Behind The Scenes

Front & Center: Mark Gottfried:
NC State coach, former ESPN analyst, on participating in Jimmy V Classic

Head coach Mark Gottfried of the North Carolina State University Wolfpack. (Phil Ellsworth/ESPN Images)

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Tonight in New York’s Madison Square Garden, North Carolina State meets UConn in the nightcap of The Jimmy V Men’s Basketball Classic presented by Corona Extra on ESPN and ESPN Radio, with tipoff at approximately 9 ET.

In the doubleheader opener, Texas meets Georgetown beginning at 7 p.m.

For NC State head coach Mark Gottfried, participating in this conclusion to ESPN’s Jimmy V Week (Nov. 27-Dec. 4) is special.

Before he was hired at NC State coach in the spring of 2011, Gottfried had spent the two previous seasons as an ESPN college basketball analyst.

Gottfried was following in the footsteps of Jim Valvano, the former ESPN analyst, NC State head basketball coach, NCAA championship winner and inspiration for Jimmy V Week. Gottfried won an NCAA men’s title as assistant coach to Jim Harrick at UCLA in 1995 and had five NCAA tourney appearances during his tenure as head coach of the University Alabama, his alma mater.

In this Front & Center podcast conducted by Bob Valvano, Jim’s brother and host of ESPN Radio’s The V Show and analyst for ESPN Radio’s coverage of both games, Gottfried reflects on his ties with Jim Valvano.

They discuss Gottfried’s ties to Jim Valvano that predate even Gottfried’s hiring at ESPN, how Gottfried’s ESPN “sabbatical” from coaching helped his perspective upon his return to the sidelines, and much more.

ESPN Radio’s Bob Valvano, Steve Ceruti and ESPN Communications publicist Dan Quinn contributed to this post. The V Show can be heard late Saturday nights/early Sunday mornings on ESPN Radio and ESPNRadio.com

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