Huckaby: No one does sports broadcasting quite like Jeff Dantzler
Darrell HuckabyColumnist
Basketball is in my blood. I was raised in Newton County, which was a hotbed for the high school version of the sport in the 1950s and 60s, when the legendary Ronald Bradley was setting records on the hardcourt. His teams won 129 straight home games over one nine-year stretch. That’s a record that has stood for more than half-a-century.
Basketball paid my way to a better life. I came to UGA on a basketball scholarship. I was a manager. The SEC hasn’t changed that much in 50 years. I coached basketball, on the high school level, through four decades.
For years I was an Andy Landers super-fan and followed the Lady Dogs all over the country. I still have bad dreams about the 1985 NCAA Championship game when we lost to Old Dominion. For the past decade I have been a season-ticket holder for UGA men’s basketball. I sit down close, near midcourt, right across the aisle from Sweater Man. It has been a character-building experience. It takes a lot of patience to be a devoted fan of men’s basketball at UGA and I still watch the women play when I can.
You get the picture. I see a lot of basketball and, as often is the case, I told you all of that to tell you this. There is something I have found I enjoy as much as going to the games and that is listening to the Georgia Lady Dogs on the radio. Jeff Dantzler is absolutely amazing.
This is not to take anything away from Scott Howard and Chuck Dowdell who call the men’s games. I hurry to the car after every contest in The Steg and listen to their recaps as I drive home. I turn down the volume on the TV and listen to their call when Georgia is on the road. They are a great team.
But Jeff Dantzler. That guy amazes me. He is a one-man gang. He sits courtside — all alone — in his coat and tie, and describes exactly what is happening on the court. He paints a picture, just like the old timers used to do. He takes me back to the days of my childhood, when I would sit at the kitchen table at night, straining to hear the great Cawood Ledford calling Kentucky games on WHAS or Ed Thelinius calling Georgia games when my childhood heroes, Allen Johnson, Jimmy Pitts and Jerry Waller were playing.
Back then, people weren’t seeing the action on their TVs. The announcers had to make the game visible to their audiences. Jeff still does that. He doesn’t just tell you who has the ball, who shoots and who rebounds — he tells you where on the court the players are and how they pass the ball and with how much force they pull down a rebound. He makes you see the game in your mind’s eye. And he also gives you the stats and keeps you abreast of what’s coming up next and... well, like I said, the guy is amazing.
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Now, understand, I have listened to Jeff Dantzler do the pre-game and post-game football broadcasts forever and have long been aware that he has more Georgia sports information stored in his brain than anyone in the history of the world not named Dan Magill. But I didn’t have the pleasure of enjoying his play-by-play skills until moving to the area. Better late than never. And, oh yes, he is as good in the baseball booth as he is at courtside. I am a fan for life.
The man is Munsonesque. That’s high praise, understand.
We have a lot to be thankful for, speaking now of those who claim citizenship in the Bulldog Nation. Most of our sports teams are among the best in the Southeastern Conference, which means they are among the best in the world. Josh Brooks is a great leader — always positive and always professional — and has things going in the right direction across the board. Well, almost, but better days are coming everywhere.
And when we can’t see games in person, well, listening is as good as being there.
