Bill Schoening : From small-town radio to voice of NBA champs

[biba]

From small-town radio to voice of NBA champs
By Greg Jaklewicz
Column

I had to read the message to solve the mystery.

Back in the day, and that was waaaay back in the early 1980s, Bill Schoening did radio sports in Lamesa and I was sports editor of the Big Spring Herald. We were in our early 20s and pro material, we thought.

It was Philly Billy who made it to the bigs.

Lamesa was a basketball hot spot then, and Bill arrived after responding to an ad in Radio & Records magazine that enticed him to "eat, breathe and sleep" Golden Tornadoes sports.

We quickly connected because he was from Philadelphia and my family from New York City. And here we were.

Bill doesn't know this, but my only play-by-play radio experience came in Lamesa after he left. I was covering a Little League all-star tournament there for the Herald and doing color commentary with Chris Showalter of Big Spring's KBST. During the game, Chris had some sort of allergy attack and couldn't keep his eyes clear of tears, much less talk.

In between sneezes, he told me I had to pilot the plane.

My play-by-play career didn't last more than an inning, but I quickly learned you have to have the gift of gab (read, no dead air).

Talk about a small world, Bill worked in Pana, Ill., prior to moving to Lamesa. Pana is 15 miles from Chris' hometown of Taylorville, Ill.

After three years in Lamesa, Bill served six years in Huntsville - at Sam Houston State, not in The Big House - and then landed a primo gig broadcasting Texas Longhorns football, basketball and baseball.

In 2001 came the chance to join the San Antonio Spurs broadcast team. He got the call while preparing for UT's opening football game against New Mexico State.

Bill couldn't have picked a better time to hook up with the Spurs. San Antonio has become the most dominant NBA franchise, winning les in 2003, 2005 and this year.

Bill mentioned in his e-mailed message that he'll get his third NBA championship ring on opening night Oct. 30 vs. Greg Oden-less Portland. His first ring is going to his older son and his second to his younger boy.

"Keep it in the family," he said, when we eventually talked by phone.

I went to the Internet and found Bill's bio and a photo on the Spurs' Web site. Yep, that's Bill Schoening.

So, why'd Bill contact me 25 years down the line?

He was cleaning out a closet and came across a scrapbook. As he flipped the pages, he came across a story I wrote about him leaving Lamesa for "greener pastures."

If you've been to Lamesa, or most towns in West Texas, almost anywhere else is greener.

Bill couldn't pinpoint a favorite moment with the Spurs. Tough job, picking one NBA championship over another.

He said the Spurs, while sometimes called the most boring world champions ever, are a great bunch of athletes to work with. He said coach Gregg Popovich, "an old military guy," doesn't like showboating and keeps his team reined in (no dogfighting, etc.).

Yeah, Odessa Permian and Penn State, in their all-white uniforms, were pretty boring in their heydays, too.

If I were Bill, my favorite moment might be any night I had Eva Longoria as a guest on the broadcast.

Bill, you do know who Tony Parker is married to, right?

"Eva? She's no big deal. She traveled with the team and sat in the back with Tony. She was just Tony's girlfriend," he said. "I think I've seen her show once."

No sound of desperation in Bill's voice.

He said his job brings him a fair amount of celebrity because he hangs with the team.

But above all, "I just love doing play-by-play basketball. It's what I always wanted to do. The best part of my job is getting to watch these guys play every night," he said.

The job has other perks. While at UT, he stayed with the team at the Ramada Inn in Manhattan, Kan. Now, he stays with the Spurs at the Four Seasons in the real Manhattan.

Nice. Grab me a bathrobe or one of those tiny bars of soap next time, would ya, Bill?

In Lamesa, Bill was hard-pressed to find a good Philly cheesesteak sandwich in the land of the chicken fried steak.

"Still addicted to them," he said of having to feed his Philly fix.

Fortunately, former Spurs player Malik Rose opened Malik's Philly's Phamous in San Antonio, and Bill said he became a regular.

Bill has come a long way from the days when he earned $10 for broadcasting a Little Dribblers tournament game in which nine baskets were scored.

"I enjoyed it because I got to do everything," he said of his days just south of Lubbock.

My job still is about doing a little of everything. My stories sometimes get cut out and filed away in an album or a box for storage. Sometimes, those clipped stories are read again and bring back a memory.

Greg Jaklewicz is assistant sports editor of the Amarillo Globe-News. Contact him at (806) 345-3315 or [email protected].

[T Park]

What I've learned of old Bill, hes a mediocre play by play guy.

His analysis of the game is decent.

Hes a pretty damn funny guy though.

If KTKR had a brain, theyd put him on STSA kick out the New York jackass, and get one more local guy in there, and it would be golden.

Bill has done College Football, wich is where IMO he is better suited, but hes also done NBA and college ball, so he would be quite diverse in talkng points.