University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: The Right Fit
June 27, 2011 | General, Featured Writers, Adam Lucas
June 27, 2011
By Adam Lucas
The last time Carolina hired a new play-by-play radio announcer, current athletic director Dick Baddour remembers discussing the new hire--some TV guy named Woody Durham, a relative whippersnapper whom Tar Heel fans weren't sure could adequately replace the much-revered Bill Currie--with a friend who knew Durham. "This is a great hire," the friend told Baddour. "This will turn out to be a dream job for Woody Durham, and he'll do it well for a long time."
Four decades later, Baddour was intimately involved with hiring Durham's replacement. And what did he do? He hired a relative whippersnapper, Jones Angell, who will have as his biggest flaw the fact that he is not Woody Durham. He may not pronounce "sophomore" as "soph-o-more." He may not give you the receiver's hometown before the down and distance. You won't have 40 years of bonding with him through your radio to color every call.
But there is this--this is a great hire. This will turn out to be a dream job for Jones Angell, and he'll do it well for a long time.
Of course, it would be a dream job for a lot of us, right? Just loving and knowing the Tar Heels doesn't make someone qualified for the position. The fact that Jones started calling high school football and baseball games in Henderson in 1999 dreaming of exactly this day doesn't mean that 12 years later it was required to come true. The difference is that he figured out how to make it happen, and figured out how to be good enough to make it happen.
I'm incredibly biased because I have worked with him on the baseball broadcasts since 2005, and we've been close friends for even longer than that. So you don't have to believe my opinion. But how about the opinions of Rick Steinbacher, Dustin Ackley and Bobby Frasor? All lent their support to Jones's candidacy for the position.
A fairly well-known Tar Heel named Roy Williams was in Jones's corner, too. "We've got the right guy already here," the head coach said. "Why would we need to go anywhere else?"
The question in the days to come will be what, exactly, makes Jones the right guy. As anyone who has listened to a baseball game already knows, I know nothing about the mechanics of being a radio broadcaster. I only know what I've heard Woody Durham talk about through the years--that passion, preparation and professionalism are the foundations of success in his business.
Jones has sat next to Woody in the basketball and football booth since the fall of 2005. That doesn't mean he's going to be a Woody clone. But he's watched and learned from someone we all value highly, and he's learned what works for him--and what doesn't work.
The job description has changed markedly since Durham was hired. In addition to calling 309 baseball games, 220 basketball games and 69 football games for the Tar Heels, Jones has spent four years as the assistant director of Carolina's new media department. Remember the chillbump-inducing video for Carolina's 100 years of basketball celebration? What about the chest-thumping montage of big hits that accompanies the start of the fourth quarter of home games at Kenan Stadium? Both of those--among many others that you'd immediately recognize--are Jones's work.
Being the new voice of the Tar Heels means more than just strapping on the headset and describing what promises to be a very enjoyable 2011-12 athletics year. It also means figuring out the best way to deliver Carolina's message through the variety of new mediums available. Carolina has one of the nation's deepest and best athletic departments. There may be new ways to tell those stories, and it's valuable to have someone who understands the constantly evolving options. It's shortchanging it to say Jones is going to be "the radio guy." That's a big part of his role, but that's not all of his role.
What new ways can the Carolina story be delivered? That's what the months and years to come will show us. You can start by following him on Twitter at @JonesAngell. Yes, you can now tweet with the Voice of the Tar Heels.
Carolina conducted a nationwide search to fill Woody Durham's job. That's the only responsible way to maintain the connection with fans that Durham worked so hard to create.
It just so happens that the best qualified candidate turned out to be a Tar Heel. He won't have to check the media guide to reference Brian Simmons and Greg Ellis, or look through a book to find the starting lineup for the 1993 national champion basketball Tar Heels.
Starting this September, the Carolina radio broadcast will be different. When you listen, though, you're going to find out that you'll get the passionate, prepared and professional broadcast you deserve--even if it's coming from a different voice.
Adam Lucas is the publisher of Tar Heel Monthly. He is also the author or co-author of six books on Carolina basketball, including the official chronicle of the first 100 years of Tar Heel hoops, A Century of Excellence, which is available now. Get real-time UNC sports updates from the THM staff on Twitter.
