The semifinal game in the 1983 Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament was tied. North Carolina’s Sam Perkins took a last-second shot that refused to fall through the hoop.

Joliet Catholic graduate Terry Gannon was playing for the Tar Heels’ opponent, North Carolina State. During last week’s Joliet Catholic Academy Alumni Association Hilltopper Banquet, Gannon said that shot could be viewed as the reason he ever got an opportunity to get into television work.

“Sam Perkins’ shot rattles around and around and around and falls out,” Gannon said. “We go to overtime and we wind up winning that game [91-84] over Perkins and Michael Jordan and all those guys. Then we win the ACC Tournament [81-78 over Ralph Sampson and Virginia].

“If that shot goes in, we don’t go to the NCAA Tournament and I wouldn’t ever have had a chance to be working on TV. You put in the work, you dream, you give yourself a chance, then life comes into play. A lot of stuff just happens. If that shot goes in – and somebody pulled strings for me here – I probably would have been coaching high school basketball here in Joliet.”

Instead, Gannon is a nationally renowned sportscaster who has made a living with his versatility, class and personality. He works for the Golf Channel. Next month, he will be in Seoul, South Korea, for the Winter Olympics on NBC, doing the play-by-play for figure skating.

He has covered the NBA, WNBA, British Open, U.S. Open, college football and college basketball for ESPN. Earlier, while at ABC, he covered college basketball, figure skating, the FIFA World Cup, the Indianapolis 500, the Belmont Stakes, professional tennis, the Tour de France and did play-by-play at the Little League World Series. Before he joined ABC, he spent five seasons as the Charlotte Knights’ Triple-A baseball radio announcer, and along the way, he broadcast the Rose Bowl on radio.

WHY NOT?

Mark Grant, former major league pitcher and current color commentator for San Diego Padres’ TV, graduated with Gannon from Joliet Catholic in 1981 and joined him on stage as the master of ceremonies at the Hilltopper Banquet. Grant teased Gannon about what he actually knew about some of the events and sports he covered.

The key, Gannon said, is to go with what you know and stay away from things you don’t know.

“Al McGuire used to say he hated doing ACC basketball games because those people know too much about basketball,” Gannon said.

Gannon said his N.C. State coach, the late Jim Valvano, taught him the why not.

“He taught me somebody has to do it, so why not me,” Gannon said. “If you do your homework, be authentic and be in the moment, you will be OK as a broadcaster.”

McGuire was among myriad sports broadcasters whose names came up at the Hilltopper Banquet.

“I worked with Jim McKay a number of times and with Roone Arledge at ABC,” Gannon said. “I got to work with Brent Musburger. He hosted figure skating and I did play-by-play with Dick Button and Peggy Fleming.

“Bradie Tennell is the new U.S. champion. She’s young; she will be a tough interview for us [Johnny Weir, Tara Lipinski and Gannon] in Seoul.”

GRANT ON ENBERG

Grant, meanwhile, partnered on Padres TV games with Dick Enberg through the 2016 season, after which Enberg retired. He died Dec. 21, at the age of 82. The sports broadcasting world lost another of the greats last weekend as Keith Jackson died at age 89.

“Dick’s death was a shocker,” Grant said of Enberg. “He was very happy with where his life was. He had started a podcast, and he was on the verge of getting big-time guests. He was writing a book on Ted Williams. He just had his third grandchild. He was building a vacation house in Idaho. He was 82, and he always had energy. It was really surreal.

“Growing up as a kid, Dick was the face of sports that I watched. The ’82 World Series, NCAA basketball, the AFC games in the NFL. When you heard him, you knew it was a big game. He probably is the best all-around sportscaster ever.”

Of course, Grant and Gannon also grew up listening daily to baseball icons Jack Brickhouse and Harry Caray.

“It took me awhile to appreciate Vin Scully because I grew up with Jack Brickhouse and Harry Caray,” said Gannon, who lives in Los Angeles. “But there is no question Vin Scully is the greatest baseball announcer.”

Our guys aren’t bad in what they do, either. Grant is a huge favorite with San Diego baseball fans, and Gannon is lauded for his work in virtually everything he covers.

“It’s amazing,” Grant said when Gannon’s versatility was mentioned. “He couldn’t put two and two together and now he’s a national name and face.”

True to his nature, Grant was teasing. Gannon, in fact, was a two-time Academic All-American at N.C. State.

• Dick Goss can be reached at dgoss@shawmedia.com.