Filed under: West Virginia Basketball, Big East Basketball, NCAA Basketball Media Watch, ESPN
West Virginia's Joe Alexander had a phenomenal game today, scoring a career-high 34 points and leading West Virginia to a 78-72 victory over UConn in the Big East tournament. Here's how ESPN's studio analysts discussed Alexander:
Analyst Tom Brennan said, "He's turning into Larry Bird right in front of us."
Doug Gottlieb replied, "When it's West Virginia, you don't say Larry Bird, you say Jerry West."
When Brennan pointed out that Alexander is closer in size to Bird than he is to West, Gottlieb said, "He's nothing like Bird," and then paused and said, "He's nothing like Jerry West, either."
So, according to Gottlieb, Alexander is nothing like either Larry Bird or Jerry West, and yet those are the two players the ESPN analysts just compared him to. Any guesses as to why?
Obviously, it's because Alexander, Bird and West are all white. It's a strange thing about sports announcing that broadcasters almost always compare athletes to other athletes of the same skin color or ethnic background. Even if Alexander is "nothing like" Bird or West, I have a feeling this isn't the last time he'll be compared to them.
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