If you’ve watched Pac 12 hoops on ESPN recently, you’re no stranger to the unique chemistry between play by plan man Dave Pasch and analyst Bill Walton, though it seems the former has quite a task reigning in the verbose latter. In the view of the Los Angeles Daily News’ Tom Hoffarth, the duo’s work is nothing short of “thaumaturgic”, while Pasch says of his partner, “I find myself counting in my head: This is the third reference to something other than basketball that he’s said, so now maybe it’s time to get back on track.”
“There was some sticker shock when we started two years ago — I definitely had to adjust more than Bill did, because Bill’s going to be Bill,” Pasch explained. “It probably took me a few games to loosen up a little bit, to do some soul searching.
“I think there are mixed perceptions of people wondering how I view Bill. Some think it’s part of the show, it’s entertainment. Some think I don’t like him. I do like Bill. I’ve always said that.
“In fact, there was one instance early on where I said something (that could have been interpreted as scolding Walton) and I apologized to Bill during a break, and he said, ‘Don’t ever apologize again — keep coming, keep coming.’ So it was a ticket to jab him whenever I felt necessary.
“Sometimes I’ll look over and he is laughing about it. At least one of us is laughing usually.”