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Raveling ‘an information reservoir’

When you speak to George Raveling’s friends, the first thing they want to talk about is his email list.

Long before the internet, Raveling was an indefatigable information aggregator; clipping newspapers from around the country and sending friends and acquaintances everything from leadership treatises to restaurant and wine recommendations for the upcoming Final Four host city. They come with headings like “7 Ways to Break Destructive Patterns” or “6 Must-Read Books to Change Your Life.”

“I can’t read everything he sends,” retired Temple University coach John Chaney said with a laugh. “I’ve got a garage filled with books that he’s sent over the years, because I know he’ll kill me if I throw any of them out.”

Raveling said it started years ago when he’d give an article to his players after practice each day. It grew with technology from mail to fax to email. “Guess I’ve just always been an information sharer,” he said.

Former Georgetown coach John Thompson has been on the receiving end of Raveling’s information chain for decades.

“He’s just enormously inquisitive,” Thompson said. “He’s an information guy and he needs to share the stuff he finds.”

“A lot of people think George invented the internet, just so he could do that easier,” said agent David Falk, who’s been doing business with Raveling for more than 30 years. “He’s built this incredible network of people, and this is one way he’s kept up that network. He developed a unique skill at connecting people long before people in business thought of it as an indispensable talent.”

Said former USA Basketball Chairman Jerry Colangelo, another longtime friend, “George is kind of a reservoir of information, and that’s because he cares. He wants to help everyone on their journey with the stuff he’s found out.”

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