University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire

Tim Valentyn, a 6-3 guard from Kimberly, came to Eau Claire after playing his freshman season at the University of Wisconsin. Because of his transfer status, he missed half of his sophomore season. A very unselfish player, he totaled 297 assists in 2 ½ seasons including one of the best single season averages of 5.0 on 141 assists. He once had 13 assists in a game. He averaged 4.4 assists and 9.8 points per game for his career. His .804 free throw percentage as a senior and .530 field goal average as a junior are among the best Blugold single season averages. Valentyn was team co-MVP and co-captain as a senior. He was All-Conference that year and also earned a spot on the College Division Academic All-American Second Team.  He was the university’s Scholar-Athlete in 1976-77. During his two full seasons at Eau Claire, the Blugolds compiled 25-3 and 22-6 records with a pair of conference championships, two Holiday Classic crowns and two Shrine Classic (Savannah, Georgia) titles. Following graduation as the Outstanding Senior in the School of Education, he spent one year in Winona, Minnesota and one at Shorewood, teaching and coaching before returning to school to pursue a law degree. At the time of his induction, he was a practicing attorney in Madison as a partner in the law firm of Murphy and Desmond, concentrating on corporate and real estate law.