CHICAGO – The announce team of Bill Hazen and Keith Hoehne will tip off the NBA Development League postseason Tuesday night, as they describe the opening game of the playoff series matching the Maine Redclaws and the defending D-League champion Ft. Wayne Mad Ants. The game will be carried nationally by ESPNU, and will be the first NBADL playoff game aired by the network. ESPN will carry a significant schedule of NBADL regular season and playoff games beginning next season.
Hazen is no stranger to ESPN, having worked on NBA basketball, Major League baseball and NFL football for ESPN International. During the network's infancy, Hazen described the action of the Mesquite Rodeo for the network under a package of telecasts produced by High Bar Productions. Hazen has described NBA action on television for three teams, Chicago, Indiana and Houston. He has served at the Mad Ants' microphone for seven seasons. He has also called college action for most Chicago-area schools, Notre Dame, Missouri, SMU, Marquette and Game of the Week telecasts for the Southwest Conference, the Mid-American Conference and the Summit League (then known as the Mid-Con).
Hoehne is in his third year on the Mad Ants' broadcast team. He works as a project producer for Chicago-based Intersport, as well as the Executive Producer for Bill Hazen Productions.
“I'm so pleased for the NBA Development League and everyone in the Ft. Wayne Mad Ants family,” Hazen said. “Our goal will be to fully capture the action and excitement of the game, and introduce the fascinating stories that are an integral part of this league. The D-League is growing rapidly, and I believe fans will be very impressed with the quality of basketball the league presents.
“There are some very good broadcasters in the league, as well. It's great to see them have an opportunity for exposure through the ESPN family of networks.”
For more information on the NBADL, its member teams and the playoffs, visit their web site: http://dleague.nba.com/. For more information on Bill Hazen Productions, visit billhazenproductions.com.
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