John Kenneth Andariese (August 19, 1938 – March 13, 2017), nicknamed "Johnny Hoops", was a New York

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

analyst on both radio and television for more than 40 years. Andariese broadcast for the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

and announced some of the most memorable Knicks games ever played.John Andariese
/ref> He also is well known for hosting ''NBA Legends with Johnny Hoops'' on

NBA TV NBA TV is an American sports-oriented pay television network owned by the National Basketball Association (NBA) and operated by Warner Bros. Discovery through its sports unit. Dedicated to basketball, the network features exhibition, regular ...

Playing career

Andariese played college basketball for the

Fordham Rams The Fordham Rams are the varsity sports teams for Fordham University. Their colors are maroon and white. The Fordham Rams are members of NCAA Division I and compete in the Atlantic 10 Conference for most sports. In football, the Rams play in t ...

under coach

Johnny Bach John William Bach (July 10, 1924 – January 18, 2016) was an American professional basketball player and coach. A forward/guard, Bach played college basketball at Fordham University and Brown University. He was selected by the Boston Celtics i ...

from 1956 to 1960. He was a three time All-City player during those years. Andariese led his team to two

National Invitational Tournament The National Invitational Tournament (NIT) is a men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Played at regional sites and traditionally at Madison Square Garden (Final Four) in New York City ...

s and was team captain during his senior year at Fordham. In his senior year, he averaged 13.0 points and 8.7 rebounds per game.

After graduation

Andariese was a star player during his college days. After graduating from Fordham, he served in the U.S. Army, and later played for the

Allentown Jets The Allentown Jets were a minor league basketball team that played in the Eastern Professional Basketball League (later the Eastern Basketball Association and Continental Basketball Association) from 1958 to 1981. The team was one of the most succ ...

of the

Eastern Professional Basketball League The Continental Basketball Association (CBA) (originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association) was a men's professional basketball mi ...

Broadcasting career

Andariese's broadcasting career began with college games in the 1968–69 season before he joined the Knicks as a radio analyst for the 1972–73 season, where he teamed with

Marv Albert Marv Albert (born Marvin Philip Aufrichtig; June 12, 1941) is an American retired sportscaster. Honored for his work as a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, he was commonly referred to as "the voice of basketball". From 1967 to 2004, he ...

, who had been calling the play-by-play since 1967. He was paired with Albert through the 1976–1977 season, and again from 1982 to 1986 and 1998 to 2014, and is well represented on the

list of New York Knicks broadcasters Television 2010s 2000s 1990s 1980s Zmsmsks 1970s 1960s 1950s 1940s Substitutes Play-by-play *Marty Glickman (1969-1970) *Spencer Ross (1974-1977) * Tim Ryan (1974-1977) * Bruce Beck (1980-1998) * Al Albert (1982-1983) * Sam Rosen (19 ...

in both radio and television.

National work

In 1983, Andariese became the first

color commentator A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The phrase "colour commentator" is primarily used in Canadian English and t ...

for the ''

NBA on ESPN The ''NBA on ESPN'' is the branding used for the presentation of National Basketball Association (NBA) games on the ESPN family of networks. The ESPN cable network first televised NBA games from 1982 until 1984, and has been airing games curren ...

''. When ESPN lost its NBA contract, he joined the ''

NBA on TBS The ''NBA on TBS'' is an American presentation of National Basketball Association (NBA) regular season and playoff game telecasts that aired on the American cable and satellite network TBS. The games were produced by Turner Sports, the sports d ...

'', where he broadcast games nationally from

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

. He was part of TBS' coverage of the

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

and

NBA Eastern Conference Finals The National Basketball Association Conference Finals are the Eastern and Western championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA), a major professional basketball league in North America. The NBA was founded in 1946 as the Ba ...

with

Skip Caray Harry Christopher "Skip" Caray Jr. (August 12, 1939 – August 3, 2008) was an American sportscaster, best known for his long career as a radio and television play-by-play announcer for the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball. He was the son ...

. He also spent ten years as a

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

analyst for

NBC Sports NBC Sports is an American programming division of the broadcast network NBC, owned and operated by NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal and subsidiary of Comcast. The division is responsible for sports broadcasts on the network, and its d ...

. Andariese was also one of the first collegiate basketball color analysts for ESPN. He later became co-host of NBA2Night with

Greg Gumbel Greg Gumbel (born May 3, 1946) is an American television sportscaster. He is best known for his various assignments for CBS Sports (most notably, the National Football League and NCAA basketball). The older brother of news and sportscaster Bryan ...

. Unlike most NBA analysts, he never played or coached professionally.

Return to the Knicks' broadcasting team

Andariese rejoined the Knicks' television broadcasting team in

as the team's analyst on the

MSG Network The MSG Network (MSG) is an American regional cable and satellite television network, and radio service owned by MSG Entertainment, Inc.—a spin-off of the main Madison Square Garden Company operation (itself a spin-off of local cable provider ...

. He remained on the Knicks television broadcasts until

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

, when he was replaced by radio analyst

Walt Frazier Walter "Clyde" Frazier Jr. (born March 29, 1945) is an American former professional basketball player of the National Basketball Association (NBA). As their floor general and top perimeter defender, he led the New York Knicks to the franchise's ...

. This allowed Andariese to reunite with Albert on the Knicks' radio broadcasts. Andariese also worked alongside Gus Johnson. For the 2010–11 season, he began working with Mike Crispino. Andariese was a key part of the Knicks' coverage, and was known for announcing some of the most memorable moments in Knicks basketball. He retired in 2012.

Television broadcasting

* 1986–89 –

WWOR-TV WWOR-TV (channel 9) is a television station licensed to Secaucus, New Jersey, United States, serving the New York City area as the Flagship (broadcasting), flagship of MyNetworkTV. It is owned-and-operated station, owned and operated by Fox Te ...

color commentator John Andariese with play-by-play Marv Albert * 1989–97 – MSG Network color commentator John Andariese with play-by-play Marv Albert * 1997–98 – MSG Network color commentator John Andariese with play-by-play

Mike Breen Michael Breen (born May 22, 1961) is an American play-by-play sports commentator for '' NBA on ABC'' and is the lead announcer for New York Knicks games on the MSG Network. Breen also calls NBA games for ESPN and was formerly a play-by-play anno ...

Radio broadcasting

* 1972–74 – WNBC-FM – John Andariese and Marv Albert * 1974–76 – WNEW – John Andariese and Marv Albert * 1982–84 – WNEW – John Andariese and Marv Albert * 1984–85 – WPAT – John Andariese and Marv Albert * 1985–86 – WNBC – John Andariese and Marv Albert * 1998–2000 – WFAN – John Andariese and Marv Albert * 2000–04 – WFAN – John Andariese and Mike Breen * 2004–05 – WFAN – John Andariese and Gus Johnson * 2005–10 – WEPN – John Andariese and Gus Johnson * 2010–14 – WEPN-FM – John Andriese and

Spero Dedes Spero is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Anthony Spero (1929-2008), American criminal *David Spero (born 1951), American DJ and music manager *Deborah Spero, American law enforcement official *Donald Spero (born 1939), American ...

Business career

Andariese was the chief executive officer and founder of TViMedia, an advertising sales company based in Manhattan, New York.

Awards

Andariese was inducted into the Fordham Basketball Hall of Fame in 1978, the

New York City Basketball Hall of Fame The New York City Basketball Hall of Fame is a hall of fame that celebrates over 120 years of basketball in New York by recognizing and honoring the best basketball players, basketball coaches, coaches, basketball referees, referees, basketball ...

in 2009 and

The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and prese ...

as a Curt Gowdy Award winner of 2014. Andariese died on March 13, 2017, at age 78.

Quotes

"After what seems like a lifetime behind the microphone and having the good fortune and privilege to be part of nearly 40 years of Knicks' history, I've decided it's time to step away to spend time with my wonderful wife Maureen, my three beautiful daughters and my four grandchildren... I've been blessed to be able to cover one of the greatest sports teams on the planet, one with the most knowledgeable and passionate fans. It's now time to shift my focus to my family and my position as CEO of TVI Media. I'm grateful to MSG Networks and the Knicks for giving me this wonderful opportunity and for all of the love and affection shown to me by our New York basketball savvy fans, who have been such an important part of my life. I'm pleased beyond words to have been able to share my enthusiasm and passion for Knicks basketball with them. I'll miss you all."

References

External links

MSG Network profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Andariese, John 1938 births 2017 deaths American color commentators American men's basketball players College basketball announcers in the United States ESPN announcers Fordham Rams men's basketball players Gabelli School of Business alumni National Basketball Association broadcasters New York Knicks announcers People from Brooklyn Television personalities from New York City