'I think it was because I played for a guy like Jim Valvano who was ready to take on every challenge in every aspect of life it evolved into things other than even sports. He said, ‘We need you to go to Tokyo next week and do a figure skating event.’ “I got a call on a Monday morning from Jack O’Hara who is the executive producer for ABC. When he wasn’t the go-to guy for golf or the Olympics, he learned to say yes to every opportunity to get there, just the way that Valvano taught him. He wanted the ball to begin his television career also.

And all I can tell you is that I wanted the ball,” Gannon said.

'You never know until you’re in that position with 50 million people watching for the national championship on the last possession whether you actually do want the ball or whether you kind of hide a little bit. He elected to shoot instead, Lorenzo Charles was there to clean up the miss, and history was made. Dereck Whittenburg didn’t pass it to Gannon. Gannon was open in the final moments of the national championship game, and he was calling for the ball. Playing for the Wolfpack, he also learned lessons about the pressure of a big stage and an international audience. It’s a four-year cycle every time around.' So it’s not like you start preparing a year out, six months out. 'The preparation for the Olympics from an announcer’s standpoint never stops. It is a marathon, it’s not a sprint,” he said. 'Among the many things 1983 taught me is that it’s a long haul. In part, it was playing on the national championship team for coach Jim Valvano that Gannon says prepared him for the challenge of TV. Former Wolfpack basketball player making voice heard in Olympics golf booth

Abc ice skating game