{"id":544252,"date":"2023-01-27T07:54:26","date_gmt":"2023-01-27T04:54:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/billy-packer-provocative-college-basketball-broadcaster-dies-at-82\/"},"modified":"2023-01-27T07:54:26","modified_gmt":"2023-01-27T04:54:26","slug":"billy-packer-provocative-college-basketball-broadcaster-dies-at-82","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/billy-packer-provocative-college-basketball-broadcaster-dies-at-82\/","title":{"rendered":"#Billy Packer, Provocative College Basketball Broadcaster, Dies at 82"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3cd897a2499\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3cd897a2499\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/billy-packer-provocative-college-basketball-broadcaster-dies-at-82\/#Billy_Packer_Provocative_College_Basketball_Broadcaster_Dies_at_82\" >Billy Packer, Provocative College Basketball Broadcaster, Dies at 82<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Billy_Packer_Provocative_College_Basketball_Broadcaster_Dies_at_82\"><\/span>Billy Packer, Provocative College Basketball Broadcaster, Dies at 82<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div>\n<p>                    Billy Packer, whose caustic style and sharp insights as college basketball\u2019s premier television analyst generated compliments as well as criticism for more than three decades, has died. He was 82.<\/p>\n<p>Packer died of kidney failure after being hospitalized for the past three weeks in Charlotte, North Carolina, his son Mark told the Associated Press.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The Packer Family would like to share some sad <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a>. Our amazing father, Billy, has passed. We take peace knowing that he\u2019s in heaven with Barb. RIP, Billy. \ud83d\ude4f\ud83c\udffb <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/uFRixmgCcd\">pic.twitter.com\/uFRixmgCcd<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Mark Packer (@MarkPacker) <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MarkPacker\/status\/1618810076533243904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 27, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>From 1975-2008, Packer was a fixture on NCAA Tournament telecasts for NBC and then CBS. He also covered Atlantic Coast Conference <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/game\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"7\" title=\"Game\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">game<\/a>s for Raycom Sports and received a Sports Emmy Award in 1993.<\/p>\n<p>Packer\u2019s basketball acumen was developed at Wake Forest University, where he led the Demon Deacons to the 1962 Final Four as a heady 5-foot-9 point guard who averaged 14 points. He was an assistant coach at the school for five years before beginning his career as a broadcaster in 1972 in Raleigh, North Carolina.<\/p>\n<p>At NBC, Packer teamed with play-by-play announcers Curt Gowdy and Dick Enberg on college broadcasts, often working with fellow analyst Al McGuire. When he moved to CBS in 1981, his telecast partners included Brent Musburger, Jim Nantz, Verne Lundquist and Enberg.<\/p>\n<p>At times, Packer found himself on the defensive for his candid on-air <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>roach. He could also take an unconventional stance away from his broadcasts, once hiring a psychic to find the weapon used in the O.J. Simpson murder case.<\/p>\n<p>Packer also helped assemble a legal defense fund for accused 1996 Olympic bomber Richard Jewell. A few months later, federal authorities cleared the Atlanta security guard of all charges.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>During a 1996 game between Villanova University and Georgetown University, Packer referred to Hoyas standout guard Allen Iverson as a \u201ctough monkey.\u201d He apologized, even though Iverson and Georgetown coach John Thompson, both African Americans, said they were not offended by the on-air remark.<\/p>\n<p>In 2000, when entering Duke\u2019s Cameron Indoor Stadium, Packer was asked by some female students to show his press pass. His alleged response: \u201cSince when do we let women control who gets into a men\u2019s basketball game? Why don\u2019t you go find a women\u2019s game to let people into?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Once again, Packer <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/static.espn.go.com\/ncb\/news\/20000307\/00406494.html\">said<\/a> he was sorry.<\/p>\n<p>Undeterred, Packer continued to make news with provocative views. In 2005, he credited subpar lighting at Allen Fieldhouse as a factor in the University of Kansas\u2019 success on its home floor. A year later, he ripped NCAA Tournament officials for including several mid-major teams at the expense of worthy schools from larger conferences.<\/p>\n<p>In a semifinal game at the 2008 Final Four, Kansas raced to a 38-12 advantage against North Carolina, prompting Packer to declare, \u201cThis game is over.\u201d The contest was just 13 minutes old. The Tar Heels rallied to within four points midway through the second half before the Jayhawks pulled away for an 84-66 triumph.<\/p>\n<p>Although his premature assessment might have prompted some CBS viewers to change the channel, Packer this time was unapologetic.\u00a0\u201cMy job is to say what I see, not have some kind of subconscious feelings about offending anybody,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>A little more than three months later, CBS announced that Clark Kellogg would replace Packer, ending his 27-year run as the network\u2019s lead college basketball analyst. \u201cThe decision was made with myself and CBS over a year ago,\u201d Packer <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/mens-college-basketball\/news\/story?id=3485871\">said<\/a>. \u201cTheir timing to announce it is their business.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Packer said he was happy for Kellogg, a former star at Ohio State who had worked at CBS for 16 years. \u201cI have had a chance to broadcast most of the great games since college basketball got on national television, and I\u2019m not interested in broadcasting any more games,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Packer left an indelible mark on college hoops upon his departure.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe only word to describe Billy is a giant,\u201d former Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese said then. \u201cHis passion for the game and presenting it the way he presented it is, I think, unrivaled. This creates an incredible void.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He was born Anthony William Paczkowski in Wellsville, New York, on Feb. 25, 1940. His father, Tony, was the head coach of Lehigh University\u2019s men\u2019s basketball team from 1950-66. The family changed the Polish surname to Packer before Billy attended Liberty High School in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n<p>He always wanted to play basketball at Duke, so his dad called the school to tell them his son was on the way.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe gets on the phone and tells me that Duke is trying to decide between me and another guy; they\u2019ll let me know in a few weeks,\u201d Packer <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/magazine.wfu.edu\/2012\/10\/22\/hoop-dreams-the-1962-final-four-team\/\">recalled<\/a>. \u201cI said call them back and tell them I\u2019m going to Wake Forest and [going to] beat that kid. My mother said you don\u2019t know anything about Wake Forest. I said I know they play Duke, and that\u2019s why I\u2019m going [there].\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Packer joined NBC in 1975 to replace Tommy Hawkins as the lead college basketball analyst alongside Gowdy.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In place at NBC from 1977-81, the Enberg-Packer-McGuire tandem \u2014 they worked the landmark 1979 title game between Magic Johnson\u2019s Michigan State University and Larry Bird\u2019s Indiana State University \u2014 was hailed as one of the game\u2019s best ever.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe really did look at basketball in different ways,\u201d Packer <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.jsonline.com\/story\/sports\/college\/marquette\/2017\/02\/11\/al-mcguire-king-television-court-too\/97601292\/\">said<\/a> of former Marquette University coach McGuire in a 2017 interview. \u201cPeople actually thought we didn\u2019t like each other. But they thought it was neat to watch a game with us. Then people thought we prearranged the arguments. It was spontaneous.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Packer was also a prolific author, combining with Roland Lazenby on 1985\u2019s\u00a0<em>Hoops: Confessions of a College Basketball Analyst\u00a0<\/em>and 1987\u2019s\u00a0<em>Fifty Years of the Final Four<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>In a 2018 interview with\u00a0<em>Sports Broadcast Journal<\/em>, Packer <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.sportsbroadcastjournal.com\/billy-packer-hasnt-attended-basketball-game-in-10-years\/\">acknowledged<\/a> that he hadn\u2019t attended a basketball game or watched one in its entirety in the decade since he and CBS parted ways.<\/p>\n<p>Packer was proud of his disdain for <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">social media<\/a>. He said he didn\u2019t own a computer, a Twitter account or an email. His cellphone was used only for emergencies.<\/p>\n<p>The first NCAA Tournament that Packer worked as a TV analyst concluded with John Wooden\u2019s final championship at UCLA in 1975. Like Wooden, Packer shared a love for basketball fundamentals, so he was frustrated to see so many talented freshmen move on to the NBA instead of honing their skills on the college level.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat people don\u2019t understand is that the game has deteriorated greatly because there are no more great junior and senior players,\u201d Packer <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.charlotteobserver.com\/sports\/college\/mens-basketball\/article16755932.html\">said<\/a>. \u201cThere\u2019s no comparison between a freshman who has potential and a guy that\u2019s played within a system for a major coach.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Packer and his late wife, Barbara, were longtime residents of North Carolina, and two of their sons work in the media: Brandt Packer as a producer for Golf Channel and Mark as an ACC Network host.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Rest in Peace to the most incredible Dad, mentor and best friend. My entire life I always tried to emulate him \u2013 how to be a husband, father, to prep for a telecast, you name it, he was the bar for me. Just crushed. But we have peace knowing Billy is in Heaven tonight with Barb <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/xdM6pi2a2P\">pic.twitter.com\/xdM6pi2a2P<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Brandt Packer (@BPACKERVOLS) <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BPACKERVOLS\/status\/1618810536585748480?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 27, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><script type=\"text\/plain\" class=\"optanon-category-C0004\">\n!function(f, b, e, v, n, t, s) {\nif (f.fbq) return;\nn = f.fbq = function() {n.callMethod ? n.callMethod.apply(n, arguments) : n.queue.push(arguments);};\nif (!f._fbq) f._fbq = n;\nn.push = n;\nn.loaded = !0;\nn.version = '2.0';\nn.queue = [];\nt = b.createElement(e);\nt.async = !0;\nt.src = v;\ns = b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\ns.parentNode.insertBefore(t, s);\n}(window, document, 'script', 'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\nfbq('init', '352999048212581');\nfbq('track', 'PageView');\n<\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. 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He was 82. Packer died of kidney failure after being hospitalized for the past three weeks in Charlotte, North&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":544253,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/gettyimages-84260814-h_2019.jpg?w=1024","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[5200],"class_list":["post-544252","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-social-mediaa","tag-obituaries"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/544252","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=544252"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/544252\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/544253"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=544252"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=544252"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=544252"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}