Color Commentators Part II

We've seen enough basketball on TV in the past month to give a fairly good analysis of the color commentators out there, from both an entertainer and coaching perspective.

Here's our list of guys (any why) you want to turn the volume up on:

Bill Raftery: This guy is a coaches coach who is also very entertaining. He gives good insight as to strategy and does it in a way that amps up the intensity of any good game that he's working. You gotta love hearing "onions" when a guy takes a big shot or makes a great play down the stretch. As coaches we appreciate the players who take and make the big shot down the stretch, just like Raftery does!

Doug Gottlieb: One of the better young color commentators. Has a player's perspective since he's not too recently retired. Gotta love someone who works in "the 7 ways to defend a ball screen" into his commentary.

Jay Bilas: Good analysis, good demeanor, just please don't let him get a Duke game. He tends to show off on those games.

Fran Fraschilla: The coaches' coach, does a great job of explaining situations and strategy in a way that coaches can appreciate and is not over the head of the average fan.

Bob Knight: Good coaching insight, obviously slanted with his view on how the game should be played. Kind of hard to argue perspective against one of the all-time winningest coaches in college basketball.

Leave the Volume where it's At:

Dick Vitale: We've come full circle on Dicky V. When you're in high school or in college and he's doing a game, his hype o meter really adds a lot of excitement to the goings on. Once you get older, you can tire quickly of his hyping of things we already know. He's been accused of being a homer, hyping his friends to the point of annoyance. While that may be true, he does offer some coaching jewels every once in a while. Just don't turn the volume up when he's on the air, he might pierce an eardrum or two.

Jay Williams: Jury is still out on him. He offers good insight from a player's perspective. Has good chemistry with his play by play guys.

Digger Phelps: We're really torn with Digger. We've heard from people we trust that he still lives in South Bend and has been known to go into the basketball offices and tell the coaches there what they're doing wrong. If that's true then his on air persona of arrogance isn't an act.

Mute'em:
Corey Williams: Thankfully he only does broadcasts for Arizona games. Blatant homer. Case in point, Nic Wise's shot at the buzzer against Lipscomb. Shot was ruled a 3 on the court. Replay was inconclusive at every angle (on HD no less). He proceeded to try and tell everyone that the shot was obviously out of his hands @ .1 seconds left. Wasn't so obviously and while the shot stood, you felt after listening to Williams that Lipscomb got hosed.

Jim Jackson: Watched the game of Michigan State and Northwestern. Here's an interesting situation. Shon Morris does the opening to the show as the color commentator. Yet when the game starts Jackson is the color commentator. The explanation being that Jackson's flight had arrived late and that he just got there. Ok. But how does someone who just got there recall a story from that morning's shoot around? It's almost as nonsensical as a stewardess who arrives at the same time you do, welcoming you to that city.

Anyway that's not why he's on here, he's on here because he is a jabber mouth and rambles on. Speaking more does not make you a better analyst. Offering something of value when you speak does.

Take this for example (this is paraphrased from our notes)

Northwestern gets a lot of points off their out of bounds plays, and they don't count towards your offensive baskets?

Really? What does it count as? A turnover? A FT?

Shon Morris: Ok he's on here for one particular bad choice of words. This former Northwestern player is usually a pretty solid analyst. But in the Stanford-Northwestern game, Stanford's best player Landry Fields dunks of Northwestern's John Shurna. Morris calls it a Noczema moment. A horribly poor choice of words considering both players have complexion issues.