Cal Basketball: Former Player Eddie Javius Dies After Brief Battle with Cancer

The one-time walk-on and defensive "grinder" was 54 years old

Photo courtesy of Cal Athletics

Eddie Javius, best remembered by most Cal basketball fans as the player who stood atop the rim during the celebration of the Bears’ historic victory over UCLA in 1986, has died. He was 54.

Former teammate Chris Washington confirmed that Javius died last Friday after a short battle with pancreatic cancer.

A former walk-on from San Mateo, Javius earned a scholarship his senior season of 1986-87 while playing under coach Lou Campanelli.

Washington, a starting guard along with Kevin Johnson on those teams, wrote last weekend on his Facebook page about his former teammate.

“MARCH SADNESS. Rest in Heaven Edwin Javius. I know I'm a day late, but I just couldn't bring myself to type the words. Honestly.. When one of your former teammates passes away, its like losing a family member. Edwin Javius was one of those guys that if he was on your team, you loved him. But if he was on the other team, you couldn't stand him. Cause Eddie J was about winning.. And he'd tell you about it, so you knew exactly where he was coming from.”

Reached Tuesday, Washington said, “I probably didn’t do him enough justice in terms of what he’s done after basketball.”

Javius ran a company called EDEquity, whose mission it was to mentor teachers on topics related to cultural sensitivity.

“They would do motivational speaking about how to get our students to buy in to learning and getting teachers to understand them from a cultural sensitivity standpoint,” Washington said.

“His company was really about helping teachers to actually engage better with black and brown students,” said former teammate and close friend Earnie Sears. “He was very passionate about it.”

Sears said Javius earned his teaching credential at San Jose State after graduating from Cal and became a teacher and basketball coach at Mount Pleasant High in San Jose shortly after that.

He later worked in the Fresno area, where he moved into administration, and in the late 1990s formed EDEquity, according to Sears.

“He was on the road three-quarters of the year, teaching and speaking, doing development,” Sears said. “He worked with teachers but a lot of his work was done at the district level.

“He developed his own curriculum. It was really good stuff he was doing.”

Javius’ illness was brief and he was not diagnosed until the disease had reached Stage 4, Sears confirmed.

“Everybody’s kind of in shock,” Washington said.

Bill Elleby, who played later at Cal, wrote on Facebook: “He left (an) incredible legacy and inspired us all to be at our best and compete your heart out. I always felt he left everything o n the floor and he is one of the reasons I became a Cal Bear. I loved his enthusiasm and toughness. We are better people for knowing him. RIP Family you taught us how to win in life.”

Sears and his wife drove from Southern California to visit Javius in the hospital last week.

“On Thursday we were kind of laughing,” Sears said. “That afternoon he went to  sleep. After that he went pretty fast.”

Javius, a 6-foot-6 forward, averaged 3.1 points and 2.0 rebounds in 95 games over four seasons. He was known primarily as a defensive player.

Sears said all of his teammates were thrilled when Campanelli awarded Javius a scholarship before his senior year.

“He was just a good guy. He was a worker, a grinder,” Sears said. “A scholarship opened up and everybody was happy. He was part of the team.”

When Cal beat UCLA on Jan. 25, 1986 to end a 52-game losing streak to the Bruins, Javius was a visible part of the post-game celebration. He was photographed atop one of the basketball rims at old Harmon Gym, with the raucous crowd beneath him.

Javius, a San Jose resident, is survived by his daughter, Ashley, and two brothers.

Services will be held Monday, March 16 at Cornerstone Missionary Baptist Church, 6190 Third Street in San Francisco. A viewing will be held at 10 a.m., with the service at 11 a.m.