For about a decade (2002-2012), the trio of Sean McDonough, Jay Bilas, and Bill Raftery would entertain college basketball fans each Monday on ESPN during Big Monday or with their broadcasts at the Big East Tournament. Of course, most people remember the trio calling the memorable six-overtime game in 2009 between Syracuse and Connecticut.
The trio joined the Big East Rewind Zoomcast, which was the show’s 100th episode, and Raftery (now at FOX) mentioned that the broadcast for him highlighted how important McDonough is at ESPN and that it was a great thing to watch a play-by-play man in action.
“The thought I’ve had ever since. We all knew how talented Sean was and I don’t think ESPN appreciated him enough,” said Raftery. “That game I think solidified, not that he needed any pat on the back, his career. They knew they had a gem. It was his show. It was a play-by-play man’s delight. The action, the turmoil, the competitiveness.”
Bilas echoed the same thoughts and thought it was a master class in how a broadcaster could meet the moment in a classic game like that. He was also proud that neither him nor Raftery stepped on any one of his calls as the overtimes kept progressing.
“We are all really proud of the broadcast. It was somewhat of an unremarkable game up until the overtimes started. I think if the game had ended in regulation, we would have been like it was just another really good Big East Tournament game,” Bilas said. “What a pleasure it was to listen to Sean work. The pride that Raf and I took was we did not get in the way of his calls. It was just a master class in meeting the moment. It was a stunning thing to be a part of.
“That’s the beauty of working with Sean. He did all the heavy lifting and then Raf and I could just jump in here and there. It was easy for us. The beauty of that trio was I really enjoyed everything on the air, but it was off the air that made it off-the-charts fun. We were always laughing, god forbid you would make a mistake because the other two would jump you and never let it go.”
McDonough mentioned that he remembers when Raftery told him he was thinking of leaving ESPN for FOX. While McDonaugh was sad, he said that working with both him and Bilas was great because either the gamer would be fun or they would be able to make a less interesting game fun for the viewer.
“I remember when Bill called and he said he was thinking about leaving ESPN. It was a much better deal. I said we will come visit you, you have to go. But, it was really sad. I don’t want to offend anyone, but I know it’s fair to say I knew at that moment I will never have as much fun doing this with any group in any sport as I did with these two,” McDonough said. “You couldn’t have had more fun. You looked forward to Sunday when you were heading out because you were going to be with two of your best friends and people you loved and admired the most. You knew you were going to be a part of an entertaining show. If the game was great, these guys had all the great information. If it wasn’t, we would try to make it fun.”
As for Bilas, the journey got him to do something he didn’t like doing before a game, which was going into the locker room. He saw Raftery was not going into the locker room pregame for more information, but instead to catch up with people.
“Raftery couldn’t wait to go into the arena. I never wanted to go into the locker room before a game, but Raftery went in and he wanted to see people because he genuinely loved them. It wasn’t because he was looking for information. Everyone in those arenas were friends. Through Sean and Raftery, especially in the Big East, which I was somewhat of a newbie to, I was able to develop friendships because of the friendships he has.”
