Wally Szczerbiak Is a March Madness Legend. Here’s Why He Thinks the Tournament Is Better Than Ever.
Basketball announcer Wally Szczerbiak relives his iconic March run, weighs in on NIL, and reveals which stars and Cinderellas could own this year’s NCAA Tournament.
Wally Thinks March Madness Still Delivers Getty Images; Men's Health Illustration by Jason Speakman THE GREAT PROFESSIONAL and college basketball player and commentator Wally Szczerbiak was born in March, so when he graced the cover of Sports Illustrated in the third week of March 1999, he had just turned 22 years old. It was significant for several reasons. Sports Illustrated was the most beloved and widely circulated sports publication of the day, so Szczerbiak was arguably, briefly, one of the most famous people in the country.
He had also taken his mid-major school, Miami of Ohio in the Mid American Conference (MAC), to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, the calendar-dominating event that gripped the sports worlds’ attention for four consecutive weekends every spring. Even at that time, fourth-year players with real NBA potential were becoming rare, and by the end of Miami of Ohio’s magical Cinderella bid, after Szczerbiak collected his degree, he was picked sixth by the Minnesota Timberwolves, largely thanks to his performance several weeks earlier. This launched a 10-year career in the NBA that he then parlayed into a 17-year (and counting!
) run at the pinnacle of basketball media. Szczerbiak, as one of March Madness’s great unexpected stars, shows the tournament’s potential to turn college students into household names in a month—or even less. Men's Health spoke to Szczerbiak on the eve of this year's tournament, which he’ll be announcing this weekend on CBS, to talk about how the game has changed since he played, and what to look forward to in this tournament.
This conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity. MEN’S HEALTH: With Miami of Ohio having the season they’ve just wrapped up [the RedHawks completed the regular season with an undefeated record, then received an at-large bid to March Madness], how does it feel as an alum? Does it bring you back to your glory days there?
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