Live, Coming to You Courtside
by Matt Jones
With the football season having now come to an end and the Tom Brady-worship on a bit less of a fevered pitch, it is time for the nation to do what it always does in February, take sides on the new American Idol. I must admit that I have been a bit less than impressed with the current group of contestants, and while I am sure that a favorite will emerge in the coming weeks, I am not all that hopeful on this year’s season. Last year was a complete bore, further confirming my view that the show hit its peak with Ruben and Clay and is now heading downhill as quickly as The Bachelor. We shall see, but as long as the show has Simon making fun of Paula, I will still likely be forced to tune in.
February also marks the beginning of the general sporting world’s focus on college basketball. The casual fan (which you are likely not since you found your way to a web site dedicated to nothing but college sports) tends to pay only the most minimal attention to college hoops until after the Super Bowl. The sporting world likes March Madness and the brackets that it provides, and it begins to focus in February in order to have a chance in the annual office pool.
This is also the time of year when the airwaves become overtaken by the Bill O’Reilly-esque blowhards who believe that the universe is entitled to their ubiquitous (and wrong) predictions on tournament time. As many of you know, I watch a lot of college basketball (my annual marathon journal of a Saturday of college b-ball will occur this Saturday – stay tuned!). Because of this, I tend to become very acquainted with all of the various announcers and commentators, and find myself either greatly respecting them, or wanting to put them on a boat with Paris Hilton, Sinbad, Sean Hannity and Tony “Stat Boy” Reali and send them to Siberia. Most of you likely feel the same way.
What is amazing about those who comment on college basketball is that college basketball fans tend to agree across the board with the relative worth of each announcer (with one notable exception.) This is not really true in any other sport. Baseball fans are split on Tim McCarver and Joe Morgan, football fans either love John Madden and Phil Simms or hate them, while Stephen A. Smith and Bill Walton either evoke cheers or boos from NBA fans across the country. Yet in college basketball, even those announcers that are generally considered by all to be horrible (and you know who they are), nevertheless find themselves incapable of losing a job. Getting a college basketball television gig gives one more job security than the Supreme Court or a Catholic Cardinal. You just cannot be removed. But that doesn’t mean you can’t be rated and evaluated. Thus I am about to do what has long needed to be done, mainly grade the “talking heads.”
Jay Bilas
Hands down the most knowledgeable announcer on television. Jay Bilas is exactly what networks should be looking for when they are attempting to cast for anything except the “crazy” announcer. Not only is he a former player and coach, but he is also intelligent, having graduated from Duke Law School after his playing days. He has an uncanny ability to break down college basketball situations for the average fan, and is able to focus on the parts of basketball that the average viewer may not notice. He is also the most “fair and balanced” announcer currently in the game, treating all teams with the same amount of respect and giving each equal attention. Even though he is a former Dukie, he is the first to criticize the media’s obsession over the program. He understands that in every player and coach there is good and bad, and does not pile on praise or insults without balancing his critiques. He does have an absolutely absurd hairline that begins about two inches from his eyebrows, but besides that fault, I find him the best pure announcer/broadcaster on television. Not quite as entertaining as Raftery, but if you put the two of them together, you have a heck of a team.
A
Bill Raftery
For my money, there is no announcer in college basketball who combines keen knowledge of the game with an ability to be entertaining, better than Raftery. Raftery’s years as an ex-coach show through in many of his observations (including an uncanny ability to predict what plays a coach will call) and he takes the task of game preparation very seriously. However his true gift is to integrate his knowledge with a keen sense for what is entertaining. While I do not understand some of what he says (saying that Tayshaun Prince’s fifth three in a row from 40 feet against UNC a few years ago was because “he got his puppies set off the bus”), there is no need for true engagement with Raftery, because you can just laugh when he screams loudly, “ONIONS!” I had a friend in college who would watch any game Raftery called just to hear him say that a team was starting out “man-to-man” in his quick pitter-patter. Raftery does not overpower a game like Vitale, but he nevertheless adds to the atmosphere. In addition, he may very well be the nicest announcer/reporter I have met, taking the time to help those just entering the business. For my money, Raftery is as good as it gets all-around, and he deserves much more than he has, like the ability to call the Final Four.
A
Dick Vitale
No discussion of college basketball announcers can truly begin without bringing up the granddaddy of them all, Dick Vitale. For those just outside of the college basketball world, Vitale truly is the face of the sport. Over the years, he has transformed himself from a mediocre coach into the most prominent announcer and the “go-to” reference for any college basketball quip. As I noted last year, it truly is not a big game unless Vitale is there, and his presence brings an already hyped crowd into a controlled frenzy. The man loves college basketball and his energy and exuberance are contagious, making him one of the more exciting personalities in all of sports.
Vitale is also a wonderful person. His charity work is often noted in newspaper articles and magazine profiles, but his day-to-day interaction with others is just as impressive. While at Duke, I saw the man literally take time before every game to meet with children, talk to the students and spend time with a host of handicapped fans whom Duke brought to every home game. Truth be told, if all announcers loved their job and brought the Vitale-level of enthusiasm to it, the sport would be in great hands.
However this column is about announcing, and that is where opinions of Vitale vary. As I referred to in the opening, Vitale is likely the only college basketball announcer that falls into the “love him/hate him” category. Opinions on him usually vary by age, with young people loving his off the charts volume and crazy references, leaving older fans to shake their heads and turn down the volume. He also annoys many fans (particularly those of North Carolina and Kentucky) with his Taxi Driver-like obsession with all things pertaining to Duke. Vitale could be watching Houston play Hawaii-Hilo, and would still find a way to talk about how great a shooter J.J. Redick is or how much heart Shane Battier had. However, his affection for Duke is only matched by his affection for the sport. His tendency to get off topic can be maddening, especially when your team is playing, and his knowledge level is not off the charts. But Vitale remains a loveable college basketball figure, sort of like the sport’s crazy uncle, who comes around and livens up the room while making many shake their heads in amazement. His skills have deteriorated a bit in recent years, but his excitement has not. He deserves our respect, because the sport of college basketball is better because he is a part of it.
B+
Clark Kellogg
No announcer is more consistently underrated than Clark Kellogg. He is the announcing equivalent of PGA golfer Stewart Cink, a guy who goes out, gives solid performances, occasionally even is dazzling, but never is mentioned when anyone talks about the college basketball television academy. As a matter of fact, I very nearly forgot to include him on this list at all. Besides his amazing inability to never, ever look directly into the camera (can Greg Gumbel be that interesting?), he really has very few weaknesses. Kellogg always seems to be well-prepared, is not in the market for making bombastic statements with little evidence and will credit others for the good (and bad) decisions they make. If I were running a network, I would keep Kellogg around for all the big events, because he is a solid contributor to the team. Like Theo from the Cosby Show, you do not want to base your lineup around him, but when he walks on screen, you are generally happy.
B
Larry Conley
The college basketball equivalent of Bill Curry, Conley is a solid announcer who brings little in the way of flash, but puts forth a good performance every time out. Conley has been announcing games as long as I can remember and puts in as busy a schedule as anyone in the business. He is the Ford and Chevrolet of college basketball: when you listen to one of his games, you know what you are going to get and you are generally satisfied. Conley will never be one that will be used to sell the sport to outside fans. Many who have followed the game for a long time may not even know what he looks like. But he still gets it done year and year out, and is generally dependable.
B
Steve Lavin
I have been pleasantly surprised by Steve Lavin. I must say that I have a predisposition against any man not named Pat Riley who uses tons of hair gel. I think that look is ridiculous and I am unsure how someone can look in the mirror and go out like that every day. Having said that, Lavin has shown to be a solid announcer. He is very good with the fundamental aspects of the job, using his coaching background to provide insight into games, especially on the defensive end. In addition, he is the best in the business right now at breaking down games at halftime and letting fans know what adjustments are likely to be made in the second half. He has the anti-Clark Kellogg problem in that he seems to be peering into your soul when he looks into the camera, but this is a forgivable offense. I am not sure how much longer he will be doing this as some school will surely hire him soon, but for now, a solid contributor.
B
Andy Katz
While Katz is not truly an “announcer,” he has quickly become college basketball’s version of John Clayton, the guy with the inside gossip in the sport. (By the way, how did John Clayton get that gig – the most manly sport in the world behind rugby – looking like a middle school librarian?) Katz is a hard guy to have passionate feelings about because he does a good job on television of expressing little in the way of opinions. I generally like his television persona and think he is good at what he does. I just wish that, like most television announcers, he took himself a little less seriously.
B-
Rick Majerus
I must admit that no television sports hire had me more excited than the day it was announced that Rick Majerus would be joining the ESPN staff. When Majerus was the coach at Utah, I looked forward to any television coverage of him, knowing that no matter what was said, it usually would make me laugh. I had visions of him as the college basketball version of Jayson Williams (pre-manslaughter charges) or Terry Bradshaw, playing the role of buffoon so well that people would forget that he was smart and entertaining. Well that has not exactly happened. All the charisma and joy that Majerus had in his coaching days has been sucked out of him, leaving the equivalent of an overweight Bob Davie in its place. He will give you the facts, but you just feel like so much more is possible. He spiced things up recently with his Ashley Judd “adult movies” comment during the Kentucky-Tennessee game, but all that did was make him seem like a creepy, old man. I still think Majerus has potential, but he needs to show it before he goes bolting off to coach Indiana.
C+
Fran Fraschilla
No announcer’s hire was more baffling to me when it occurred than the decision to pick up Fraschilla. I mean how many people out there saw Fran Fraschilla coach at New Mexico and thought, “there’s a guy who would be GREAT on television!” Often times he seems to me to be very uncomfortable, not quite as bad as George Seifert on the old CBS The NFL Today show, but fairly close. He was hired as the “Xs and Os” guy and it is obvious he has a great deal of knowledge in the area. However, I can think of nothing that really distinguishes him from the guys calling high school games on Fox Sports Pacific. He is yet another guy, hired because he is a coach, but offering little else. His crowning ESPN moment came when he got Bobby Knight fired up by asking about his tumultuous relationship with protégé Steve Alford, but that can only get you so far. He is truly a “take it or leave it” type of guy, and my guess is ESPN will soon be “leaving it.”
C-
Billy Packer
My feelings on Packer are no secret. I wrote a column last year calling him a “nattering nabob of negativism” and that description still rings true. He finds a way to make every college game feel a bit like a trip to the dentist, and it is very rare that a game goes by where he does not say something that seriously irks me. He tends to overreact at every conceivable juncture, whether it’s by making vicious attacks on Rashad McCants’ intensity level, pleading that Jamal Magloire needs to stop “breaking Wojo’s back” or making Teddy Dupay seem to be one half-step from Ivan the Terrible for a hard foul against Michigan State. In many ways, he is the anti-Vitale, never seeming to understand that the point of this whole endeavor is entertainment and that we should not treat it with the seriousness of a Congressional hearing. Having said that, Packer does have a high knowledge level. During a recent Kentucky-LSU game, he focused in detail on the difference in the correct ball rotation between a jump shot and a lob pass. Dick Vitale just will not give you that level of analysis. Nevertheless, his constant negativity and ability to make fans of all schools detest him equally, truly means he should not be college basketball’s #1 announcer. There is a place for Billy Packer on television, but calling the Final Four is not it.
C-
Digger Phelps
The lowest grade on my report card goes to the last announcer that I can raise up the energy to discuss, Digger Phelps. I have made blasts in Digger’s direction before, but I will concisely repeat them here. Phelps is on television for one reason only: to be entertaining. The problem is that Digger is not the least bit entertaining. Although he has had his moments, like correctly predicting that his former school would end Boston College’s season-long win streak recently, his constant Notre Dame hankering is annoying and borders on unprofessional. I do not think that announcers need to act as if they do not have favorite teams, but when someone like Digger is announcing a game and stands up during a timeout, as he did a few years back, and tells the crowd to “kick Kentucky’s a**,” that is a bit much. In addition, he suffers from the fact that he wants to be Dick Vitale so much that it pains him. Nothing is more difficult to deal with than watching Phelps during the NCAA Tournament, when he is paired up with Vitale in a studio and Digger attempts, in vain, to out-“Dicky V” Vitale. He tries to make up nicknames, gets excited in a fake voice and attempts to be lovable in a completely transparent way. Phelps seems like a decent enough guy, but no one on television is more misplaced in his role than good ole’ Digger.
F
There are other announcers that I am sure I skipped over, but these seem to be the guys who get the most airtime. As I stated initially, the problem with college basketball on television is that those who merit air time, usually do not get it. For instance, Barry Booker, a former Vanderbilt player who announces occasionally for Jefferson Pilot and Fox Sports, is one of the top young announcers in the sport, but rarely gets a splash on one of the major networks for reasons that are beyond me. Nevertheless, a college basketball fan should be moderately pleased about the state of announcing of our fair sport. There are a number of average to good announcers, and there are very few who just make one’s head explode like the entire ESPN NBA and NFL crews. Thus we should count our many blessings one by one and enjoy the “February Frenzy” without much complaint.
Until next time…
