Elmore knows more than the score

DAYTON, Ohio — He wanted to be something. He wanted to be someone. Somehow, Len Elmore knew that extended beyond the basketball court.

"There was a Rhodes Scholar on my team, Tom McMillan," Elmore said Thursday as he watched practices while preparing to broadcast yesterday's NCAA Tournament games at UD Arena. "My mom had a chance to go to college, but she couldn't go, and my dad had a ninth-grade education. They wanted me to have a good education, and I took pride in being a good student."

He was, but there were also a couple of tough times.

"There were times my immaturity kept me from being all I wanted to be," Elmore said.

After he left Maryland in 1974, he had to go back for a few courses to finish his degree. He played 10 years in the NBA, then entered Harvard Law School and the seriousness came back.

While at Harvard, someone from the Jefferson-Pilot network contacted him about broadcasting college basketball.

"One of the reasons I was chosen was because I was a person of color," Elmore said. "People wondered if I could speak."

Just a guess: You're at Harvard Law, you can speak.

Prior to his first game, Elmore wrote out notes on a legal pad. The producer walked by, "took the pad out of my hands and threw it on the floor," Elmore said. "He said, 'Just tell us what you know. We only have a minute.' "

That was 20 years ago. Elmore did just fine, and obviously, he knows more than what he could pack into a minute of analysis.

He continues to work as a lawyer at a New York firm — he was also a prosecutor and sports agent — and he calls games for ESPN, CBS and ABC. He does a studio show on basketball and will call NBA games.

He called the legendary game between Duke and Kentucky on March 28, 1992, when Christian Laettner's buzzer-beater sent Duke to the Final Four (and eventual championship) with a 104-103 overtime victory.

"It was history-making at the time," Elmore said. "It was one of the greatest games. The combination of the extended field and television exposure — that night that game was shown on all the stations. The casual fan took note in a big way."

More radio stations began broadcasting the NCAA, sports-talk radio came of age and the Internet came into play. Television sets are sold around the tournament, as they are around the Super Bowl, college bowl games and the World Series.

Elmore has been through all of it. He played in the tournament as a junior in 1973 (1-1) and has broadcast it. He also has a couple of college degrees. Sounds like a guy worth listening to.

Marc Katz writes for the Dayton Daily News.