Verne Lundquist

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Verne, Baby, Verne
Veteran CBS Announcer Discusses Game Preparation,
Working With Al McGuire And Randy Cross' future.

By George Stahl

NEW YORK (AQB)--While players from four schools Thursday got used to the rims and floor at the Meadowlands, site of the men's East Regional finals, CBS announcer Verne Lundquist got used to watching the participants from his courtside seat.

"This is an invaluable day," the 58-year-old veteran sportscaster said. "I'll sit here and watch these guys, and I'm just trying to put names and faces together.

"Then, the [school's sports information director] will come over," Lundquist said, "and he'll give me a couple paragraphs about each guy.

His partner, Al McGuire, is doing the same thing, except he is talking shop with the assistant coaches and head coaches from the four teams in the East Regional semifinals - Duke, Temple, Purdue and Southwest Missouri State.

"This day is very critical," Lundquist said. "but it's so much easier for us this week because we're doing two of the teams we've done before [Duke and Southwest Missouri State]. In my case, I had Purdue earlier in the year, so I know them pretty well."

"Last week was really tough."

Lundquist, like the other first-round announcers, had to quickly learn about eight mostly unfamiliar teams in preparation for a four-games-in-one-day test.

"It's not so tough once the games start. The toughest day for me is a day like this." Practice day last week lasted from noon to 9 p.m. and involved eight teams. That's a lot of names to put with a lot of faces.

Another face Lundquist had to get used to was the mug of his new partner, Al McGuire (left), whom he had never worked with in the NCAA Tournament before. The two did a few regular season games a few years ago and renewed acquaintances by doing the Connecticut-Syracuse game in the last week of the regular season.

"Because we had not worked together, the timing was off. We stepped on each other probably five or six times in the course of one broadcast," Lundquist said. "But you learn a rhythm, and you learn to anticipate - you hope you can anticipate - when a guy is going to start at though or finish it."

"By last week, it was not a problem at all."

And how is it working with the often outspoken and outrageous McGuire?

"It's a little bit of a challenge to just listen and wonder where he is going to go. But that's part of the fun, too.

"You learn to duck and hide," Lundquist quipped.

Lundquist, though, is used to adjusting to partners, having worked with plenty of them through his various roles at CBS and Turner Sports.

"I think you defer to the guy who's the expert, and that's not to say you become deferential. You don't want to become obsequious. You want to approach the broadcast as an equal partner with the guy you're with."

Lundquist realizes that most people aren't interested in his opinion.

"A lot of guys, I think, have a subjective feeling that a sporting event provides them with a forum for their thoughts. I've never believed that that's what my role was.

"I think I'm there to try to enhance someone's enjoyment of the telecast, and a part of that enjoyment is to listen to the guy who is the expert and to play off of him."

The unknown for Lundquist is whether he will work again with NFL analyst Randy Cross (left) this upcoming season. Speculation is that CBS will move the his partner to the studio to help the ailing NFL Today show.

Lundquist, though, thinks Cross will remain with him in the broadcast booth.

"My guess is - and it's just a guess - that it'll be Randy. I think [CBS officials] feel very comfortable with Greg [Gumbel] and Phil [Simms], and Randy and me."

Lundquist said, "If they don't have the guy to replace him that they think they need, then I think they'll keep him where he is.

"But I don't know that [for sure]."

Lundquist said he expects to find out more next week, when he and Cross tape a "Superstars" show in Montego Bay.

A week in Jamaica? As Lundquist might say, "Oh my!"

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