RIP Billy Packer

[DrJay]

I saw NotDutra5's post on the college basketball thread, but thought this deserved its own. He was a pleasure to listen to. He was interviewed some for ESPN's The Tournament: A History of ACC Men's Basketball and watching him there was fun.

https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/legendary-college-basketball-analyst-billy-packer-who-called-34-final-fours-dies-at-82/

[Adam$]

As a test of my memory I think i recall hearing that "Packer" wasn't his given surname. His family might have been from the Balkans. I can hear Billy telling the Bird led ISU team that he couldn't vote them 1 because they 'hadn't played a top 10 team in their schedule.'

[dukehjsteve]

As a frosh at Duke in 1962, I remember Billy as a guard for Wake Forest.

[JumboElliott]

Billy lost a step in his later years and stayed on air for longer than he should have (see also Joe Morgan and Tim McCarver in baseball) but was a very good broadcaster in his prime.

[NotDutra5]

Billy lost a step in his later years and stayed on air for longer than he should have (see also Joe Morgan and Tim McCarver in baseball) but was a very good broadcaster in his prime.

That's true and you can add Dick Vitale to the list. He has enough of a fan club though that ESPN would never let him go. Tomorrow's Texas/Tennessee matchup has been previewed as "with Dickie V" by ESPN. Thanks for the warning.

[bambam1729]

Packer was really controversial in ACC country and apparently was somewhat of a jerk personally, although I never met him. He started in sports broadcasting for the local ACC syndicated network in the Carolinas - Raycom Jefferson-Pilot. I did some work for Jefferson-Pilot before Atlanta 1996 and the guys I worked with (the production crew) also worked for Packer on basketball broadcasts and told me they could not stand him.

On The Athletic there were a couple stories about Packer and one of the comments about him was a classic: "Say only good things about the dead. He's dead. Good."

[cladthin]

Packer was really controversial in ACC country and apparently was somewhat of a jerk personally, although I never met him. He started in sports broadcasting for the local ACC syndicated network in the Carolinas - Raycom Jefferson-Pilot. I did some work for Jefferson-Pilot before Atlanta 1996 and the guys I worked with (the production crew) also worked for Packer on basketball broadcasts and told me they could not stand him.

On The Athletic there were a couple stories about Packer and one of the comments about him was a classic: "Say only good things about the dead. He's dead. Good."

I have heard the jerk description from some people that I knew who lived in his subdivision/golf community-Bermuda Run in Advance, NC outside of Winston-Salem.