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<\/a>Courtesy: Derek Futterman, Sports Media Watch<\/p>\nThe broadcast table itself features an array of game notes, charts and other resources to be utilized throughout the game. An assortment of monitors placed at its edge display the program feed, scorebug and live statistics, and the network has a dedicated card screen featuring sponsorship and promotional reads. Kustok also happens to keep a polychromatic array of highlighters in front of her, which help her stay organized and ready to execute her role.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople tend to tease me about that because I am very systematic,\u201d Kustok said. \u201cI think that\u2019s part of doing the job and the preparation with it and keeping everything kind of compartmentalized of making sure you have this information that you need at the moments you need it. I have kind of, through the course of the year, created a system that works best for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kustok estimates that she only uses approximately 10% of the background information that she compiles ahead of a given broadcast. Benetti added that the key for interacting with his boards is to extrapolate the information most relevant to the game and recollect what insights he obtained through his preparation.<\/p>\n
Adhering to this principle, Benetti remembered talking to a Tennessee coach about their experience leading a group to victory in Division II. The coach mentioned the memory of confetti raining down upon the win, something Benetti realized is seldom seen at that level. The anecdote made it to the airwaves in the fleeting moments of the opening game and added context to the season at large.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith a minute left, Sarah and I were just talking about something, and I just found that piece of information so human and so interesting that, in a blowout, you can have a little more leeway for something that doesn\u2019t necessarily have a natural hook,\u201d Benetti said. \u201cBut as we talked about it, it was really about how she wants to get Tennessee to the level where they\u2019re winning championships, which gave us a reason to talk about that detail.\u201d<\/p>\n
Both of these broadcasters have studied and worked in professions that also require mental acuity and critical thinking. Benetti, who holds a law degree, first met Kustok when he was calling DePaul women\u2019s basketball games out of college. Kustok was an assistant coach at that time after she had played for the team over four years as an undergraduate student, and she ended up broadcasting locally in Chicago. Since Benetti and Kustok have been colleagues at Fox Sports, the duo has worked together on several national college basketball and football broadcasts around the country.<\/p>\n While Benetti was providing the play-by-play call for both sports on this particular weekend, Kustok was working in a hybrid analyst and reporter role. Once the Tennessee-Louisville game reached its conclusion, she stepped in front of the broadcast table and traded her analyst headset for a handheld microphone flanked with a Fox Sports logo.<\/p>\n Kustok interviewed Louisville G Imari Berry, who collected the first double-double of her career in the 24-point victory. In order to balance her analysis and reporting jobs, Kustok blends what she sees during the game with what she learned beforehand.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s observations that happen through the course of the game and the storylines of the game,\u201d Kustok said, \u201cbut I also think a big part of it does come from prior preparation, whether it\u2019s prior conversations or going through things.\u201d<\/p>\n In addition to her role with Fox Sports, Kustok works as the television analyst for the Brooklyn Nets on YES Network. Kustok made history entering the position as the first woman to serve as a full-time solo television analyst for an NBA team. She continues to maintain a national presence as an analyst on Unrivaled Basketball games airing on TNT Sports, along with occasional NBA games on ESPN Radio.<\/p>\n \u201cI think through the course of my career, I have been in a lot of different roles, and whether it\u2019s hosting in a studio, whether it\u2019s the analyst role, whether it\u2019s a sideline role, that kind of had been a part of my weaving into broadcasting of learning all those different nuances,\u201d Kustok said. \u201cAnd I think, for me, I actually really appreciate the challenge and the flexibility of being able to tap into those different skillsets because they are very different.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/a>Courtesy: Derek Futterman, Sports Media Watch<\/p>\n