Kents pair together for historic broadcast: ‘It was a very emotional couple of hours’

Jordan and Ernie Kent were “a natural fit” together.

Story edited 11/12/2021 3:38 AM

Ernie and Jordan Kent made a little history Tuesday at Matt Knight Arena, and had some fun while doing it.

The Kents broadcast Oregon’s season-opening 83-66 win over Texas Southern — Ernie providing analysis, Jordan handling play-by-play duties for the men’s contest carried by Pac-12 Network/Oregon.

Has there ever before been a father-son team work a major-college basketball game on TV together?

“I’m pretty sure it’s a first for us,” David Koppett, the Pac-12 Networks’ vice president/content production and strategy, told me Wednesday. “When you add that it happened at a place where they both played and one of them coached? I’m sure that is a combination that has never happened before.”

Ernie Kent, 66, played for Dick Harter with the Kamikaze Kids from 1973-77 and coached the Ducks from 1997-2010, taking them to Elite Eight appearances in 2002 and 2007. Jordan Kent, 37, was a three-sport athlete at Oregon who played basketball for his father from 2003-06.

The pairing wasn’t quite Harry, Skip and Chip Caray working a Braves-Cubs game together in Atlanta in 1991, but it was still a memorable occasion.

“I loved it,” Ernie says. “It was a very emotional couple of hours for me.”

“When you reflect upon all the experiences you have with your father … that one was pretty special,” Jordan says.

The Kent broadcasting pairing was Koppett’s idea, “but I can’t take a lot of credit for it,” he says. “It was just a natural — an obvious move.”

Ernie has been retired from college coaching since being fired by Washington State after the 2018-19 season and recently moved to Scottsdale, Ariz. He has some broadcasting experience. After Ernie was fired by Oregon in 2010, he worked “a dozen or so” games as a game analyst in back-to-back seasons for Fox Sports. For the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons, he moved over to Pac-12 Networks and served frequently doing game analysis and studio shows.

Jordan, meanwhile, was living in Portland and working free-lance after being let go by the Trail Blazers after the 2020-21 season following a year-plus as the team’s TV play-by-play voice. He called football play-by-play for Pac-12 Networks for Utah State’s 26-23 upset of Washington State on Sept. 4 in Pullman.

“Jordan has become more available and is a great fit for us,” Koppett says. “He’s a good young broadcaster who is very versatile and is on our basketball play-by-play list, so he was in our plans, anyway. Ernie has come back into our world. He has a deep history in the league with some broadcasting experience and he still lives in our footprint. We thought it would be great to put them together and see what developed.”

This fall, Ernie emailed Koppett to express interest in working basketball for the Pac-12 Networks. Koppett wrote back that he’d love to have Kent involved and invited him to work the Ducks’ opening day with his son.

Ernie and Jordan Kent pose before their first time as a broadcasting team.

Ernie’s reaction?

“My heart just thumped,” he says. “You talk about coming full circle and doing a game with your son. … he was a stud athlete at Oregon. I was a coach there. I thought, ‘This is going to be pretty cool. I would love to do that.’ ”

Jordan had received his broadcasting schedule from Pac-12 Networks, “but they hadn’t given us the (partner) assignments” when Ernie called him with the big news. Jordan’s reaction?

“I thought, ‘That would be a pretty awesome deal,’ ” he says.

Jordan got off a couple of good lines early in the broadcast.

“Dad, you can’t take me out of this game; I’m out here for 40 minutes,” he said. “I’m the head coach; you’re the assistant.”

Later, Jordan quipped, “You can take credit for half my athleticism.”

“We have a great relationship, so we can joke with one another,” Jordan says with a laugh. “You’re doing the broadcast a disservice if you don’t show a bit of that. We didn’t overdo it. I felt like the moments when it came up, it was organic. It never really felt forced at any time.”

“They have a level of chemistry that only family has,” Koppett says. “That came across in the beginning of the show. They were having fun together. Once the game started, it was a pretty natural telecast. They’re both very good at their individual roles. They know Oregon inside and out. I’m not sure how much you’d have realized their relationship without knowing who they are. I thought they were terrific.”

Ernie had been in studio with Jordan during his time serving as host of the Blazers’ weekly “Courtside” show but had never worked a game with him. Ernie hadn’t done any broadcasting, in fact, since 2014.

“I had’t been in that (analyst) chair in seven years,” he says. “But Jordan is a pro. He’s so doggone good at that job. I felt a little out of rhythm at first. My job was not to overwork it, but to let him carry the show — to just be the coach and talk basketball. I was surprised how well it flowed.

“For him, it was just business as usual. For me, it was a matter of refreshing myself. I was probably over-prepared for the game, but after it started, it was second nature. I fed off of Jordan. Afterwards, I told him, ‘Thanks for carrying me and leading me into things.’ It was a lot of fun.”

Jordan was pleased with the synergy, too.

“It went really well,” he says. “There’s a natural chemistry. I knew my dad is very talented at broadcasting, but I was even more impressed. He hadn’t called a game in many years, but you couldn’t tell that at all. He was quick and punctual with his points, he got in and out effectively, the timing was great, his energy was fantastic. We were just sitting there talking ball. It was like father and son when I was growing up, watching games on TV.”

Ernie felt the father/son relationship “added a whole other dimension to the broadcast. The key for me was how to balance it and not get too wordy. I stepped back and let him control things.”

Jordan has not been idle since being relieved of his duties by the Blazers last summer.

“I’ve had an increase in free-lance work,” he says. “I’ll be doing many Pac-12 (basketball) games this season. I’ve done some studio stuff. I’ve had regular work with Nintendo and eSports. I’m continuing to build my sports camp business. I’ve done local gigs for charity events.”

He has also had more time to spend with wife Tiffany and their two boys, Calvin, 3, and Landon, 1. Tiffany took a priceless video of Calvin watching "Daddy" and "Papa" on the tv screen during the Tigers-Ducks game.

“There are moments like that, that you can’t buy,” Jordan says. “I couldn’t be happier. I get to tuck the kids into bed at night. I’m so grateful to be around my family and have a full calendar of (work-related) things I want to do. I have a lot of peace in my life right now.”

Not that Jordan wouldn’t take an NBA job if the right offer came along. He flew to Philadelphia for an interview and was a finalist for the 76ers’ TV play-by-play job this summer.

“That was a huge confidence boost,” he says. “It was further validation, being valued in the No. 4 media market in the country.”

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