RIP Billy Packer

[navery12]

 

[ktuck911]

Called a lot of UConn MBB games including the '99 National Championship game. He will be missed.

 

[Billy Jack]

Al McGuire & Billy Packer. Fir a while they were as good as it got.

 

[karstenkibbe]

Great analyst. Polarizing. RIP Billy… and no, Chris Smith never carried the ball!

 

[Kitaman]

"Chris Smith carries the ball."

Łoved hearing him marvel at our teams. RIP

 

[mauconnfan]

RIP Billy Packer, good college hoops guy

 

[Devland]

RIP. I would have guessed was older than 82.

 

[Vuce]

"Chris Smith carries the ball."

Łoved hearing him marvel at our teams. RIP

I remember that. Used to get us all fired up. Packer, McGuire and Enberg calling games way back in the day. RIP

 

[HCCForever]

"Chris Smith carries the ball."

Łoved hearing him marvel at our teams. RIP

I remember that comment and the one about UConn being a "doughnut" team since they had no center. I don't remember if that was Packer or McGuire or someone else who made that last comment.

Packer was a very good guard for Wake and led them to Final Four in 1962 so no surprise that he had an ACC bias.

 

[Kathy]

RIP - he was the face of March Madness for a long time.
Never understood why he was on the subway platform after a Friday BE tournament quadruple header yelling for someone to tell him which line to get on - did CBS not provide him transportation? Told him to his face while we were waiting he was wrong on Chris Smith

 

[StllH8L8ner]

RIP. Many memories of his calling our games. The obsession with Chris’s carries and calling out players hanging on the rim after a dunk was always a bit strange to me but he was there for the call on many of our iconic moments.

 

[giddyup]

Was a giant voice of the game. I can hear it now. He had a way of capturing the intensity of the moment at basketball IQ level.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Truly one of the college basketball broadcasting legends. So many great memories. RIP Billy.

 

[Billy Jack]

RIP - he was the face of March Madness for a long time.
Never understood why he was on the subway platform after a Friday BE tournament quadruple header yelling for someone to tell him which line to get on - did CBS not provide him transportation? Told him to his face while we were waiting he was wrong on Chris Smith

He was actually right on Chris, who was at the beginning of the wave of players who stretched the rules of execution. As the rules enforcement people went along with it, the game has become almost unrecognizable to us old timers. I don’t know why they ever call a walk. It seems unfair since give so many other walks a pass.

 

[jake14mw]

Sad. I loved listening to Billy Packer.

 

[Umami Zen]

RIP Billy.. Was always fun to see Al bustin' on Billy with Dick playing the straight guy (and laughing under his breath).

 

[SoFla Steve]

RIP. He was a great broadcaster and the '99 NC game was special for me, but . . . I'll always remember him as an ACC homer.

 

[dogpause]

When I first discovered CBB, I was in MD and Lefty Driesell was the coach of the Terps. Seemed that Billy Packer was the announcer on so many of those ACC games. RIP Mr. Packer, and thank you.

 

[Pawsox]

Billy Packer and Jim Thacker were a big part of my early life growing up in Virginia in the 60s and 70s. I even go back to Bones McKinney who Billy replaced on the ACC games, brought to you by Pilot Life Insurance, "Sail with the Pilot". Billy and Jim were the only game in town and the main reason the ACC games were must see tv. It was the start of my hate for Dean Smith and that damn 4 corners offense.

 

[CL82]

You definitely could do worse for a commentator than packer. RIP.

 

[tentoes4rings]

Big loss, called so many big college hoop games for decades. RIP.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

RIP Billy
Although a homer , he is one of the few true basketball analyst .
I’ve been around the sport since the 1950’S and he almost never failed to teach me something. His analysis of the Chess match that was the 1999 NC game was almost as brilliant as the coaching. Possibly the best coached game in basketball history.
(It’s funny listening to people on this board diminishing Mike K’s ability )
and only someone like him could understand and explain the nuances. .
I hated him at the time but after watching a minimum of5-6 replays of the game I became a fan. The guy knew the sport .

 

[TheChamps990411]

RIP Legend

 

[boba]

"Wow, Trajan Langdon with the ball and he's going up a great defender. what's he doing here"?
I believe the word is: "traveling."

 

[Dove]

Fudgie!!!!!