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Say hello to ESPN's Crossover Wednesday.
The network will play role reversal this week as it invites college basketball broadcast legend Dick Vitale and NFL insider Adam Schefter to call a pair of NBA games. The two will headline a Freaky Wednesday, in which the company mixes and matches its NBA and college basketball announcers analysts on twin doubleheaders across ESPN and ESPN2.
For the NBA doubleheader, Vitale and Bill Walton will call LeBron James and the NBA champion Cavaliers vs. the Pacers (7 p.m. ET). The same duo was behind the mic for ESPN's first telecast of a high school game, when King James was a senior at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Ohio.
Dave Pasch, who calls college basketball, and reporter Lisa Salters will join them. ESPN3 will dedicate a camera feed strictly to Vitale, Walton and Pasch.
Then, Schefter will help call Knicks at Thunder (9:30 p.m. ET) with Ryan Ruocco, NBA analyst Jeff Van Gundy and analyst Dan Dakich, who primarily works college basketball. It will be Schefter and Dakich's first NBA telecasts.
It's something that Schefter, a longtime NBA fan, asked for and got in his last round of contract negotiations.
ESPN2's college doubleheader will also feature a mix of NBA/college broadcast talent. College basketball announcer Dave O’Brien will be joined by NBA analyst P.J. Carlesimo, analyst Kara Lawson and reporter Holly Rowe for Iowa State at Kansas State (7 p.m. ET). Then announcer Karl Ravech, NBA analyst Doug Collins, college basketball analyst Jay Bilas and and reporter Maria Taylor will team up for Duke vs. Virginia (9 p.m. ET).
Lee Fitting, ESPN's senior coordinating producer for college sports, says mixing NBA and college basketball announcers is a great way to keep on-air talent fresh.
"It's cool for the college basketball analysts to call an NBA game," Fitting said. "They get a chance to see players they covered for years now play in the league. This year with Vitale and Walton, they get to see LeBron again. Now Vitale and Walton called LeBron's first-ever game on ESPN in high school. So there's a cool little hook there."
ESPN tried the role reversal idea last season, according to Fitting. The talent loved it.
The difficulty is finding a date for which ESPN and ESPN2 both have NBA/college doubleheaders on the same night, Fitting said.
"When I talked to (Jay) Bilas and told him he was working with Doug Collins, he was over the moon. When Doug Collins heard he was doing a Duke game, he was thrilled. His son (Chris) obviously played at Duke," Fitting said. "I told Dan Dakich he's going to work with Jeff Van Gundy. He couldn't believe it. He's like, 'I get to call an NBA game — and work with Jeff Van Gundy? It's cool."
ESPN has only implemented the role reversal idea with NBA/college basketball. But it could apply to sports like football where ESPN owns dual pro/college TV rights.
How would you like to see college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit call a Patriots-Cowboys game on Monday Night Football? Or watch MNF analyst Jon Gruden call USC vs. Notre Dame?
Fitting would love to see it. But given the much smaller inventory of football games per season, he said it would be tough to pull off.
The network will play role reversal this week as it invites college basketball broadcast legend Dick Vitale and NFL insider Adam Schefter to call a pair of NBA games. The two will headline a Freaky Wednesday, in which the company mixes and matches its NBA and college basketball announcers analysts on twin doubleheaders across ESPN and ESPN2.
For the NBA doubleheader, Vitale and Bill Walton will call LeBron James and the NBA champion Cavaliers vs. the Pacers (7 p.m. ET). The same duo was behind the mic for ESPN's first telecast of a high school game, when King James was a senior at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Ohio.
Dave Pasch, who calls college basketball, and reporter Lisa Salters will join them. ESPN3 will dedicate a camera feed strictly to Vitale, Walton and Pasch.
Then, Schefter will help call Knicks at Thunder (9:30 p.m. ET) with Ryan Ruocco, NBA analyst Jeff Van Gundy and analyst Dan Dakich, who primarily works college basketball. It will be Schefter and Dakich's first NBA telecasts.
It's something that Schefter, a longtime NBA fan, asked for and got in his last round of contract negotiations.
ESPN2's college doubleheader will also feature a mix of NBA/college broadcast talent. College basketball announcer Dave O’Brien will be joined by NBA analyst P.J. Carlesimo, analyst Kara Lawson and reporter Holly Rowe for Iowa State at Kansas State (7 p.m. ET). Then announcer Karl Ravech, NBA analyst Doug Collins, college basketball analyst Jay Bilas and and reporter Maria Taylor will team up for Duke vs. Virginia (9 p.m. ET).
Lee Fitting, ESPN's senior coordinating producer for college sports, says mixing NBA and college basketball announcers is a great way to keep on-air talent fresh.
"It's cool for the college basketball analysts to call an NBA game," Fitting said. "They get a chance to see players they covered for years now play in the league. This year with Vitale and Walton, they get to see LeBron again. Now Vitale and Walton called LeBron's first-ever game on ESPN in high school. So there's a cool little hook there."
ESPN tried the role reversal idea last season, according to Fitting. The talent loved it.
The difficulty is finding a date for which ESPN and ESPN2 both have NBA/college doubleheaders on the same night, Fitting said.
"When I talked to (Jay) Bilas and told him he was working with Doug Collins, he was over the moon. When Doug Collins heard he was doing a Duke game, he was thrilled. His son (Chris) obviously played at Duke," Fitting said. "I told Dan Dakich he's going to work with Jeff Van Gundy. He couldn't believe it. He's like, 'I get to call an NBA game — and work with Jeff Van Gundy? It's cool."
ESPN has only implemented the role reversal idea with NBA/college basketball. But it could apply to sports like football where ESPN owns dual pro/college TV rights.
How would you like to see college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit call a Patriots-Cowboys game on Monday Night Football? Or watch MNF analyst Jon Gruden call USC vs. Notre Dame?
Fitting would love to see it. But given the much smaller inventory of football games per season, he said it would be tough to pull off.
