by Last month, I gave you my College Basketball TV Awards for the 2012-13
regular season. As promised, Ill provide you with the NCAA Tournament
Edition featuring my picks for Final Four, Regional Final and First
Week levels. Those not worthy and there will be a couple, will get the
infamous Carton of Chinese Cigarettes handed out from the 2008 Summer
Olympics in Communist China.
Ill provide the awards first for play-by-play, then game analysts,
reporters and finally the studio.
PLAY-BY-PLAY
Final Four Level
Marv Albert, Ian Eagle, Kevin Harlan Marv is Marvelous. The man is a
Hall of Fame announcer and during the Michigan-Kansas game, was able
to pick up on the Wolverines comeback late in the second half and his
call of Trey Burkes three pointer to tie the game was perfectly
understated.
Ian Eagle showed his versatility in calling NCAA Tournament games on
both TV and radio. Does both well and allows the action to come to
him. Ian had a very good call of the Davidson-Marquette game that went
down to the wire.
Kevin Harlan was outstanding especially as Ohio States Aaron Craft
hit a jumper with :02 in its Sweet Six*** game against Arizona.
Regional Final Level
Brian Anderson, Verne Lundquist, Jim Nantz Having this trio in the
Tournament shows some very good depth on the CBS/Turner Consortium.
Brian Anderson is a rising star. Calls games on Big Ten Network during
the winters, then moves to his best sport, baseball for the Milwaukee
Brewers and TBS Sunday Afternoon games. Could easily be on a Regional
Final team down the line.
What can you say about Uncle Verne Lundquist that hasnt already been
said? He and Bill Raftery form one of the fun broadcast teams and you
know that Verne plays the perfect straight man to Raft. Hes perfect
at the Regional Final level.
Jim Nantz is perfect here. He would go higher except that he calls
only one to two regular season games a season, yet hes on the A
team that goes to the Final Four. Nantz calls a good game, but I think
there are several announcers who are better.
First Week Level
Tim Brando Tim is good, but sometimes falls back on cliches. Hes
perfect on the ACC Tournament on the Raycom-produced ACC Network. A
nice fit with long-time partner Mike Gminski.
Carton of Chinese Cigarettes
Spero Dedes Dedes provided some real lackluster and sleep-inducing
calls. When Harvard upset New Mexico, Dedes failed to rise to the
occasion and when the game ended, he gave us quite a forgettable call.
His partner, Doug Gottlieb overpowered him at times.
ANALYSTS
Final Four Level
Clark Kellogg, Steve Kerr, Bill Raftery Clark Kellogg knows his
stuff and provides good analysis of the action. Hes able to spot
trends and finds the right words. He also stepped up during the
Louisville-Duke game when Kevin Ware broke his leg in a horrific
sequence. And as Jim Nantz tried to collect himself in the minutes
following the injury, Kellogg did his best to describe the emotions on
the court.
When Steve Kerr found out that he was going to call the NCAA
Tournament three years ago, he found work with Fox Sports to call
Sunday night Pac-10 games and quickly got re-immersed in the college
game. It was that preparation that puts him on the Final Four Level.
And teamed with Marv Albert for the first two weeks of the Tournament,
Kerr provides some really good tidbits especially during Michigan-
Kansas.
Bill Raftery is the Mayor of College Basketball. Perfectly teamed with
Uncle Verne Lundquist, Raft provides great anecdotes, one-liners and
always knows when to use his signature ONIONS! call. Id love for
Raft to call a Final Four on TV, but you can always hear him on radio
for the event.
Regional Final Level
Len Elmore and Jim Spanarkel Len was the last ESPN exclusive
holdover to remain on the Tournament after Turner came on board. Jay
Bilas wasnt kept and while Bill Raftery also works for ESPN, he does
games for CBS during the regular season, pulling a rare network
double. Elmore when Reggie Miller doesnt step all over him, provides
some salient points. He really could work solo with Kevin Harlan and
doesnt need Miller along side.
Jim Spanarkel works very well with Ian Eagle. Its hard to believe
that theyve worked 17 previous tournaments together and theyre a
very good team. Spanarkel was on top of trends especially when
Marquette was coming back on Davidson in the second round.
First Week Level
Dan Bonner and Mike Gminski Both ACC Network veterans, Bonner and
Gminski are perfect analysts for the first weekend of games.
Carton of Chinese Cigarettes
Doug Gottlieb and Reggie Miller Gottlieb will harp on points to
where you want him to shut up. Reggie Miller must have pictures on a
network executive somewhere as hes a terrible analyst. I understand
calling NCAA Tournament games was a dream for Gottlieb, but CBS/Turner
should pull the plug on him working games next year. As for Miller,
hes basketballs version of Marcelo Balboa, a person who makes
statements just to hear himself talk and makes ridiculous points.
REPORTERS
Final Four Level
Jamie Maggio, Rachel Nichols, Craig Sager
Regional Final Level
Lewis Johnson, Marty Snider, Tracy The Wolf Wolfson
First Week Level
Allie LaForce, Otis Livingston
STUDIO HOSTS
Final Four Level
Greg Gumbel and Ernie Johnson, Jr.
Regional Final Level
Matt Winer
STUDIO ANALYSTS
Final Four Level
Greg Anthony
Regional Final Level
Seth Davis and Steve Smith
First Week Level
Charles Barkley and Kenny The Jet Smith I understand why Barkley
and Smith are there, but theyre much better on the NBA than college
basketball. Charles candor on the NBA works against him on the
Tournament as in the case where he harped against the Big Ten.
Carton of Chinese Cigarettes
Doug Gottlieb Who else? Failed joke aside, Gottlieb has not
differentiated himself from the pack. He overpowers people on the set.
He comes off as abrasive as sandpaper.
So there you have the Awards for the 2013 NCAA Tournament.