Reporter Jeff Goodman joins ESPN as a College Basketball Insider
Jeff Goodman (Joe Faraoni/ESPN Images)
Though it’s the college basketball offseason, there is no summer slowdown when it comes to ESPN adding top talent to its reporting roster. The newest member of the team is Insider and multiplatform reporter, Jeff Goodman.
The Boston native, who has worked for the Associated Press, Scout.com, FoxSports.com, and most recently, CBSSports.com, fell in love with journalism in his teens, and college basketball, during his studies at the University of Arizona. Goodman, who is quite active on Twitter (@GoodmanESPN), is already making his mark with breaking news such as this from yesterday on Georgetown’s Greg Whittington.
Goodman visited with Front Row to discuss his new ESPN role and what’s ahead for the 2013-14 season.
What will be your biggest challenge here at ESPN?
I’m pretty confident, but it was a little bit intimidating coming here. There are so many buildings, two campuses (in Bristol) and a ton of people. I interviewed Michael Jordan when I was 14 years old, not that much intimidates me, but walking around here was a little unnerving.
What attracted you to this new role?
There’s nothing like ESPN. It’s the Duke and [North] Carolina. It’s the Kentucky. It’s a place that I didn’t even aspire to have a chance to work at because I didn’t even think it was realistic. I’ve always worked with great people and know that will continue here.
How long have you been covering basketball and how did that come about?
The first interview I ever did was with James Worthy; I was 13. The Lakers were in town [Boston] and I went with a buddy over to their hotel. He agreed to do it, I went back home and called him. We ended up recording it on my dad’s answering machine which beeped every few seconds. Shows you how amazing he was to go through the whole interview hearing that. That was the first interview I ever did. I just knew this is what I wanted to do for a very long time.
What are some stories you are most proud of having worked on?
I built my resume on breaking stories, but I get far more pleasure out of writing great feature stories or even watching some of these kids that I’ve covered since they were a freshman or sophomore in high school. I did the first ever story on Kevin Durant. And watching him get the No. 2 pick, seeing him elevate himself from where nobody knew who he was, those are things that make my job fun.
What can fans expect during the 2013-14 college basketball season?
By my count, at least 10 players who could have gone in the first round of the NBA Draft this year returned to school. Couple that with a really strong incoming freshman class, and you’ve got the makings of a great season. You’re going to have Louisville and Kentucky — the most heated rivalry in college basketball — on as even a playing field as they’ve been on since [Coach John] Calipari arrived in Lexington. [Michigan State head coach] Tom Izzo has another great team. Those three teams have set themselves apart going into the season.
