There’s very little middle ground with Gus Johnson. Either you love his over-the-top enthusiasm, ridiculously energetic calls, and series of catchphrases, or you think he overdoes it and ruins the truly great and special moments by bringing his level up to 11 on plays that don’t deserve it.
Regardless, Johnson is one of the most recognizable names in the industry, and now he will be joining in on the play-by-play duties for one of the most intriguing young teams in the NBA: The Milwaukee Bucks.
According to Sports Illustrated, Johnson has been hired by Fox Sports Wisconsin to call 20 Bucks games this season. It’s not known yet which games Johnson will be assigned, but he says that it will be a combination of home and away games. Johnson will continue to call college football and basketball games for Fox Sports 1 while he adds the Bucks to his schedule. Milwaukee has lots of young talent and should be a playoff team once again in the East this season, and Johnson told SI that he’s excited to get back into the pro game with an up-and-coming team.
“They have Jabari Parker coming back, Greg Monroe from the Pistons who will be a great presence inside, O.J. Mayo, Michael Carter-Williams is talented, and Jason Kidd was one of the great players of his time and a terrific young coach,” Johnson said. “I think it’s going to be a wonderful opportunity to cover a talented young team.”
Johnson said he’s taking the Bucks assignment on a year-by-year basis “but in my heart of hearts, I hope this is something I get an opportunity to do for a long time.”
If he starts practicing now, Johnson might even figure out how to pronounce Antetokounmpo before the season starts.
(Via Sports Illustrated)
