After 29 years as a Wildcats radio broadcaster, Rigsby can (and will) discuss just about anything - from Villanova's amazing run this season to his approach as a color analyst to why a famous former teammate never had a shot to make it on the big screen.
I heard a story that, back in high school, you lobbied your coach to put David Caruso on the varsity team with you.
Where did you hear that? That's funny. Yeah, David was a friend of mine growing up. We'd stay at each other's house, and he was on my JV team at Archbishop Molloy in New York. We were real close. I haven't seen him in 30 years. But when it came time to be on the varsity, he had no shot. Our team was very good. He wasn't. He was on his way to being a knucklehead in those days.
Sounds like you have a story to tell. Spill it.
One year, we were walking past this water tower, and he asked me if I wanted to go up there and paint something on it on Halloween. I said "Uh, no, man." The next day, it has Dave or something painted on it.
OK. Better David Caruso - NYPD Blue or CSI?
He was great on NYPD Blue. He was such a fool for leaving. He left to try to start his movie career. That stunk. I would have advised him against that.
You have an interesting broadcasting style. It's very SportsWit'.
I approach it like the two of us are watching the game in your living room and not cursing. That's what it is. What would you say to the guy next to you while drinking a beer? It's basketball. We're not curing cancer here.
I'm not stat-oriented. I get a kick out of the fun stuff - like when the UCLA cheerleaders changed outfits three times in one game. That's interesting. Or back when God Shammgod played in the Big East. We were doing the Providence game, and I thought: He was born, and his parents looked down and said, "We're going to name him God."
Tell the truth: How far did you have 'Nova making it in your for-entertainment-purposes-only pool?
