Courtesy Ventura County Star

(July 15, 2008) There was one thing Billy Packer made clear the past several college basketball seasons: When the time came for him to leave, he was not going to make a big announcement about it. He was just going to go.

And so, he's left.

CBS announced Monday that Clark Kellogg will become the network's lead game analyst with Jim Nantz and that Packer will leave after 27 years and another seven for NBC before that.

The news release says much more about Kellogg's appointment than Packer's departure, but that doesn't mean there was any animosity between Packer and CBS. In fact, attached to the release were two full pages of quotes extolling Packer's career and character.

The truth of the matter, according to a source familiar with the situation, is that Packer, 68, had told the network he didn't want to be doing game analysis into his 70s and so for the past few seasons had been working on a series of one-year contracts. That way, Packer told CBS, if he wanted out, he could leave quickly and quietly; or if the network had someone they wanted to put in his spot, they could.

About a year ago, the source said CBS told Packer they wanted to put Kellogg in the analyst position. Packer asked to have one last season and CBS agreed, but had to keep quiet about the situation for the entire year because the one thing Packer did not want was a farewell tour.

Packer will continue to be involved in college basketball. Sports Business Daily said he "will work with unnamed partners in an effort to advance the sport."

In recent years, Packer has been criticized for some of his comments, perceived biases and for an attitude that has come to be perhaps the very definition of "curmudgeon." He has been seen as the polar opposite of ESPN's Dick Vitale and the two have had a recurring feud over the years.

It's interesting to remember that at NBC, Packer worked with someone who also had impulsive tendencies: Al McGuire.

"When Al McGuire joined our NBC team in 1978, it was Billy who served as the perfect foil for Al's off-the-wall remarks," said Dick Enberg, who was play-by-play man and ringmaster for McGuire's and Packer's circus. "I feel Packer never received due credit for McGuire's success. Al always knew that no matter what he said, critical or crazy, Billy's preparation and knowledge would be there to cover for him. That was a key ingredient in our broadcast team's seamless success."

Enberg said there was more to Packer than meet the camera's eye.

"What the television audience never sees is Billy's soft side. His commentary is rigid, correct and unemotional, but in private, Billy can't talk about basketball, its coaches and players, without getting tearfully emotional.

"Hopefully, he'll always have a position in basketball so that we never lose his rare insight and love for the game. Of one thing I am absolutely certain, Billy's successful career is not ego-driven. His personal drive is only to make the game right. And that's how he announces it."