This week, The Post’s Andrew Marchand spoke with TNT’s NBA commentator, Mike Fratello. The 57-year-old Fratello grew up in Hackensack.
Q: How badly do you want to get back into coaching?
A: I’ve been a coach basically all the time outside of when I’ve done TV. I’ve been a coach since I graduated from college. I’ve coached at the high school, college and NBA levels. Coaching has been a huge part of my life. I’ve also been fortunate to have the TV experience. Yeah, coaching is important to me.
Q: How do you compare the satisfaction levels of broadcasting and coaching?
A: I think it is like oranges and apples, trying to compare the two. There is an attachment between the two. Let’s say there is a circle. If you are coaching, you are on the inside of that. If you are not coaching, are you on the periphery? Are you on the line on the outside? Are you way on the outside? By doing the broadcasting, it brings you very close, but you are still not with the team, with the guys in the locker room and on the court.
Q: If you could do the whole Knick coaching process over again, is there anything you would do differently?
A: No. It wasn’t like it was a series or a process for me. I was talked to [to replace Don Chaney], and that was the end of it. There was nothing else I could have done differently. I had one lengthy conversation with Isiah [Thomas.] He made his decision a few days later. It was not like I could have done anything differently.
Q: Do you like the nickname “The Czar of the Telestrator?” When did Marv Albert first call you it?
A: I did not know it was coming my first game. We did the Magic Johnson Midsummer Classic. It was 14 years ago. He started the broadcast by saying, “I’m Marv Albert with my partner, the Czar…” I don’t know where he thought it up. I tipped my head, gave him my little acknowledgement. That’s where it came from. I get a kick out of it when I see people on the street and they say, “Hey, Czar.”
Q: What did you learn growing up in Hackensack that has stayed with you your entire life?
A: Anyone named Marv could potentially be dangerous or a problem. Besides that, Hackensack was a tremendous place to grow up. If I could grow up again, I would pick the same exact spot, because we had a really diverse group of people that we went to school with. It was a mixture of nationalities, races and just a great blend of all this without any of the problems that we saw in other communities.