March is the best time of year for college basketball fans. Hell, even if you don’t consider yourself someone who loves the sport, there is nothing quite like when conference tournaments beget the NCAA Tournament, and throughout the month, people get the chance to sit down and watch college basketball played by those with aspirations of winning a conference or national title.
Individuals who go on to have incredible careers in things that have nothing to do with the NBA become synonymous with this month due to the sheer chaos that comes from a collection of win or go home tournaments. When those moments happen, they get burned into our collective conscience. I can sit here and type out names like Ali Farokhmanesh and Kris Jenkins, and even if you have not thought of those names in years, you remember exactly where you were when the former hit the most audacious three in tournament history for 9-seed Northern Iowa to knock off 1-seed Kansas, or the latter drilled a triple at the buzzer to give Villanova a national championship over North Carolina.
One man who has made a career out of bringing a special gravity to these moments is Gus Johnson, the revered broadcaster now with Fox Sports who will be on the call when the Big East does its annual tradition of descending upon Madison Square Garden for the conference tournament. Johnson’s work in numerous sports has made him one of the most versatile and highly-regarded broadcasters of his generation, but it’s his work calling college basketball games in particular that has made him a legend. Seemingly every basketball fan can think of a call that Johnson has made that has stuck with them over the years — they may not be a Gonzaga fan, for example, but they know that the slipper still fits.
After last year’s tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Johnson will head to Madison Square Garden to work alongside Jim Jackson and Bill Raftery while the Big East sorts out a champion. It’ll be the second time this season Johnson has been in-arena calling a college basketball game, along with a Michigan State-Iowa tilt from earlier in the year.
“To have a chance to go to the Garden and watch the guys play in the tournament, which was canceled last year, it’s a big deal,” Johnson told Dime. “Even if there aren’t that many people there, it’s just nice to be out there at the Garden watching some good ball.”
Before that good ball takes place — the festivities begin on FS1 on Wednesday when No. 8 Georgetown and No. 9 Marquette tip off at 3 p.m. EST — Johnson and Dime spoke about the tournament, who interests him the most this year, his broadcast partners, and a recent award he won for his contributions to college athletics.
A few years back, I asked Raf this question, and before I tell you what he said, I want to ask you, what is it about the Big East tournament that makes it so special?
Well, it’s New York City, at the heart of New York City, the center of the world, as we like to say. The energy in the city when Big East basketball is played is just really special. New York fans know basketball, East Coast fans know basketball and love basketball. And they’re playing on hallowed grounds. It’s the world’s most famous arena. It’s just a special environment and atmosphere, and I think more than anything, that’s what makes it just a really special thing to be a part of.
Yeah. And it’s interesting because I went to the Big Ten tournament there. I actually got a very good game, I know you were calling it, the Penn State-Ohio State game a few years back where Penn State won on that last-second dunk. But for some reason, even amid all that excitement, I don’t know if you would agree with this, something just feels different about when the Big East is playing at Madison Square Garden.
Well, those are those people so they know it and they’ve been doing that and watching that for years, or going to the games for years. I was a part of that Big Ten Tournament and it was great, but it’s not the same feeling. You’re right about the Big Ten as it was for the Big East, because the Big East has been doing it for years there. It’s just home, and I think that’s why it’s a special thing to be a part of.
So what excites you the most about this year’s tournament? Obviously, it’s a little bit different because of the lack of fans, but it still has some of that gravity to it that is always going to come from being the Big East Tournament.
What I like about it is that hopefully we’re going to play it, more than anything. Last year’s was canceled. We missed out on that tournament and those seniors missed out on having a chance to play in their final Big East Tournament. So I think that them having a chance to actually play the tournament this year at the Garden and wrap up the regular season in the conference is a special thing.
I’m just hoping that everything goes right. It’s been a long, hard-fought journey dealing with COVID-19 for everybody, sports world included, Big East conference included, college basketball included. So it’s just a nice … hopefully everything will go off without a hitch and we’ll get some basketball.
I have one question about one specific team, and it’s how we got a really unfortunate piece of news earlier this week about Villanova’s Collin Gillespie not being in it. As a broadcaster, what sorts of things do you look out for when you’re calling the games for a team right when they start playing after being thrown a gigantic curveball — not specifically what you’re looking for with Villanova, but just as kind of a general thing?
What you’re looking for is who’s the next man up? Who’s going to take over? Now Justin Moore has to step up [ed. note — since our interview, Moore has suffered a sprained ankle and is doubtful to play in the tournament]. He’s a sophomore, replacing a senior, captain, national champion in Collin Gillespie, heart and soul, leader. So who steps up? Brandon Slater, [Bryan] Antoine, somebody’s got to step up in that role. And you know Villanova always has great players sitting on the bench ready to get an opportunity, waiting for their turn. So I think more than anything, talk about what happened with Collin and how great he was, but now Villanova’s still got to go out there and try to win a championship. You just focus on the next guy that’s going to take his place.
So what team interests you the most in this tournament, not necessarily the one you think is going to win, but the one you’ve watched this season, you’ve studied up on, and you’re really curious to see what they end up looking like once they get to the Garden?
Well, you always think about Villanova because they’ve won two national championships, and now they’re going to go into the tournament without maybe their most important player, their brain, Collin Gillespie. You think about him and you wonder what he could do. You look at Creighton, and coach McDermott got himself into hot water last week, and his team came out after that and played flat against Villanova on the road. You wonder how they’re going to adjust heading to the tournament from Omaha.
St. John’s is always an interesting story. They’ve had some good moments this year, and they’re playing at home. And then some other teams, like Xavier. Xavier’s got a good team. They’ve beaten some good teams this year. Travis Steele, their head coach, you wonder if Paul Scruggs and the rest of the X-men can come up here and go on a run. So a lot of interesting stories, but you just got to see. I think the Big East Tournament, more than anything, is just wide open for a team that gets hot.
Yeah. It always seems to be a mix of that, and then after the first game or two, you can just tell one team has that little extra swagger to their game and they always seem to be the one that’s there at the very end. Whether or not they win, it’s something completely different.
That’s true.
I want to ask about the two guys you’re calling the games with. First is Jim Jackson — my main focus is NBA, and I think he’s been one of the fastest rising stars in hoops broadcasting over the last couple of years, both college and in the NBA. What is it about him that makes him so good?
I taught him everything he knows. That’s what makes him so good. I taught him. He needs to pay me for that. [laughs]
No, Jimmy is just a great student of the game of basketball. He was an incredible player, college player of the year, first-round draft pick, lottery pick. Unfortunately, he hurt his ankle, but he had great moments in the NBA. And he’s just a good man and loves the game and loves broadcasting, brings a youthfulness to it. And he’s the All-American. That’s Jimmy Jackson, man. Midwest values, low-key, engaged. Those are all the things … and he’s a detail guy. To me, those are all the things that make him special.
And then Raf, best in the business, guy you’ve called a million games with. Could you just talk about the joy that you two seem to have working together and what it’s like working with someone who matches, every single night, your passion and your energy on calls?
I’ve been working with Raf for 25 years, and I just think that dating back to my days at … no, actually for longer than 25 years, because I used to work with Raf before I went to CBS when I was with the Big East Network. So damn near 30 years of working with Coach, and he’s just a good man, and he’s a coach, he knows the game without even thinking about it, just looking at it.
I love his stream of consciousness, man. He can go into stories and detail and technique and history in one sentence. And he has boundless energy and boundless enthusiasm. I still can’t hang with him, seriously. So I’m very fortunate to have two men like Raf and Jimmy that I work with on a regular basis. They make my job really easy.
Then the last thing I want to ask is you recently won the Jake Wade Media Award from CoSIDA. What was it like getting that call and learning that you’re getting an award for just how synonymous Gus Johnson is for bringing a sense of gravity to whatever game you’re calling?
Well, man, there’s some great men that are on that list that were there, and I’m so honored to be able to join them, men like Keith Jackson and Verne Lundquist and Dick Enberg and Dick Vitale and Robin Roberts, Jim Nantz, Tim Brando, Steve Scheer. Just to be on that list, for me, man, for a broadcaster that’s been doing college sports for many, many years, as a broadcaster, to me, that was like winning the Heisman Trophy. I don’t think I could put it any other way. It’s just one of the greatest honors of my life, greatest honors of my career. I’m very appreciative and I have so much gratitude. Words can’t express how much gratitude I have to be able to be chosen for something like the Jake Wade Award.