EAGLE SERBY’S SUNDAY Q&A WITH ...

Q: Mike Breen. A: Close friend. Superb broadcaster. He was a couple of years in front of me on this path, so I paid attention to his ascension. Pure class. Q: Marty Glickman. A: He was professorial to me, because of the nature of our relationship. He was the broadcast coach at Sportschannel in 1995 when I got the Nets TV job. Our first session, his critique was so searing that I considered becoming an orthodontist (laugh). I thought maybe broadcasting wasn’t for me. Before he passed [in 2001], we attended an event for Syracuse University in New York, and it was the first time I had seen him in a while. Now at this point, I was at CBS and I had a network job, I’m doing the NFL, I’m doing college basketball, I’m still doing the Nets. And we’re now walking towards one another in the hallway, and Marty gives me a nod, and I give him a nod, and we stop. And now I think, all right, [he] is going to say, “Hey, you’ve been doing a great job.” He says, [in Glickman voice], “I’ve been watching you, Ian. ... You’re getting a little jowly.” I said, “What’s that?” He said, “Lay off the mayo.” I said, “I don’t even like mayo.” He says, “Well lay off it,” and he keeps walking (smile). Q: Phil Rizzuto. A: I just found his style to be perfect — he could pull it off. I’m not sure how many could. He had the credentials to do it, and then he had the personality to do it. I thought it was refreshing that he didn’t have to follow the normal broadcast rules on play-by-play. He was so unconventional, and it worked. Q: Jim Spanarkel. A: Sneaky good. I think Jim worked so hard to be a good player and to achieve what he did in his career on the basketball court, that he applied the same work ethic to the broadcast side. But does it in a way that can sometimes be viewed as under the radar, but he deserves to be mentioned with the best analysts in the game. Q: Sarah Kustok. A: The real deal. She knows the game, she knows the language, she understands television and she gets it. A special person. She has that it factor. Q: Richard Jefferson. A: I think it’s the first time I’ve ever worked with someone that’s made $100 million in their career. Richard can work without a safety net, and that is very freeing as a broadcaster. ... He is willing to go places that others will not go. Q: Who are the best guys in the production meetings? A: [Tom] Brady, No. 1. He’s real. When there are no microphones and no cameras, he really lets you into his thought process. I think there’s now a trust level. Peyton Manning was excellent. Chad Pennington was outstanding. Philip Rivers is very good. Q: Adam Gase? A: I like him a lot. He brings an edge. He likes the give and take. He’ll challenge you back, and he’ll take on the tough questions in the production meetings. Q: Baker Mayfield? A: Dan Fouts and I were blown away by his confidence. And we both walked away from the meeting this year under the impression that he’s gonna have a long, successful NFL career. He’s got a conviction to him that will carry him. Q: Sam Darnold? A: There’s a quiet confidence there. He’s just comfortable in his own skin, you could tell. He’ll get along with people, no matter who his teammates are. If they change the name, change the players, he’ll always find common ground. I think he’s gonna be an outstanding pro. Q: Patrick Mahomes? A: Really impressive. You could tell his father played professional sports, he’s been around it for a long time. Nothing seemed to overwhelm him. ... He’s a star. Q: Can the Nets woo a Kevin Durant? A: They’ve put themselves in a position where players and agents are now taking them seriously. They will now have a seat at the table. They were not relevant ... now they are, and that’s based on [general manager] Sean Marks and [coach] Kenny Atkinson making a concerted effort to change the culture and to change the persona of the franchise. Not easy to do. Q: So you think they could be a threat to the Knicks as far as getting Durant and Kyrie Irving? A: They’re a threat to get anybody in the league if they get the chance to sit down with them and truly make their case. Q: How good of a coach is Kenny Atkinson? A: I think he has a chance to be an elite coach. He has all the makings that you 69 look and then for — instincts. interpersonal As the skills, team has knowledge gotten better, Q: A: Blown Duke he’s star away gotten Zion by his better. Williamson? physical stature and his surefire skill level. Hall of I don’t Famer see yet. a guarantee I’d like to see of more. by the But physical it’s hard abilities. not to But get this mesmerized theory that he’s Anthony just gonna Davis change is an incredible an organization player [but] — the guy Pelicans doesn’t change are still everything struggling in — the so one NBA. Q: seen? What is the best NBA team you’ve A: last The year, Warriors really take squad your two pick, years that ago was or the best team basketball I’ve ever seen. Q: you’ve Favorite called? March Madness moment A: West Virginia knocking off Wake Forest and Chris Paul [in 2005]. Kevin Pittsnogle, Mike Gansey, unheralded squad in Cleveland, moves on to the Sweet 16 against a team that very easily could have and should have been a Final Four squad. It was the most fun I think I’ve had calling a game. It was double-overtime, it was the last game of the opening weekend, every game was finished. So I knew everybody was watching. It was what March Madness was all about. Q: Describe your aversion to ketchup. A: It’s all condiments for me. Mustard I’ve never had. Ketchup I had once as a mistake on a class trip in grade school to Washington. ... They were throwing like McDonald’s hamburgers at us, I took a bite. Q: You do like tomato sauce. That’s even weirder that you don’t like ketchup. A: Ya think? I don’t think the two are connected at all. ... The way I would put it also, like people say, “Well what do you put on a hot dog?” “Nothing, I like the taste of the hot dog.” I would just squeeze mustard in my mouth if I wanted mustard flavor. Q: Mayo? A: I mean, if it’s in something ... that happens, that’s without me knowing. I would never take mayo and put it on anything. I’ve never done that. I never have thought of doing that. It won’t happen. Q: You’ve never had a salad. A: I’ve had lettuce, I’ve had tomatoes. It’s the dressing, I think, that’s what always turned me off. Q: You like some fruit but you won’t have a fruit salad. A: I have an aversion (chuckle) to the word salad. But now it’s like a Cal Ripken streak, I can’t end it. Q: The Nets and YES Network are honoring your 25 years as Nets announcer with Ian Eagle Night on Thursday. A: It feels like some strange retirement party that I don’t want to be invited to (smile). It’s hard to even compute. I was always the young guy. The accumulation of years is hard to believe. Q: What is it like being Ian Eagle? A: It’s a ball. I’m having the time of my life. I’m doing everything that I wanted to do, and I don’t know how many people get to say that. And yet I’m still humbled, because I went to a high school reunion however many years ago, and a guy came up to me, Jack Woo, and he said, “Ian ... Hey man, I gotta tell you: When you were in high school, I thought you were gonna be a big star. Big star.” I said, “Oh, thank you so much.” He said, “What are you doing now?”