1. William Joseph Raftery was born on April 19,1943 and is an American basketball analyst and former college basketball coach.
11 Facts About Bill Raftery
1. 2.
Bill Raftery graduated in 1959 from the now defunct St Cecilia High School in Kearny, where he starred in basketball and became the all-time leading scorer in state history with 2,193 points, a record he held for nine years.
3.
Bill Raftery has been named, retroactively, Mr Basketball USA for 1959.
4.
Bill Raftery played for the La Salle Explorers men's basketball team under coach Donald "Dudey" Moore.
5.
Bill Raftery began his coaching career at Fairleigh Dickinson University at Madison where he was the head basketball coach from 1963 to 1968.
6.
Bill Raftery said it was during his senior year in college, when La Salle was competing in the NIT, that legendary New York sportscaster Bob Wolff suggested he eventually consider a career in broadcasting.
7.
Bill Raftery began his broadcasting career as co-host of ESPN's College Hoops Tonight in 1980.
8.
Bill Raftery began calling New Jersey Nets games in 1982.
9.
Bill Raftery has served as an analyst and color commentator for CBS Sports' college basketball coverage since 1983.
10.
Bill Raftery was an analyst with ESPN, primarily partnered with Sean McDonough and Jay Bilas and formerly Mike Gorman for Big East games.
11.
Bill Raftery was the lead analyst for the Nets for over 20 years until 2002 and was an on-course commentator for PGA Tour Champions Tour events.