For at least one night, Dick Vitale is moving back to the pros.
On January 7, ESPN will switch its NBA and college basketball announcing teams. NBA analysts Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy will work what figures to be a very high-profile game between Duke and Davidson, while college basketball analyst Dick Vitale will be behind the mic for the the Heat/Nuggets game that follows.
Vitale, who once coached the Detroit Pistons, has been an analyst on NBA games in the past — though he rejected an overture from ESPN to work the 2004 Eastern Conference Finals. Meanwhile, neither Jackson nor Van Gundy has called a college basketball game.
The play-by-play men for the games have worked both pro and college contests. Mike Tirico, working Duke/Davidson with Jackson and Van Gundy, called NCAA contests prior to ESPN gaining the rights to the NBA. Dan Shulman, paired with Vitale on Heat/Nuggets, currently broadcasts both pro and college games.
Link to USA Today article found via Awful Announcing.
