Behind the Mike: Lavin 'inculcates' viewers with hipness

ESPN commentator with extensive vocabulary here Saturday for Coaches vs. Cancer event

Mike Lucas  —  8/23/2008 5:20 pm

There has always been a hipness to Steve Lavin's presentation; stemming, in part, from his stylish on-air delivery and his on-hair styling gel.

Shooting from the hip, in turn, has become second nature for the 43-year-old ESPN/ABC college basketball analyst, whose "wheel house" -- or comfort zone -- encompasses a variety of interests, from the Marx Brothers to Stanford's Lopez twins.

Speaking from the heart, meanwhile, is hip for Lavin. And that's what he will be doing Saturday, May 31, when he takes part in Shooting for a Cure, a Coaches vs. Cancer event that will be staged at the Marriott West in Middleton.

"When you look at the nature of the six degrees of separation," Lavin said, "you can see how cancer has touched everyone's life in some way."

Lavin has his own list. His grandmother died from pancreatic cancer. In 1991, his dad, Albert (Cap) Lavin, had prostate cancer. This past year, Cap had to deal with some skin cancer on his nose.

In addition, Steve's 11-year-old niece, Sophia, lost an eye as the result of neuroblastoma, a cancer of the nervous system. All of which has strengthened the resolve of the Lavin household in northern California.

Cap and Mary Lavin always led by example and inspired resiliency and perseverance in each of their six children.

"My dad had cardiac arrest at 43, a quadruple bypass at 48 and a triple bypass at 70," said Steve Lavin, a former Purdue assistant and UCLA head coach. "My career was a way to combine my love of teaching and basketball and a natural outgrowth of the interests that I shared with my dad."

In the early '50s, Cap Lavin starred in basketball at the University of San Francisco. His mentors were Pete Newell, who coached the Dons to the NIT title in 1949, and Phil Woolpert, who led San Francisco to back-to-back NCAA titles in 1955-56. But literature has always been his greatest passion and pursuit.

Cap Lavin was a "blue chip" English teacher, a prolific author of books, and the co-founder of the Bay Area Writing Project at Cal-Berkeley, a nationally recognized developmental program.

Steve Lavin pointed out that his dad's literary box score tended to overshadow his mom, who was very accomplished in her own right.

"She got her PhD in raising children," he said. "And she was really kind of an unsung hero. After raising six of us, she went back to school and got her Art History degree and then put in 20 years in the work force before retiring."

Two years ago, Steve Lavin seriously considered getting back into the coaching workforce himself when he interviewed for the North Carolina State job. "I was very thorough in my deliberation," he said.

In 2003, UCLA fired Lavin, even though he had guided the Bruins into the NCAA tournament six times (including five Sweet 16 appearances) during his seven-year tenure.

During his soul-searching and fact-finding sessions, he consulted with his parents, his mentors (Gene Keady and John Wooden) and some of his old fraternity brothers (Villanova's Jay Wright and Michigan State's Tom Izzo).

In the end, Lavin couldn't leave ESPN, which put together an attractive six-year deal to keep him. "I wasn't trying to leverage the situation to better myself -- I didn't even have my agent involved," he said.

Nor did he see it coming. "When I first left coaching, I thought I would broadcast for a year or two, and then jump right back into it," he added. "I had no idea this was going to offer a second career."

This being his present and prominent role as an engaging television analyst, whether at courtside or in the studio. Not that he doesn't miss aspects of the coaching business.

"I miss the camaraderie that you have with your coaching staff and team," he said. "I miss the competition at the highest level and the teaching component as far as being a part of the growth and development of young people.

"I also miss being a part of a college campus -- the intellectually charged environment or culture -- and the energy that exists around the students and the faculty."

Pausing to collect his thoughts, if not his equilibrium, Lavin conceded, "There are a number of things that I don't miss about coaching."

Among other things, you can safely assume that Lavin can live without the street agents or "runners" who have latched on to many of the elite players at a very young age.

"The culture of the last 15 to 20 years has changed so dramatically," he said, "that a coach has to find a way to navigate through the number of characters that may surround a high-level prospect.

"So, you do your best Scotland Yard and hold up the magnifying glass to figure out which ones have their best interests at heart for the long haul, and which ones don't."

Hold up Lavin, the broadcaster, to the same scrutiny and he stands up well, whether breaking down the NBA readiness of Stanford's Robin and Brook Lopez or tagging Wisconsin's Brian Butch with his "Polar Bear" nickname.

In an eclectic sense, Lavin has 3-point range on his jumper. He can speak to the comedic impact of the Marx Brothers (Chico, Harpo, Groucho, Gummo, Zeppo, and Digger). Or he can use "inculcate" in a sentence.

"Bo Ryan," he said of the UW basketball head coach, "can inculcate his players with the ability to see and think the game the same way he does." Lavin can instill the same things on camera.

mlucas@madison.com

Mike Lucas  —  8/23/2008 5:20 pm