Back in Indiana
Valpo grad broadcasts NCAA tourney as Olympic bid intensifies.
After two weeks on the road, Robbie Hummel took advantage of the opportunity to spend time at home, if only briefly.
Between his flourishing broadcasting career and 3x3 pursuits, it’s been a whirlwind of activity for the Valparaiso High School and Purdue graduate.
Earlier this month, Hummel spent a weekplus in Orlando, Florida — including in quarantine for his 32nd birthday — participating in a training camp as a member of Team USA. It was part of preparation for the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in May ahead of the previously postponed Tokyo Olympics this summer, when 3x3 debuts as an event on that stage.
Hummel flew from Orlando straight to Indianapolis, where he called five NCAA Tournament games in three days on Westwood One radio with partner Jason Benetti. His schedule included Purdue’s overtime loss to North Texas and Abilene Christian’s upset of Texas, as well as Creighton’s last-second win against UC Santa Barbara. The Creighton-Ohio and USC-Kansas matchups Monday might not have been as competitive.
But Hummel, who was supposed to broadcast Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games in Indianapolis for Westwood One last season before the NCAA Tournament was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, savored its return.
“Even with social distancing, the crowds have been great, which has been huge,” Hummel said from Chicago. “It’s cool to be in that atmosphere with the energy again. It’s been a lot of fun to call.
“Without Duke and Kentucky, some of those blue bloods, and some others losing super early, it’s been very unpredictable. Gonzaga and Baylor have been great — those two have been so much better than everyone. Baylor got sideswiped by COVID a little bit. And it was really sad to watch what happened with VCU with COVID issues, and hopefully it doesn’t happen again. You never know, but if you give me Baylor and Gonzaga or the field, I’ll take Baylor and Gonzaga.”
Hummel, who has been a game and studio analyst for ESPN and the Big Ten Network for four seasons, is scheduled to broadcast the Division II national championship game Thursday in Evansville for Westwood One, a first for him.
He heads back to Indianapolis for the Elite Eight on Monday and Tuesday. Hummel, who in the fall also started a once- or twice-weekly podcast with national basketball reporter Jeff Goodman as part of the Field of 68 network, also is scheduled to call the 3x3U national championship the weekend of the Final Four for ESPN.
“I’ve been really lucky,” Hummel said. “The broadcasting stuff has been going really well. I feel like I’ve improved every year.”
After the conclusion of the college basketball season, it’s full-bore for Hummel as a 3x3 player.
In April, he’ll travel to Los Angeles for another Team USA training camp, this one a month long. From there, it’s off to Austria for the Olympic qualifying tournament, which runs May 26-30. The top three of the 20 teams in the event, which originally had been scheduled for March 2020 in India, advance to an eight-team field in Tokyo.
“We’re confident,” Hummel said. “There are some really good teams that are going to be there, but we’re a good team too. We know we have to play well. But there’s not much you can do except win.
“The pressure’s on this, but that’s why you play. That’s why you get into this.”
Hummel and Team USA won the FIBA 3x3 World Cup in June 2019 in Amsterdam. The 6-foot-8 forward was named MVP for a performance that helped net him selection as the USA Basketball male athlete of the year. Hummel — the world’s No. 16 3x3 player and No. 2 American, according to rankings frozen as of April 1, 2020 — led the U.S. to its first gold medal in the sixth edition of the tournament.
Hummel spent two seasons in the NBA with the Timberwolves and one each in Spain, Italy and Russia.
He retired after the 2016-17 season, concluding a memorable playing career that also was marked by multiple injuries, including twice tearing his right ACL.
Competing in the Olympics, with an opportunity to chase a gold medal, would serve as a sublime — and largely surreal — coda for Hummel.
“It’s a big summer for 3x3,” he said. “The last hurrah for me playing competitively. After the Olympics, you’ll find me on the golf course. Hopefully it will be a cool ending.”