Started this same thread on football board for football announcers. On the national level my favorite tandem was Al McGuire and Billy Packer. I would add Jay Bilas and not sure of the 4th.
Mount Rushmore of College Basketball Announcers
- Thread starter hollandnucat
- Start date
Agree with Packer and McGuire. Bills is a definite NO. Talks way too much.
Bill Walton is hilarious for PAC-12 games (Conference of Champions).
Jim Spanarkel knows his stuff and gives good commentary.
Bill Raftery is past his prime but a good listen.
Gus Johnson ("Chicago's....Big.....10......Team") is decent.
The rest? Meh.............................
I can tell you that the absolute worst is Dick Vitale. I cannot tolerate listening to him for one minute. I love college basketball, but I totally refuse to listen to any game that he broadcasts
Dick Enberg is your play by play guy. He might be that guy on so many sports. Oh my!!
His sidekick, Al McGuire, is the commentator for my A team.
I think my B team starts with Dan Shulman at ESPN. Maybe Mike Patrick? If I'm considering both of those guys, logic tells me I should put Dickie V wth them. But I can't do it.
You know who I might put with Shulman/Patrick? Shon Morris!! No ****!! Always insightful, prepared and smart. That's not just me as an NU fan talking.
My last two teams have some mix of Brent Musburger, Bill Walton, Dan Dakich, Digger Phelps, Clark Kellogg 10 years ago and ... quickly moving up my list for so many sports ... Jason Benetti is fabulous on basketball. One of the best TV experiences in the last five years was him and Bill Walton doing the Hawaii tournament. So different, so original. And not treating the viewer like some braindead idiot like Jim Nantz does.
I can go on and on about my dislike for Nantz on so many sports. He must have pictures of someone. Somebody needs to tell me the next time he adds some true insight to a telecast.
Not a fan of Bilas at all. Raftery does nothing for me, and never did. I like Kenny Smith and Barkley on the NBA, but they are phoning it in for the NCAA. Shame on CBS for choosing them and so many others. The CBS broadcast really sucks.
The last member of the back-slapping, ol boy Jim Nantz club is Billy Packer. That guy had an enemies list and it came out far too regularly. What a vindictive prick.
One more honorable mention: Let me throw Red Rush out there for some local flavor. I think his "prime" was long before me, but I got a taste of his wacky style during those Alfedrick Hughes years.
His sidekick, Al McGuire, is the commentator for my A team.
I think my B team starts with Dan Shulman at ESPN. Maybe Mike Patrick? If I'm considering both of those guys, logic tells me I should put Dickie V wth them. But I can't do it.
You know who I might put with Shulman/Patrick? Shon Morris!! No ****!! Always insightful, prepared and smart. That's not just me as an NU fan talking.
My last two teams have some mix of Brent Musburger, Bill Walton, Dan Dakich, Digger Phelps, Clark Kellogg 10 years ago and ... quickly moving up my list for so many sports ... Jason Benetti is fabulous on basketball. One of the best TV experiences in the last five years was him and Bill Walton doing the Hawaii tournament. So different, so original. And not treating the viewer like some braindead idiot like Jim Nantz does.
I can go on and on about my dislike for Nantz on so many sports. He must have pictures of someone. Somebody needs to tell me the next time he adds some true insight to a telecast.
Not a fan of Bilas at all. Raftery does nothing for me, and never did. I like Kenny Smith and Barkley on the NBA, but they are phoning it in for the NCAA. Shame on CBS for choosing them and so many others. The CBS broadcast really sucks.
The last member of the back-slapping, ol boy Jim Nantz club is Billy Packer. That guy had an enemies list and it came out far too regularly. What a vindictive prick.
One more honorable mention: Let me throw Red Rush out there for some local flavor. I think his "prime" was long before me, but I got a taste of his wacky style during those Alfedrick Hughes years.
The best “ team” ever was Enberg-McGuire-Packer. All three brought special qualities to each broadcast that made watching their game a special experience. I loved NBC’s Sunday “big game” broadcast with that trio.
Picking broadcasters is a lot like choosing a girlfriend— it’s all about personal taste. Bill Rafftery, for example, irritates me to no end. I think Jim Nantz is very professional and always well-prepared. Obviously, not everybody agrees. But I prefer someone who complements the game I’m watching, not someone who competes with it. Ergo, not a Vitale or Walton fan.
Picking broadcasters is a lot like choosing a girlfriend— it’s all about personal taste. Bill Rafftery, for example, irritates me to no end. I think Jim Nantz is very professional and always well-prepared. Obviously, not everybody agrees. But I prefer someone who complements the game I’m watching, not someone who competes with it. Ergo, not a Vitale or Walton fan.
I share your antipathy for Vitale's courtside schtick. I too will turn off audio whenever he's working a game. Two things, however:
1) At least a decade ago I attended a college tournament, sitting well away from the court. Presumably Vitale was working the tourney final the next night, because he came in to watch the teams and took a seat not 20 ft from me. Astonishingly, no one seemed to recognize him or make a fuss as he sat alone. On-air he always seems to scream for attention, but that night he watched quietly and intently, occasionally making notes on a pad. It was such a different and professional persona from what he projects when the mic and camera are live.
2) I can't help liking the Geico commercial in which Vitale "auditions" to be a pitchman, especially when he does a Gatorade-pour on himself and then asks, "Too much?" As an actor, Dickie V just nails it. Maybe it's because I've been around a good many auditions myself, but that commercial captures so well the desperate anxiety often felt by the"talent" in that situation.
Maybe DV's whole thing is an act.
Dickie V was my wife’s neighbor (pronounced “Mr. Vi-tah-lee”, like Dan) after he lost his job with the Pistons and started his broadcasting career. She remembers him a shirtless man in a folding chair on his driveway.
When I was a young journalist back in the 1980s, I convinced Larry Donald to let me write a radio/tv column for Basketball Weekly. Dick Vitale sent me a personal letter congratulating me, sent me a bunch of swag and his personal phone number with an invitation to call him anytime.
A couple of years later I named him broadcaster of the year for the way he publicly supported his partner Jim Valvano during his battle with cancer. Vitale set me a very sincere and heartfelt thank you note, which I still have framed on the wall of my sports room.
As I said earlier, broadcasters are a personal taste and Dick’s schtick detracts from my enjoyment of the game. But I think he’s a really good human being.
A couple of years later I named him broadcaster of the year for the way he publicly supported his partner Jim Valvano during his battle with cancer. Vitale set me a very sincere and heartfelt thank you note, which I still have framed on the wall of my sports room.
As I said earlier, broadcasters are a personal taste and Dick’s schtick detracts from my enjoyment of the game. But I think he’s a really good human being.
I have heard that Dickie V. scores high in the "good human being" department. That is nice to hear your confirmation.
Jason Benetti is so good. Hoops. Sox on local TV. National statcast baseball games. So insightful and joyful.
I couldn't agree more. The Sox have a couple of real superstars on play-by-play. Kasper is great too. As a Cubs fan I'd be jealous, but Sciambi has been great in Kasper's old seat, and Pat Hughes is a HoF-quality. We can just revel in how good Chicago baseball fans have it.
Rush was a fun listen on radio and if you want to go in the "way back" machine, I loved listening to Marty Glickman on national telecasts as a kid: "Pretty" was his go-to description of a good play.
