Mark Shanowski

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.

And I thought that he always found the sweet spot in that.

And we did like 275 episodes of the Give Me the Hot Sauce podcast.

And I can maybe count on one hand the times where I thought, wow, he's kind of going after that guy.

He was always measured in his critiques because he knew from his own playing career how difficult it could be at times.

And I think that fans appreciated that.

And I know that the Bulls players through the years,

They love Stacey.

They accepted him as one of their own because he was always fair to them.

He understood the trials that they went through over an 82-game schedule, and they appreciated his fairness and honesty.

Mark and Marshall, thanks for having me on.