CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Longtime Charlotte basketball broadcaster and media personality Gerry Vaillancourt died on Sunday morning, according to his daughter, Kelly.
He was 72 years old.
Known as "Gerry V," Vaillancourt was a fixture on early Charlotte Hornets radio and TV broadcasts, even following the team to New Orleans before eventually returning to Charlotte.
Recently, Vaillancourt had his own show on ESPN Charlotte radio, and did recurring call-in segments for WFNZ.
Kelly Vaillancourt said in a social media post this week that her father was diagnosed with a heart condition 25 years ago and "died peacefully this morning."
Vaillancourt offered tremendous basketball insight, infused with his infectious personality.
In his pinned tweet from March 23, he wrote "Chase what you're crazy about. The day will come when you'll regret that you didn't 'chase your crazy!' Good luck to you."
The Charlotte Hornets said in a statement that Vaillancourt's "analysis and opinions will be greatly missed, and our condolences go out to this family, friends and colleagues."