Bill Raftery shares the best from 50 years of NCAA memories

Explore More

Bill Raftery is CBS Sports’ lead college basketball analyst. This will be his 35th time calling the NCAA Tournament and third time calling the Final Four.

Q: Describe the first Final Four you attended.
A: If it wasn’t the first, it’s the most vivid — Texas Western [in 1966]. We grew up with kids of all persuasions, and it didn’t dawn on me that this was a sociological impact game whatsoever.

Q: Who are coaches in other sports you admire?
A: Lately this guy Joe Maddon with the Cubs. At Tampa Bay he won, and I don’t think he had the best players. Casey Stengel — they won and I became a fan. … Local guys like Yogi Berra and Phil Rizzuto. I was a Giant [baseball] fan, first game I ever went to was Willie Mays. So Leo Durocher. He also dated Hollywood stars, which didn’t hurt the image (smile). Bill Parcells. Could get after you and still put his arm around you.

Q: You coached Seton Hall from 1970-81. What is your favorite memory?
A: Favorite memory was the ’89 NCAA [championship runner-up] team. That connected the dots — Honey Russell, Richie Regan, myself. And through P.J. [Carlesimo, coach] vicariously, we were able to enjoy it, because the philosophy at Seton Hall when we joined the Big East was very limited, and P.J. paid the price for a couple of years until [then-commissioner] Dave Gavitt came in and said to the president, “You’ve gotta reinvest in this.” You felt like you were a part of it.

Q: The call against Gerald Greene on Michigan’s Rumeal Robinson by referee John Clougherty with three seconds left in overtime in the 80-79 championship game loss?
A: Not to crucify the official, I think he just jumped the gun a little bit. I remember coming down the steps with Richie Regan, turning, and here’s [UNLV coach] Jerry Tarkanian, and he’s venting over the call.

Q: Did you console P.J.?
A: What I remember the most is the impact he had on the CBS community ’cause of the way he handled it. I remember saying, “He’s probably the only losing coach in a final game whose team is remembered.”

Q: How do you think you would have handled it?
A: Pretty well. The reason I say that, after every game, I would go into the trainer’s room, and I would open up a can of beer, and I would finish the beer, and then light up a cigar, and I was then OK to say the right thing.

Q: Did you also do that while at Fairleigh Dickinson from 1965-70?
A: No, nobody bothered us at Fairleigh. If you said hello, we were happy.

Q: Describe your recruitment to Seton Hall of Danny Callandrillo.
A: His father was hearing-impaired. He would write a question and then I would answer it. And he used to call me “Corned Beef and Cabbage.”

Q: Why?
A: Because I was Irish. He’d say, “Are you gonna take care of Danny?” He would write it down. And I wrote, “It’ll be hard. I have a difficult time with Italians.” (leans back, arms raised and roars with laughter)

Q: The three most compelling moments at the height of the Big East Conference?
A: [Ron] Rowan’s jumper for Looie [St. John’s coach Lou Carnesecca] in the Garden. Ray Allen’s layup to win for UConn. I remember the Pearl [Washington] running off the floor against BC after he made the jumper, just kept sprinting. The No. 1 versus 2 in the Garden, St. John’s- Georgetown with “the sweater.” That was like a Knick seventh game playoff. It was as good as you’ve ever heard it.

Q: What about the 2009 Syracuse-UConn six-overtime game?
A: That’s the all-timer. I’m convinced ESPN woke up the next day and said, “You know Sean McDonough’s a pretty good announcer.” They said to me, “What’d you think of the game?” I said, “It’s the latest I’ve been in New York where my wife wasn’t mad at me.”

Q: What advice would you have for St. John’s coach Chris Mullin?
A: Get good players. And I would add on get good kids, too. It’s never gonna be a boat ride, so that’s when your character comes out in these tough games, tough situations.

Q: What are the three greatest games you’ve worked?
A: Well, I mentioned that 1 vs. 2 in the Garden. George Mason beat UConn to go to the 2006 Final Four. Then last year. Villanova.

Q: You sat with former Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese at the Villanova upset of Georgetown in 1985.
A: It was the culmination of Dave Gavitt’s dream, when you get three teams in the Final Four. You didn’t have to pound your chest anymore, they’re just not individual colleges on the East Coast that people just took for granted basically.

Q: What are your thought on Lou Carnesecca?
A: Charming. Greatest winner, and greatest loser. He didn’t lose much, but he handled everything with class and style. Loved his players. He was the forerunner of the We Are Family with the Pirates.

Q: Former Georgetown coach John Thompson?
A: He overshadowed the game, I mean, he was intimidating for officials. So to get a game or win against him was pretty special I think to everybody.

Q: Former N.C. State coach and New York product Jim Valvano?
A: Jimmy V (smile). He used to call the house and say to the kids — I had a little heart thing going on early in the ’90s — “Tell your daddy the cancer ward is calling the heart ward.” He made fun of everything.

Q: Former Marquette coach Al McGuire?
A: At practice, he’s arguing with the players. They’re throwing the ball under their legs, spin dribbling. They were so disciplined when they played, never turned it over, great defense. I said, “Al, how do you get them to do it in a game?” He said, “This is their time. The game is my time.”

Q: Former Notre Dame coach Digger Phelps?
A: He dressed up coaches when you think of it. He was one of the first ones to really look sharp, you know, progressive. And he did it the right way, he never had an NCAA violation all the years at Notre Dame. He brought it up a big level.

Q: Former Providence and Kentucky coach Rick Pitino, who now is at Louisville?
A: I can still picture he and John [Thompson] at half court, going after one another up in Providence. It was like, “I’m here, I don’t care who you are and how well you’ve done.” Rick drives himself more than maybe anybody else in the game. He reminds me of [Bobby] Knight in this way: He can take five guys and play your five guys and beat you. He doesn’t need the best talent. He gets the most out of the talent.

Q: Former North Carolina coach Dean Smith?
A: He reached out to people that he cared about, defended his players beyond the norm, and expected loyalty, demanded loyalty and gave loyalty.

Q: UCLA legend John Wooden?
A: When the McDonald’s All-American game was at St. John’s, I went to the breakfast and sat with him. I’m sure we all have this figure in our mind that we’re in awe of to some respect when they walk in the room, whether it’s a president or a principal or a teacher, and that’s the way you felt around him, not that he demanded it. But you just had a deep-rooted understanding of what he accomplished, and what he stood for.

Q: Analyst Dick Vitale?
A: I met him as a high school coach. I’ll say this: He has not changed one bit. I spoke at his camps, he still owes me money. I think Dick helped fringe people fall in love with basketball, and he’s got an unbelievable cult following.

Q: What did you think of Syracuse leaving the Big East?
A: It sort of ripped the heart out of a lot of people … mostly [coach Jim] Boeheim. It’s mind-boggling that [the Big East has] been able to hold their own and get a national champion last year and get five, six teams in the tournament out of 10. But that one was tough. Where does this league go now? [That] was almost the feeling amongst people.

Q: What do you think of the one-and-done approach?
A: There’s nothing we can do about it. I remember Al [McGuire], I think it was Jim Chones, in his car crying, and Al said, “You gotta leave.” The kid’s crying, he wants to stay at Marquette. Al said, “Look in your refrigerator.” He had no money. I would love the kid to go four years and get a degree knowing the things that could happen — cut, injury, not having the goods. The purist in us would like it to happen, but the reality is this is an opportunity for a kid to do something with his life. I’m reluctant to criticize a kid for doing it. I feel badly when he makes a bad judgment, and the NBA’s doing a better job now saying, “Hey, you’re not ready.” I think that’s helped a few kids.

Q: What is Runyon’s?
A: It was like a “Cheers” for anybody who was in athletics.

Q: Who gave you the nickname “Uncle One More”?
A: My wife’s brother-in-law, Bill Keegan.

Q: What was the origin of that?
A: Generally speaking, he liked a cocktail, and at the end of the night I’d say, “Why don’t we have one more?”

Q: Who was your boyhood idol?
A: Richie Regan.

Q: How competitive were the games at Tappan Street Playground?
A: Fights … pre-Big East confrontations (smile).

Q: Describe your 1964 tryout with the Knicks.
A: I got cut by Eddie Donovan at lunch. Red [Holzman] was the sort of a scout then. From what I’m told, they had the afternoon session and Red says to Eddie Donovan, “Where’s Billy?” He said, “They cut him at lunch.” And Red was not confrontational but like Red was more disappointed that I got cut than me. I went back and got my equipment to leave, and as I’m leaving, Tom Gola, who was an all-league defensive player and Hall of Famer, Richie Guerin, Hall of Famer, they’re coming in for the afternoon practice. They said, “Where you going?” I muster up, “I got cut.” And Richie says, “Geez Billy, I’m sorry to hear that, but if you need tickets, call Tommy.” And I’ve used that motivationally, because he was right, there were eight teams in the league — get a life.

Q: Describe your first time at the Garden.
A: Bill Russell playing Holy Cross [in 1954]. I remember Tommy Heinsohn, I always said to him he was taking a hook from the top of the key ’cause he couldn’t get a shot off on Russell. And we were in the end zone for probably not even a buck and a quarter.

Q: What was your friendship like with Holzman?
A: Red used to correspond with my mother, and she would send a note: “Dear Mr. Holzman: I hope the Knickies do well this year, I’ll pray for you.” And just prior to him dying, he gave me the letters my mother used to send to him. I don’t know if Red ever met her, but he was that kind of guy.

Q: What is your All-Onions team?
A: Ronald Moore (Siena) would be my captain. And head coach (laugh). [Patrick] Ewing … Mullin … Ray Allen … [Michael Jordan] making the jumper against Georgetown [in the 1982 NCAA championship], that would definitely be in the mix. [Mario] Chalmers’ jumper [to force overtime in Kansas’ 2008 title win over Memphis], and then you gotta throw [Kris] Jenkins in there.

Q: How would you describe your announcing style?
A: I just do me. I don’t write notes down and try and be clever. You mirror your existence.

Q: Do you think you’re a better announcer than you were coach?
A: Geez, I hope so (laugh).

Q: Verne Lundqvist, Jim Nantz, Gus Johnson and Ian Eagle?
A: They’re so good, so well-read, so well-prepared, you just have to look at tape and jump in when you see fit.

Q: Describe UCLA freshman guard Lonzo Ball.
A: I think he’s Bob Cousy, Dick McGuire, Chris Paul, Isiah Thomas, in terms of seeing the floor, and shortening the floor, getting the ball on time to people. He’s gonna be the Jason Kidd of the next 10 years.

Q: Who is the best player in the country?
A: [Senior Kansas guard] Frank Mason. Runs the team. Competitive as they get. Talking to [coach Bill] Self, all the things he does to help his team win. Gutty, tough, hard-nose, overlooked, nobody-recruited-him kind of kid.

Q: Senior Villanova guard Josh Hart?
A: Josh Hart would be in the mix, too. Every big rebound, every loose ball, every challenge defensively. … The best example would be the Notre Dame game this year. He just decided he was gonna win the game.

Q: Three dinner guests?
A: Arnold Palmer, Wooden, Looie Carnesecca. Looie would destroy the dinner. Nobody would understand him, and they’d all enjoy it (smile).

Q: Favorite movie?
A: “The Graduate.”

Q: Favorite actor?
A: Dustin Hoffman.

Q: Favorite actress?
A: Meryl Streep.

Q: Favorite singers/entertainers?
A: [Frank] Sinatra, Elton John, the Beatles.

Q: Favorite meal?
A: Italian. Bird [Ian Eagle] imitates me like nobody else: “Can I have the chicken marsala pounded thin, no butter please?”

Q: Your Final Four this year?
A: Carolina, Kansas, Villanova, Gonzaga.

Q: Your national champion?
A: Carolina. They’ve got size. They’ve got the ability to shoot the ball. When [junior guard Joel Berry III is] playing well, they’re a tough out.

Q: What is it like being Bill Raftery?
A: I’ve been really fortunate both through marriage and through [four] children, and I enjoy every minute with them that I can. I think I’m blessed that I did come from great parents. I enjoy what I’m doing. Nothing is painful.

Q: Except for this interview.
A: This interview, and sometimes, some of the wine lists in New York City (smile).

ncG1vNJzZmimqaW8tMCNnKamZ2Jlfnh7j2xmamlfl7atuIyrmJ%2BslafGbr%2FHmqmeq12ptaZ5wZ6qrWWWp7yueZRpZLKdkafAbrvFZqWcmZFiuqa5zqugnqtf