Stacey King was so full of life, it’s hard to believe he won’t be part of ours anymore.
“I wanna go higher!”
“Too big, too strong, too fast, too good!”
“Bang, bang, bang.”
In almost 21 years as the Bulls’ TV analyst, King, who died Sunday at 59, must’ve come up with more catchphrases than anyone in the industry. He was like a geyser, spewing exclamations and puns that could make the most hardened face soften.
He became such a presence on broadcasts that it’s easy to forget he was the Bulls’ first-round draft pick in 1989 (No. 6 overall) and played on their first three-peat teams. King was a reserve big man, and he had some moments.
He had many more in broadcasting, a career he extended into podcasting with his show, “Gimme The Hotsauce” — another of his catchphrases — which was in its sixth year and co-hosted by longtime Chicago sportscaster Mark Schanowski.
“I’ve known Stacey for a long time and became really close doing the podcast,” Schanowski said. “Just a tragedy. We’re all trying to process it.”
“Cookies!”
“Compton’s in the house!”
“Ayo, dos, tres!”
King always had a big personality, from his childhood through his college days at Oklahoma. He enjoyed being the center of attention. After giving coaching a try with the Rockford Lightning in the old Continental Basketball Association, King joined Comcast SportsNet Chicago as a studio analyst alongside Schanowski.
“I don’t think he definitely decided he was going to be a broadcaster after he retired,” Schanowski said. “It was just something that naturally evolved.”
Tom Dore and Johnny “Red” Kerr were calling games at the time. The Bulls knew that Kerr soon wasn’t going to be able to handle a full schedule anymore, so they gave King a tryout in the analyst’s chair.
“Immediately, he brought a new energy into the broadcast,” Schanowski said. “Stacey had to be deferential to ‘Red’ at first, but the people that were calling the shots at Comcast SportsNet realized that this guy could be really good. We need to give him his own platform. And the following year, they had him as the analyst.”
“Does anybody know how to post videos to Facebook?!”
“It’s a simple game.”
“Mouse in the house, free cheese.”
“He is so quick with a phrase,” Schanowski said. “His ability to see something and immediately translate it into a way that’s not only informative but is really entertaining is what I think caught on with Bulls fans. It’s much more than the catchphrases.”
Indeed, King was an excellent analyst. He’d quickly see what teams were doing and explain the intricacies to viewers. And he would be critical of the Bulls, though some fans wanted him to go harder.
“He would be very measured in how he would do it, but the point came through,” Schanowski said. “It would never get to the point where he would be overly critical because he always respected the relationship that he had as a Bulls employee.”
King respected the fans, too. He’d stay after games and tell the security guards to let anyone who wanted an autograph or a picture down to the floor. He said he was “a man of the people,” and by the looks of it, he absolutely was.
“It’s just a huge loss for me personally, all his colleagues with the Bulls’ broadcast network, all of Bulls Nation,” Schanowski said. “Whoever sits in that seat is gonna have huge, huge shoes to fill because there will never be another Stacey King.”
“Drive home safely, Chicago. Beep, beep!”