‘OSU must push the pace against Michigan’
CBS and Turner’s No. 1 NCAA Tournament broadcast team of Jim Nantz, Grant Hill, Bill Raftery and reporter Tracy Wolfson will call the Oklahoma StateMichigan game at 11:15 a.m. Friday on CBS. Hill, 44, a former Duke and NBA guard, is a Turner Sports NCAA analyst who has strong NBA ties. He will be calling his third Final Four next month. He talked about the game, covering the tournament and the Oklahoma City Thunder in a phone interview Wednesday.
A: It’s going to be interesting. Michigan is playing great basketball right now. They are peaking at the right time, really having a great finish to their conference season and also the conference tournament. Oklahoma State is fascinating. They went through that awful tough stretch where they lost their first six conference games. Then things started to click and they have played great basketball since then. I think the pace of the game is going to be interesting. Michigan likes to score, but they sort of run opportunistically. They are not relentless at pushing the ball. While Oklahoma State, with (Jawun) Evans, and (Jeffrey) Carroll ... I think are going to have to really push the pace. Michigan has improved defensively, but that’s not their calling card. I think Oklahoma State — if they can push the pace, spread the court and if (Phil) Forte, Carroll and Evans can come up big — then they have a chance. I think defensively Oklahoma State has to be really sharp. I think the key is going to be the Evans-(Derrick) Walton matchup, two point guards playing at an elite level.
Oh yeah, it’s a blast. I’ve been fortunate. I’ve done already three college regular-season games. I did the Big Ten semis and finals. There’s something really special about college basketball and the tournament in particular, so these next three weeks are really special. I was fortunate to be a fan of it as a kid, to go to Final Fours with my dad (former NFL star running back Calvin Hill), to play in Final Fours and now I get to broadcast them, so I have lived the dream and am still living the dream. I’m pretty fortunate.
The Thunder has been able to stay relevant and in the mix. I think they will be a tough out in the playoffs. Westbrook has been sensational. The energy that he plays with is remarkable. Three or four years ago, when I first retired and got into television, I felt like he was unfairly criticized and sometimes was underappreciated by folks. I remember going on the air and saying that. I said this kid is unbelievable. He’s still learning a position. Wow, people were going on Twitter and attacking me like he’s not this, he’s not good. It’s good to see now where people value his greatness. He’s fun to watch. You almost expect greatness from him every time he steps on the court. And you know what, he’s been delivering every time he steps on the court. … I would say he’d be my MVP.