ESPN play-by-play announcer Dave Pasch is no stranger to calling Arizona basketball games. But Sunday marked Pasch’s first time calling a Wildcats game in the NCAA Tournament, and did it ever deliver.
The Cats and Horned Frogs played in an overtime classic that ended with Arizona winning 85-80 and advancing to the Sweet 16.
The Chandler resident talked to the Star about Sunday's game, Christian Koloko's development — is he the next Giannis? — and why Tommy Lloyd is, in Pasch's words, "a star." Here's what he said:
What’s jumped out to you most about the Wildcats from broadcasting several Arizona games this season?
A: “I did not see Gonzaga in person, just watching them on television and doing the Pac-12 games in person. A lot of the games from other conferences I’m watching on TV, so it’s hard to evaluate everybody when you don’t see them in person.
"I feel like Arizona is the best team; they're the best team I've seen this season. And the game against TCU just proves that you're going to have games like that. If you're a great team, you have to find a way to win and you may have to do it again like that in the tournament. That was a team that showed a lot. I'm not sure if in years past how they would’ve handled that.”
You saw a lot of Arizona players last year when doing games. Who among that group has taken the biggest leap?
A: “(Christian) Koloko, certainly, is remarkable to watch his improvement the last couple of years and the game vs. TCU was the best I've ever seen him play offensively. We know about the shot blocks, but now he had six assists in the first round. Some of the moves he had in the low post, he didn't have that in his game before.
"We showed some clips on our broadcasts of him growing up and you just look at his body now compared to what it was, it’s almost Giannis-like. If you look at Giannis (Antetokounmpo) when he came into the league, and now he and Koloko are different players — Giannis does different things. But Koloko still can grow and is going to get better. But in terms of the transformation of the physique for Giannis, you can see that a little bit with Koloko.”
How has Bennedict Mathurin, a projected lottery pick in this year’s NBA draft, improved his draft stock?
A: “Mathurin clearly has improved and just talking to people I work with, (former NBA coach) PJ Carlesimo had him at the NBA Academy. Bill Walton, obviously doing a lot of games with Bill and we saw him last year. But clearly (Mathurin) is different this year.
"He’s more clutch, better in those big moments, and that's what you expect from a great player. Now it takes time: Last year, you're not the main guy; this year, you are the No. 1 option. And doing that in the big games is something that great players do."
You get some insight before broadcasts from the Arizona coaches. What makes Tommy Lloyd stand out compared to other coaches?
A: “I don't know if it's something that you don't see from other head coaches, but I think just how comfortable he is in this role. He was groomed for a head coaching job by being with Mark Few for two decades at Gonzaga and was perfectly content there, and probably doesn't leave for any job.
"But when you get an elite job like Arizona — and it is an elite job — you ask other coaches, and people in college basketball: Arizona is a great job and it's an opportunity that you can't pass up. So just to see how comfortable he is in that role, and I’m impressed with the way he manages people.
"He’s a star; he has a great way about him. What you see is what you get, and I like that."
Where does the Arizona-TCU game rank among craziest college basketball games you’ve been a part of?
A: “It’s certainly up there. Last year, that was the first year I'd done the NCAA Tournament in a while and it was in the bubble, so it was different. The last time I'd done the NCAA Tournament before that was 20 years ago when I was the Syracuse announcer.
"The craziness of the end: Was it a foul, was it not a foul? Was it a backward violation or not? And Dalen Terry, dunking it, but it's too late. The Mathurin dunk, the three-point play by Mathurin and the follow dunk by Koloko. There were some big moments and, as a broadcaster, that's what you love. That's why you do what you do, and you do it for all those big moments."
