www.newrivervalley.com

Rick Watson

Jeff Kleppin

RADFORD -- "The Highlanders shoot, the Highlanders score."

"Radford gets a steal, Radford slams it down."

An ordinary person may never talk that way.

Such phrases are the norm for the Radford University radio broadcasting team of Rick Watson and Jeff Kleppin.

Watson is the play-by-play announcer and Kleppin the color analyst for men's basketball games. Both are Radford alumni who love the school and its men's basketball team.

"These guys are two Radford graduates who do an excellent job on the air," said Drew Dickerson, RU's assistant athletic director for media relations. "They have great chemistry together and have become one of the best broadcasting tandems in the region."

The crucial factor in the broadcast team's success is the shared passion for the university, Kleppin said.

"Because we're both Radford graduates and fans of RU basketball, we've invested interest in the success of the program," he said. "We love the game and we love RU, and I think those things give us a good relationship on the air."

The chemistry developed early.

"The first few years in this job, I worked with Ron Shelburne, a former star player at Radford," Watson said. "Then he left, and we needed someone to be the color analyst, and Jeff volunteered at the time. He sat in the first day and it just clicked for us."

Confidence developed swiftly. Watson knows, for example, that Kleppin's timing with his analysis is always right.

"I've been doing this for so long, you know when to leave time for your partner to speak," Watson said. "Luckily, Jeff has always been good in stepping in at the right time, and we've never had a problem of stepping on each other's toes. Usually when the play is finished, I'll leave him enough time to interject his analysis until the ball crosses half court, and then I'm ready to describe the next play. It's been a natural progression, but you just don't find that chemistry with your color analyst very often."

Watson gives Kleppin credit for his knowledge about basketball. Kleppin's expertise didn't develop in the usual ways. Although many color analysts played college basketball, Kleppin did not. He doesn't have formal radio training either.

"Even though Jeff didn't play at the collegiate level, he has the same knowledge as a former player would," Watson said. "He has a natural feel for what he needs to do as an analyst and for basketball as well."

Kleppin said Watson has much to do with that.

"It's all driven by the play-by-play guy, and Rick is very good at what he does," Kleppin said. "He makes me better because he knows how to set me up at the perfect time. Anyone could sit in the chair next to Rick, and he would make them sound good."

Watson and Kleppin came to their broadcasting jobs under different circumstances.

In 1998, Watson was the voice of Virginia Tech Women's basketball. He worked with ISP Sports in Blacksburg with Hokie broadcasters Bill Roth and Mike Burnop.

When a play-by-play job for Radford men's basketball opened, Watson was ready.

"My predecessor at RU left, and with the job at my alma mater open it was a no-brainer to apply, and I was fortunate enough to get it," Watson said.

Along with his job at Radford, Watson has broadcast high school football games for 12 years. At one time or another, he called games for Radford, Blacksburg and Christiansburg. His current high school football gig is similar to the Radford basketball job in that it has allowed him to return to his roots.

"I'm from Dublin and went to Pulaski County High School," he said. "I've been broadcasting football for the Cougars for a few years now. It's really neat that I get to broadcast at both of my alma maters."

Watson, now in his seventh year at Radford, said he enjoys the fast pace of basketball broadcasting.

"The intricacies of it are amazing to me," Watson said. "It doesn't matter if it's a fast-paced game or if a coach decides to slow up everything and make it a half-court game. I like to watch the strategies and how offenses in the half court work themselves out. Besides, basketball -- it's probably the most perfect game ever created."

Beyond his RU basketball and high school football responsibilities, Watson also hosts a sports radio call-in show called Big Dog Sports Talk, which airs in the New River Valley on 1460 AM WRAV.

Kleppin's road to the radio was an unexpected one. He grew up in Massachusetts and came to Radford in the early 1980s as an undergraduate. He once tried out for the basketball team. An injury ended any dreams of playing college basketball, so Kleppin moved to the sports information department.

After graduating from Radford in 1985, Kleppin went to Virginia Tech to earn a master's degree in athletic administration. He then spent four years in Northern Virginia before returning to work in the Radford athletic department.

Kleppin came back in 1991. He's done a variety of jobs in the athletic department.

When the color analyst job opened in 2002, Kleppin lobbied hard for it.

"I begged and pleaded to get on the air at Radford," Kleppin said. "I've been doing stats for Radford basketball since I was a student in the early 1980s. I always wanted to get on the radio, and eventually got a chance to just do home games. After one season of only home games, I've been traveling with the team and doing all the games with Rick ever since."