Looking for someone to fill your Gus Johnson fix before the NCAA Tournament officially kicks off? This high school announcer might have just the stuff.
As first noted by Sean Leahy of Puck Daddy fame for Deadspin, Chicago (Ill.) Marist High won a regional title on Friday night thanks to the game-winning three you see above by Lexus "Hot Rod" Williams, which lifted the Redhawks to a 63-62 win against Chicago (Ill.) Curie High. While the shot itself may not have been the most amazing of the year, the nickname of the player involved (as noted by Awful Announcing) and the call of the bucket -- and the defensive stop on the subsequent possession -- certainly were.
According to Awful Announcing, the play-by-play man who almost certainly needed a vocal chord scraping after this call is a man named Brian Snow. What Snow lacks in originality, he more than makes up for in volume and a pitch which Leahy, for one, has compared with Miss Piggy.
In case your ear drums burst while listening to this the first time through, here's how Snow called the final two possessions of Marist's win.
"Three, Williams ... YESSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!"
"An unbelievable shot by Hot Rod Williams! He drills a three from the right wing, and Marist has the lead with 2.4 left! Unbelievable!"
We should take stock here to note that the shot was hardly unbelievable. In fact, it was utterly believable, a well-run and diagrammed play which used penetration and ball movement to leave Williams open just behind the arc on the right side. Luckily, it still qualified as unbelievable for Snow.
Yet it was just after Williams' bucket when Snow really went over the top.
"You are watching what greatness is all about in the IHSAA, y'all! Whooo! I mean, Marist has scratched and clawed ... these two teams scratching and clawing all night."
"My word. What a job by the Redhawks. You would think they'd call a time out, but they did not."
"Oh my God this place is jumping! ... Two, one, Foster let's it go from center court, NOOOOO! HAWKS WIN!!!!!!! HAWKS WIN!!!!!! HAWKS WIN!!!!!"
Obviously, it's on that last screeching screed Snow most closely resembles Miss Piggy. In fact, he really is a pretty close comparison for her for at least a brief moment. It's almost surreal.
Of course, having an announcer go over the top isn't a new thing for Marist fans. This fall, a Marist football announcer famously dubbed a game-winning field goal "PYROTECHNICS!", gaining almost instant internet celebrity a a result.
Who knows if Snow will be able to pull off the same feat now with the Redhawks basketball program. At the very least, one can't say he didn't try.
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