By JOE DAVIDSON
Sacramento Bee
Friday, June 01, 2007
Now introducing, Rick Barry, aspiring ... NBA broadcaster.
Not NBA coach. Not now.
The Hall of Fame player recently confirmed that he will forever be intrigued by NBA coaching, but he no longer feels quite so obsessed with the pursuit. He no longer pleads his coaching case, saying how he paid his dues and is worthy of getting at least an interview.
But broadcasting? He craves that now.
It's a bug Barry caught in the 1970s when he was playing for the Golden State Warriors, leading them to the 1975 NBA title. He was one of the first athletes to manage two careers at once. Barry worked for CBS in the 1970s and CBS and Turner Sports in the 1980s, always speaking his mind.
He was biting and sharp but ultimately was fired for being "too controversial."
"I was ahead of my time," Barry said. "I was told I was too controversial. How about that? I criticized not to be critical; I criticized to be informative. I had to be honest and opinionated. It's who I am."
These days, Barry is a co-host with NBA TV's Rick Kamla on Sirius Satellite Radio, more in his element than when he teamed with Rod Brooks on an afternoon show on KNBR (680 AM). Barry wasn't nearly as bold as he is on Sirius. And as a call-in guest on other shows, he shines.
Barry was an analyst with some of the most well known lead voices in the game during his TV time, including Brent Musburger, Dick Stockton and Gary Bender. Now, though, he wants to be the lead guy, doing play-by-play.
"It'd be fun," Barry said. "I wish I could do TV. I've done some college games, but I'd love to do NBA games. I feel I am a broadcaster, not an analyst."
As for coaching in the NBA?
He said life is too charmed in his home of Colorado Springs, Colo., to budge. He does his radio show from there. He and his wife, Lynn, keep tabs on their 13-year-old son, Canyon, a budding basketball star that Barry says "blows me away with what he can do."
"An NBA gig right now would take up too much time," Barry said.
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