Jimmy Baxter nets the Award of Valor for rescuing a father and son in 2002.
By PETE YOUNG
Published December 20, 2003
South Florida two-sport star Jimmy Baxter garnered another award for his potentially life-saving act a year ago.
The NCAA bestowed Baxter, a St. Petersburg native, with its 2004 Award of Valor for "his heroic efforts" in rescuing Narcis Pavlov and his 19-year-old son, Ernesto.
Baxter, now a senior on the USF basketball and track teams, was driving south on Interstate 275 on Dec. 12, 2002, approaching the exit at Gandy Boulevard with his fiancee, Monica Thompson, and then-4-month-old daughter, Jadaja.
He was heading to dinner with his father, Anthony Dials, about 7:15 in a storm when he saw a car lose control.
"It just flipped over and spun around about four or five times," Baxter said at the time. "By the time I was able to pull over I was about a half-mile down the road."
The car was upside down in a drainage ditch with the water rising.
"I could hear the boy inside in the backseat panicking. I started kicking the (back) window. I was kicking it with my Timberlands as hard as I could, but I couldn't break the glass. I was freaking out."
Baxter managed to stop a passing car and get a crowbar.
"I beat on the glass three times and it finally shattered. I reached in and pulled the boy out and he hugged me, and he said his papa was in there in the front.
"I got down and reached in and got ahold of him. His face was down in the water, and I pulled him out."
In January, Baxter was one of 10 nominated for Hillsborough County's Moral Courage Award, and he was presented with a commendation from the Tampa City Council for his "heroic deed." Sports Illustrated and USA Today wrote about Baxter, and he was featured in a segment on CBS's Early Show, which taped a Jan. 8 USF game at which the Pavlovs sat behind the Bulls bench.
The NCAA Award of Valor recognizes a coach, administrator or current or former athlete who, when confronted with a situation involving some form of personal danger, averted or minimized the potential disaster by courageous action or noteworthy bravery.
"It's nice," Baxter said. "I think about (the rescue) every time I drive home. I look at that spot every time I drive past."
