In 2013, as a freshman at Seton Hall University, John Fanta boarded a fan-student bus and rode 25 miles southwest to a dark trapezoidal arena in Piscataway. Top to bottom in the cheap seats, the 18-year-old from Ohio got his first taste of the most Jersey sporting event of them all – the Garden State Hardwood Classic.
Seton Hall edged Rutgers that day despite finishing the game minus four key players – two injured, one fouled and, of course, one sent off for clotheslining a Scarlet Knight.
“I had heard what a great rivalry it was,” Fanta recalled. “I wanted to see it for myself. I fell in love with New Jersey college basketball that night.
Nine years later, 27-year-old Fanta is an honorary New Jerseyan (he lives in Boonton, Morris County) and a rising star as a play-by-play television broadcaster. Sunday night, for the first time, he gets the mission he was born for – calling Rutgers-Seton Hall on Fox Sports 1.
“It’s an honor,” he said. “When I was given the assignment it gave me goosebumps because the rivalry means so much to so many people. I learned that passion from fans at Rutgers and Seton Hall, and I think it It’s really cool and humbling to have the opportunity to tell a chapter of one of college basketball’s most underrated rivalries.
Paired with Jim Spanarkel
On top of all that, Fanta’s partner on the call will be highly respected analyst Jim Spanarkel, a Hudson County legend as a player at Hudson Catholic (and later a star at Duke) who is a resident longtime Rutherford.
“One of the best analysts in the business,” Fanta said. “I grew up watching Jim Spanarkel call NCAA tournament games with Ian Eagle and Verne Lundquist, two guys who were role models. To work with a guy who I think is the world, who is a pro of the pros and who is also a guy from New Jersey, it’s really cool.
They have called a few matches together in the past.
“Very happy to see him,” Spanarkel said of Fanta’s nomination for the game. “John is always ready, always ready to go. Young broadcasters must find their places, find their opportunities. When the door opened a little, he was always ready and ready to enjoy.
“There could be blood”
Fanta’s knowledge of the central characters in this contest is profound. As a student broadcaster for Seton Hall’s Pirate Sports Network, he covered Hall’s current head coach Shaheen Holloway from when Holloway was the program’s top assistant. And he’s made an effort to get to know Rutgers skipper Steve Pikiell, interviewing him on podcasts and appearing at the RAC as a media watcher on several occasions over the past few years.
“Rutgers has one of the best home-court advantages in America,” Fanta said. “As a college basketball player, when you watch this mission, you automatically think, ‘It’s going to be an exceptional atmosphere. Large crowds make our job easier – they tell a better story than we could ever tell with words.
Part of the appeal of this game is to be ready for the unexpected. Crazy stuff has happened over the years, scenes that will surely be told on Friday at the annual RU-SHU pre-match banquet at Nutley (which, naturally, hosts Fanta). As Fanta said at last year’s banquet, the gathering is a reminder that despite all the shenanigans on the field, there’s an undercurrent of mutual respect between the two Garden State majors. Respect punctuated with a sharp elbow or three, which come with the territory.
“If you’re looking at next Sunday and looking for the perfect basketball, you’ve come to the wrong place,” Fanta said. “It’s going to be a street fight, there could be blood, and if you’re soft, well that’s not what this rivalry is about. This rivalry is about what’s good with college basketball.
Jerry Carino has covered the New Jersey sports scene since 1996 and college basketball since 2003. He is an Associated Press Top 25 Voters. Contact him at [email protected].