Bill Raftery
CBS analyst Bill Raftery, on the call Saturday for Kentucky-Alabama, talks Gonzaga’s potential, Duke’s rise and Georgetown’s fall with The Post’s Justin Terranova.
Q: Is this Gonzaga team a bigger threat than previous Zags squads?
A: This team is really different than Gonzaga teams in the past because of the two guards: Nigel Williams-Goss and [Jordan] Matthews, the kid from Cal. So, you have kids who are experienced and who have played in bigtime programs. And that goes along with all the size they have. And Fewy (head coach Mark Few) has been there, he just hasn’t gotten to the promised land. They just have more answers than in the past.
Q: Is it too late for Duke to pull it together for a tournament run?
A: They could be one of those teams that really gets organized and confident and has the right momentum going into the tournament. Now with Mike Krzyzewski being back and addressing all the off-the-court stuff with Grayson Allen, hopefully that’s all put to bed. You are not talk- ing about a team lacking talent, they have a very long bench. Luke Kennard is having one of the great years.
Q: Is this the type of improvement you were expecting from St. John’s this season?
A: It’s a monster leap forward. Now, when you get the two lefties going (Shamorie Ponds and Marcus LoVett), making better decisions. I don’t want to play them in the Big East Tournament. And I could see Chris (Mullin) enjoying it more, being involved more and the sense that you’ve got something going. It’s got to be hard for some one like him to be patient. Sometimes with great players, they take it personally that the kids can’t do what they did. Q: Why has Georgetown fallen off in recent seasons? A: The past couple of years they’ve had disheartening losses to Arkansas State and Monmouth — now both those teams turned out to be pretty good — that could affect their confidence. And the defense and rebounding have fallen off, which is definitely part of the dilemma. Q: What was your reaction to Brent Musburger leaving ESPN? A: I am sort of saddened because you think of (Dick) Enberg and Verne (Lundquist) not doing the football next year. I am going to miss Brent. He was great to me in the ’80s when we did a lot of NBA games together for CBS.