Jim Nantz's NCAA Tournament swan song dotted by memories of loved ones, changes to sport
The final years of Jim Nantz's time as CBS' lead college basketball voice has seen changes and led him to reflect on his memories of the journey to his last Final Four in Houston, where his announcing career began as a UH student.As one who devotes much attention to the passage of time and the lessons of history, Jim Nantz has had much to ponder on the road to his last NCAA Final Four as a play-by-play announcer.
All three, Nantz said, “are in my heart and in my head” as he prepares for his last Final Four telecasts. “From the beginning, he was fresh, prepared, enthusiastic, and you could tell he loved the game and knew the game,” Raftery said. “I have not seen that diminish.”Nantz met a teenage Hill in tow with his father, former Cowboys running back Calvin Hill, at Final Fours in the mid-1980s. He called Hill’s first championship game with Duke in 1991, his first year in the Final Four play-by-play chair, and the Blue Devils’ repeat title in 1992.
“Clark is a very positive, spiritual person — an uplifter,” Nantz said. “He’s on the board of trustees at Ohio State, and he is all about the student-athlete experience.” They remain friends and golfing buddies, but their Final Four together featured one of the all-time stinkers. Butler shot 18 percent from the field in the first half en route to a 53-41 loss to Connecticut.
Two years later in Atlanta, however, Lewis made it. Declining health prevented the coach from traveling, so Nantz represented Lewis during the announcement at halftime of the Louisville-Wisconsin game. Without Turner’s financial support, in fact, CBS could have lost the NCAA Tournament. The two networks, however, paid $10.8 billion in 2010 for a 14-year deal with the NCAA and in 2016 negotiated an eight-year $8.8 billion extension through 2032.
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