[pincemob]

i liked Vitale in the 80s and 90s, and think he did a lot to draw attention to college hoops.  He used to do his homework and would know a lot about kids when they came onto the college scene (he'd know a kid's high school coach, who else was on the way from that program, and tidbits like that which other announcers didn't seem to know).  Where I noticed a real change in his act was around the time that drafting high schoolers and early entrants became the norm, in the late 90s timeframe.  I think Vitale saw the impact on college basketball coming (imminent talent dilution, drop-off in ratings).  I think he felt that the best way for college hoops (and him) to stay relevant would be if there were 5-10 "super programs" who were consistently elevated above the rest of the programs in perception.  That would keep the average fan engaged who maybe didn't have a strong alma mater to pull for.  His way of helping that cause was to focus all of his attention on the coaches of those programs, knowing the players were not a lasting brand.  He didn't choose Monty and Stanford as part of that elite.  I remember when we played Duke in MSG back when Casey Jacobsen was a freshman, and Duke had Mike Dunleavy.  He must have talked for 1:58 minutes about Duke and 0:02 about Stanford.  It was a noticeable change from earlier years where he seemed to like Stanford and even floated in the 6th-man section a couple times if I remember correctly. 

[pincemob]

i liked Vitale in the 80s and 90s, and think he did a lot to draw attention to college hoops.  He used to do his homework and would know a lot about kids when they came onto the college scene (he'd know a kid's high school coach, who else was on the way from that program, and tidbits like that which other announcers didn't seem to know).  Where I noticed a real change in his act was around the time that drafting high schoolers and early entrants became the norm, in the late 90s timeframe.  I think Vitale saw the impact on college basketball coming (imminent talent dilution, drop-off in ratings).  I think he felt that the best way for college hoops (and him) to stay relevant would be if there were 5-10 "super programs" who were consistently elevated above the rest of the programs in perception.  That would keep the average fan engaged who maybe didn't have a strong alma mater to pull for.  His way of helping that cause was to focus all of his attention on the coaches of those programs, knowing the players were not a lasting brand.  He didn't choose Monty and Stanford as part of that elite.  I remember when we played Duke in MSG back when Casey Jacobsen was a freshman, and Duke had Mike Dunleavy.  He must have talked for 1:58 minutes about Duke and 0:02 about Stanford.  It was a noticeable change from earlier years where he seemed to like Stanford and even floated in the 6th-man section a couple times if I remember correctly.