime in one of the worst NCAA basketball games ever played, but the Wolfpack beat Pep - perdine in a half-filled arena and went on to beat UNLV, Utah, Virginia (again), Georgia and top-ranked Houston for the storied 1983 NCAA title. There were so many good times on that trip, all the stories wouldn't fit in a book, much less a remembrance column. But it was on that three-week ride that Shea and Valvano developed the tight relationship they had until Valvano's death in 1993. When Shea and WTVD parted ways in 1984, Valvano swooped in and offered Shea the chance to be a partner at JTV, the coach's production and marketing company. He not only hosted Valvano's shows, but he helped sell ads and market the many money-making ideas that Valvano came up with while maintaining his role as NC State's basketball coach and athletics director. "It changed my life, and I will always remember Jim and the good times we had," Shea said in 2008. His bond with NC State grew tighter even after Valvano's death. He continued to host shows for what became Wolfpack Sports Marketing and the NC State football and basketball networks. He became so tied to NC State that in 2011 he joined Frank Weedon and Curtis and Jacqueline Dail as one of about a dozen people to ever earn the title "honorary alumni" from the NC State Alumni Association. "He had a real gift for making everyone around him feel comfortable on the set," former Raleigh News & Observer reporter Carlton Tudor said. "He got along with a wide variety of personalities. That's just how he was." — Tim Peeler You may contact Tim Peeler at tmpeeler@ncsu.edu. REMEMBERING DON SHEA Shea, the longtime host of NC State's football and basketball shows, passed away Feb. 2 just a few days after his 77th birthday. PHOTO COURTESY TIM PEELER NC State landed a big piece in its 2016 recruiting class when three-star cornerback James Valdez, formerly of Lake Marion High in Santee, S.C., before transferring to nearby Orangeburg Wilkinson High in December, made a verbal commitment to the Pack. The 5-11, 190-pounder stood out on both sides of the ball last fall, catching 18 passes for 405 yards and four touchdowns, and also recording 29 tackles, seven interceptions and 14 passes defended. Valdez's original intention had been to make his commitment in June, but that changed, and he picked the Pack on Jan. 25. "When I transferred schools, I basically had my mind made up," he said. "I actually com- mitted when I was in church. I was praying about it and just heard to go for it. "You have to follow what your mind sees." NC State running backs coach and recruiting coordinator Des Kitchings was respon- sible for recruiting Valdez, who also held offers from South Carolina, Tennessee, UNC and Wake Forest at the time of his pledge, and has since picked up a tender from Michigan. Valdez credited his comfort level with Kitchings and head coach Dave Doeren as decid- ing factors, along with the fact that his favorite cornerback is former Wolfpack pick artist David Amerson, currently with the Washington Redskins. "I'm just trying to go to NC State, continue the legacy that they already have and be a great defensive back," he said. The junior is ranked as the No. 7 class of 2016 prospect in his home state and the na- tion's No. 23 cornerback by Rivals.com. Valdez prides himself on being a physical defensive back, something that Rivals.com football recruiting analyst Josh Helmholdt noticed when observing Valdez in action at the Rivals Camp Series presented by Under Armour stop in Charlotte last March. "The depth of the underclassman defensive backs was really impressive, and Valdez was one of those who stood out," Helmholdt stated. "He was also one of the bigger corner- backs, and his length is definitely an asset. Another major asset is his speed. Valdez easily kept up with receivers down the field. That size/speed combo will draw a lot of college looks." Helmholdt has already proven prophetic with the recent U-M offer, but for the moment Valdez said that he is "all in." "I can't predict the future, so there's no telling what can happen between now and the time that I graduate, but now I'm all in," he said. One thing that NCSU has in its corner between now and when Valdez signs — and the cornerback has hinted at the possibility of graduating early — is the strong relationship that has been fostered over time. "If there was one word I can use to describe it, I would say family," Valdez said. "When I was at camp, Coach Doeren came up to me personally and offered a full scholarship. I liked that, it showed he really wanted me, and Coach Kitchings did a good job of recruiting me. "He made it known that he wanted me to attend there for college. He never slacked off. Our communication was great every day, and he was always showing love." Valdez gives NC State six verbal commitments already in the 2016 class. — Matt Carter Highly Regarded Junior Cornerback Picks NC State