Tim Capstraw (born September 14, 1960), nicknamed The Capper, is a

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 person may also be referred to as a summariser (outside North America) ...

for the

Brooklyn Nets The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Nets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), ...

and

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 TNT Sports. Dedicated to basketball, the network features exhibition, regular se ...

. Prior to becoming a sportscaster, Capstraw was the head basketball coach at Wagner College from 1989 to 1999.

Coaching

Capstraw was born and raised

Utica, New York Utica () is the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The tenth-most populous city in New York, its population was 65,283 in the 2020 census. It is located on the Mohawk River in the Mohawk Valley at the foot of the Adiro ...

and graduated from the Utica Free Academy. He graduated from Wagner College in 1982 and the following year, at only 23 years old, he became the school's head baseball coach. In 1985 he became a basketball assistant at

Siena College Siena College is a Private college, private Franciscan college in Loudonville, New York, United States. It was founded by the Order of Friars Minor in 1937 and is named after the Franciscan friar Bernardino of Siena. The college enrolls approxi ...

. In 1989, Capstraw returned to Wagner as head basketball coach. At the age of 29, he was the youngest coach in Division I. At Wagner, Capstraw had a 117–164 record and no NCAA tournament or NIT bids. He was the 1992 Northeast Conference Men's Basketball Coach of the Year.

Broadcasting

Capstraw's broadcasting career began with a three-year stint as a television and radio analyst for the Northeast Conference. During the 2001–02 season he was a television analyst for the

Atlantic 10 Conference The Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose schools compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I. The A-10's member schools are located most ...

. He joined the Nets Radio broadcasts in the 2002-03 NBA season. He has also filled in on

YES Network The Yankee Entertainment and Sports Network (YES) is an American pay television regional sports network owned by Yankee Global Enterprises (the largest shareholder with 26%), Main Street Sports Group (which owns 20%), Amazon (which owns 15% ...

's Nets telecasts. In addition to his work on Nets broadcasts, Capstraw serves as NBA TV's lead analyst for their

Euroleague The EuroLeague is a European men's professional basketball club competition. The league is widely recognised as the top-tier and the most prestigious men's basketball league in Europe. The league consists of 20 teams, of which 16 are given lon ...

broadcasts and several other international championships, including the 2004

FIBA The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French language, French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. FIBA defines the rules of basketball, specifies the Basketball equipment ...

Diamond Ball Tournament, the 2003

EuroBasket EuroBasket, also commonly referred to as the European Basketball Championship, is the main international basketball competition that is contested quadrennially, by the senior men's national teams that are governed by FIBA Europe, which is the E ...

tournament, and the 2003 FIBA Asia Championship. In 2006, he worked on NBA TV's coverage of the Las Vegas Summer League. He was a color commentator for NBC's basketball coverage at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

References

1960 births Living people Basketball coaches from New Jersey New Jersey Nets announcers Siena Saints men's basketball coaches Wagner College alumni Wagner Seahawks baseball coaches Wagner Seahawks men's basketball coaches {{US-basketball-coach-stub