5 questions for... Bill Raftery
CBS analyst Bill Raftery talks with The Post’s Justin Terranova about the Final Four matchups, why he has no plans to retire and of course Loyola Chicago’s 98-year-old chaplain, Sister Jean.
Q: Are you looking forward to meeting Sister Jean?
A: My sister is a nun, so I better get to say hello to her. The affection the student body and the team has and the respect the coaches have is great to see. It touches everybody, no matter what background you are from. Then to find out she actually played basketball, a good friend of mine asked me if I had announced any of her games.
Q: What has made you, Jim Nantz and Grant Hill a successful team?
A: Grant and I have such a respect for Jim. I was fortunately there for Jim’s first game and one of the first studio shows he did. So, I was friendly with him and we used to play golf in those days before he realized how bad I was. You can’t describe what a great person Grant is. There’s just so much substance. They love the game and want to bring out anything they can to make it more it more interesting and not intrude or ruin the flow of it.
Q: At 74 years old, do you ever think about not calling these games?
A: I haven’t even thought about it. I love being around the game for a lot of reasons. The young people are fantastic to feed off of, and when I look around, everybody is a young person now. That’s enriching. If I get bored getting ready for these games, I think at that point either I will tell myself (to retire) or someone of great importance will tell me.
Q: Is there something about Michigan that will make that team more of a challenge for Loyola than what they’ve seen thus far?
A: The difference with Michigan is they are used to a lot of the things in practice that Loyola does. They slip a lot, they ball screen a lot. I think that prepares them a little bit for this team. Loyola runs so many things to get free. They are cerebral and read defenses great and that’s sort of the premise Michigan is used to. Q: How has Jay Wright become one of the top coaches in college basketball? A: His input, and the psychology he uses to motivate, he just has a very natural way of suggesting a belief in you. You never see the kids looking over their shoulder. He said a few years ago that he got sloppy, where he didn’t pay attention to the type of kid he wanted to play there. That’s what he’s got the last few years, they just understand that it’s all about the group, not the individual. He’s like Louie (Carnesecca) was. They are good losers, but they don’t lose often.