Mark Shanowski

And it was like a presidential figure walking in and people calling out his name and wanting just to touch his hand and stuff.

He was a huge presence.

And he would always, on social media, tell people, if you're going to the game, come on down.

If you can get through security, and I'll stay by after the game.

And he would stay there for a half hour or more, signing autographs and taking pictures.

And he took great pride in that connection with Bulls fans.

He never thought he was above anyone.

He had a real good humility about himself, and he really worshipped that connection he had with Bulls fans, and he wanted to make sure that they knew how much he appreciated them.

Well, Stacey was incredibly intelligent, and his ability to turn a phrase always amazed me.

You guys know from doing long-form radio, sometimes if you're talking repeatedly, you tend to use the same words or repeat yourself after another hour.

He would always come up with a unique way to express himself, and I think that's one of the things that really caught the imagination of both fans, is that it wasn't just the same old former players saying the same old things.

Stacey had a unique way of analyzing the game, and make no mistake about it, his basketball IQ was off the charts.

As I mentioned, he coached in the old Continental Basketball Association with the Rockford Lightning.

That was just too much work trying to get minor league players to comprehend some of the things he wanted them to do.

But once he got into broadcasting, he really, as I mentioned earlier, found his true calling, and he was able to identify with fans and always present things in a way that made it fun.

He could get his point across about a player not doing the things he was supposed to do without ripping the guy.

So many guys think it's easy to just call somebody out and try to make a name for yourself by being this fake tough guy and calling out players.

But Stacey knew from his own career that it's not always as easy as some people might think sitting on their couch watching on TV.

And he was always very careful to point out.

things that are going wrong without attacking a player or a coach.