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Luke Walton’s debut as a college basketball analyst on Fox Sports today increases the total of former Arizona Wildcat athletes and personalities on the sports airwaves to 15.
Walton, the son of Hall of Famer and ESPN analyst Bill Walton, provided color commentary during Oregon’s 93-83 victory over Oregon State at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene, Ore.
Almost 1 hour of airtime and Luke Walton has made not one reference to psychedelics. Does "Honor thy father and mother" mean nothing to him?
— Sarah Kezele (@SarahKezele) February 16, 2014
The younger Walton was straightforward in his analysis, unlike his legendary father Bill, who at times talks about Jimi Hendrix and the Grateful Dead and many other subjects unrelated to hoops. The older Walton also has flair for the hyperbole. The younger Walton is just getting his feet wet.
A couple of hours after Luke Walton finished his analysis of the Ducks’ victory, former Wildcat forward Corey Williams provided analysis for ESPNU during the Colorado-USC game. Steve Kerr later served as an analyst during the NBA All-Star Game on TNT.
Former Arizona football player Antonio Pierce will keep his position as an NFL studio analyst with ESPN despite taking over the Long Beach Poly High School program as the head coach earlier this month.
In an interview published at Giants.com, Pierce, a former New York Giants standout, compared his working situation with that of some of his ESPN colleagues.
“It’s no different than I guess Keyshawn Johnson coaching over there at Mission (Viejo High in California) and Mark Brunell coaching in Jacksonville and a couple other guys coaching — Eric Allen in San Diego,” Pierce said. “So I’ll just be another guy that happens to be at Long Beach Poly.”
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Luke Walton
WILDCATS BEHIND THE MIC
a-Alex Flanagan, an Arizona and Salpointe Catholic grad, is an NFL sideline reporter for NBC and studio anchor for the NFL network. She is married to former Arizona basketball player Kevin Flanagan.
b-Dan Hicks, a Tucson native, attended Arizona but was not an athlete. He also broadcasts Notre Dame football games and the Olympics for NBC.
c-Steve Kerr also broadcasts the NCAA tournament, including the Final Four and championship games on CBS.
Note-Terry Francona was a commentator for ESPN before re-joining baseball as the manager of the Cleveland Indians.
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WILDABOUTAZCATS.net publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He also writes articles for Bleacher Report and Lindy’s College Sports.
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