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WATCH: Shaq, Dickie V share embrace at Big 12 title game

On3 imageby: Andrew Graham03/12/23AndrewEdGraham
UCLA v Gonzaga
(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Two icons of basketball, independent of league or level, shared a brief exchange at the Big 12 Tournament on Saturday when Shaquille O’Neal ventured to the scorers table to say a quick hello to Dick Vitale, who is on the call for ESPN. And The Diesel and Dickie V seemed pleased to see each other.

And while O’Neal makes basically everybody look petite, standing across from the 5-foot-9 Vitale, it was especially stark. Vitale even gave O’Neal a kiss on the cheek by his own admission. And the ESPN legend had plenty of praise for the one-time LSU basketball center.

“The Shaq is in the house. Came over here, I got a big hug and a kiss from my man, Shaquille. I’ll never forget his coming out party when LSU played Arizona. They played Arizona and he just dominated,” Vitale said.

Texas leads Kansas, 39-33, at the half of the Big 12 title game.

Dick Vitale says he turned down offer to call NCAA Tournament games this year

Vitale has had plenty of fun opportunities during his long career at ESPN. But he hasn’t called an NCAA Tournament game on national TV, and CBS gave him a chance to change that this year.

However, he turned it down.

Vitale told Sports Illustrated’s Jimmy Traina he heard from CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus about calling “one or two” March Madness games this season. The legendary ESPN personality said no, though — and he had quite a reason for that decision.

“I was flattered when Sean asked, but I’m 83 now and I want to end my career with just ESPN on my resume,” Vitale said. “What they did for me this last year has been amazing. They’ve treated me like royalty. It’s been 44 years just with them, and I just want to have ESPN on my resume.”

Vitale said this isn’t the first time he heard from CBS about calling tournament games. He also received interest “10 and 20 years ago,” but then-ESPN president John Skipper wouldn’t let him do it.

This time around, though, the network’s tone was different. Jimmy Pitaro, ESPN’s current chairman, said Vitale could take the opportunity if he chose to do so. But Vitale wanted to give the network the same type of loyalty it showed him amid his cancer battle.

“If you went through what I went through and you saw how ESPN treated me, they never cut my salary, always encouraged me,” Vitale said. “I wanted to be loyal to them.”

Vitale has been a staple at ESPN since joining the network more than 40 years ago. He coached at the college level as an assistant at Rutgers and served as Detroit Mercy’s head coach from 1973-77. Vitale served as the Detroit Pistons head coach from 1978-79 before he got a microphone in his hand, eventually becoming one of the most beloved figures in college basketball.