NORFOLK — Basketball royalty showed up in a big way Friday afternoon to celebrate one of the greatest basketball players to come out of Hampton Roads and play at Old Dominion University.
Players such as former Monarch greats Billy Mann, Wilson Washington and Ronnie McAdoo, along with former All-Tidewater players Amp Davis (Lake Taylor), Andy Bolden (Granby) and former Warwick great Tony Ellis gathered at The Dirty Buffalo to welcome home the legendary Ronnie Valentine, who on Saturday had his No. 42 Old Dominion jersey retired at halftime.
Valentine is ODU’s all-time leading scorer with 2,204 points and eighth-leading rebounder with 949. He also scored 10 points or more in 101 consecutive games.
Ronnie Valentine puts up a shot against Syracuse at Scope. The former Norfolk Catholic star helped lead the Monarchs to an upset of the No. 3 Orange on CBS national television.
And more than 50 former players and fans were on hand to give him his flowers while he could still enjoy them.
“It made sense. This was a great opportunity,” said Mann, who hadn’t seen Valentine in more than 30 years prior to Friday. “A lot of ex-players coming, managers, fans, you know everybody. The guy is ODU’s leading scorer for more than 30 years. I don’t know why it took so long, but (Old Dominion athletic director) Wood Selig made it happen.”
As Valentine strolled into the restaurant, he was welcomed with hand claps and cheering.
Valentine, 68, raised his fists and tipped his hat to the crowd.
“Wow, it’s a tremendous feeling. Guys I grew up with and played ball with, and to see everybody, I’m just lost for words,” said Valentine, as he shook his head in amazement. “It makes me feel tremendous. Those guys made me the player that I became.”
For everyone who was present, they said this day had been a long time coming, including Valentine.
He said when he received that phone call from Selig about having his jersey retired, he said he was in awe.
“It means a whole lot,” he said. “After all these years to see No. 42 hang up in the rafters, I’m lost in emotions right now. It’s a great feeling.”
Those in attendance shared stories about Valentine’s amazing presence on the court.
Ronnie Valentine as a senior at Norfolk Catholic High.
The former Norfolk Catholic High star was a two-time All-Tidewater selection.
After high school, he had offers from many major Division I programs, but chose to stay close to home and helped Old Dominion make a successful debut into the Division I era as it finished 25-4 and beat Virginia and Georgetown.
One person in attendance quoted a newspaper story of legendary Hoyas coach John Thompson saying, “I don’t know where they got him,” after Valentine scored 36 points to help Monarchs upset the Hoyas.
During his career, he helped the Monarchs beat Virginia twice, upset Florida State, won at Clemson in the NIT and upset then No. 3 Syracuse at Scope. Playing for longtime ODU head coach Paul Webb, the Monarchs had an 84-31 record, won two conference championships and advanced to the NIT quarterfinals.
Old Dominion’s Ronnie Valentine (42) pressures a Syracuse player during a 1980 game at Scope. The Monarchs upset No. 3 Syracuse in the nationally-televised game. STAFF FILE
At 6-foot-7, Valentine was a tremendous scorer, but also a fierce rebounder. He was twice named an All-American and helped lead ODU to its first Division I NCAA Tournament as a senior in 1980.
Valentine was a third-round draft pick of the Denver Nuggets, going 51st overall. He later played in the Continental Basketball Association, the United States Basketball League and overseas in Italy, Turkey and South America.
Nearly every person I spoke to at Friday’s gathering said reunions like this only happen at funerals, when the person is gone.
“To see the work he put in throughout these years, he’s finally getting his flowers,” said Ellis, who played with Valentine at ODU. “That’s what it’s all about. I’m just glad to be here to see the fellowship with these guys again.”
Former Old Dominion basketball star Ronnie Valentine meets with old friends and supporters at The Dirty Buffalo in Norfolk on Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (Kendall Warner/The Virginian-Pilot)
Mann agreed.
“This is normally something you do when somebody dies,” said Mann, who is a member of the Monarchs’ 1,000-point club and is the lead analyst for ODU men’s basketball on ESPN+. “I don’t know if there has been a better scoring small forward, even to this day, in the area. We’ve had some really good ones, but he was an unusual player.”
Former Lake Taylor star guard Gregory Perry was responsible for putting together the pre-jersey retiring gathering. He said it was important for him to show Valentine how much he is loved by so many.
“This has been on my heart for several years,” he told me.
When Valentine was homeless for nearly three decades on the streets of Miami, Perry was one of the people from Hampton Roads who tried to find and reconnect with him. Former Virginian-Pilot columnist Harry Minium chronicled Valentine’s heart-wrenching story as he went to Miami to find Valentine, and finally did.
Perry found Valentine in Miami after reading Minium’s column.
“Ronnie was my hero coming up, along with some of these other guys you see in here,” he said. “There are so many people that have played basketball and care about who he is, not just what he did. (Saturday), they’ll honor him with the raising of his jersey, but we gathered today to honor him and how he impacted our lives.”
Les McKay played with Valentine at Norfolk Catholic High. He also was a driving force in helping to get Valentine’s jersey retired.
“This has been a campaign that I’ve been on for a long time, about 10 or 11 years,” he said. “I started calling people that played with us and knew us. So that was a sentimental moment to have this happen because we’ve been waiting on it for a long, long time.”
McKay just stood back and smiled as he watched the community embrace Valentine on this afternoon. He knew it was priceless when he saw Valentine’s smile.
“He couldn’t believe it when he got the call from Wood Selig,” McKay said about Valentine. “We’re giving him his flowers right now. We know he had some challenges in life, as we all do. He’s been able to overcome and move forward. And we want to keep it that way. We love him and we’re glad to have him in our midst and in our presence. And we’re going to celebrate this moment.”
Many joked that it was ironic that the retiring of Valentine’s jersey was supposed to have happened earlier this year, but a snowstorm caused it to be postponed to Valentine’s Day.
Valentine was overwhelmed with the love he received on Friday. But someone may have to pinch him because he said it still feels surreal.
“I flew in this morning and I was thinking about it,” he said, as he looked around at the crowd that had gathered in his honor. “It’s probably going to hit me weeks from now.”
Larry Rubama, 757-575-6449, larry.rubama@pilotonline.com
