And because his memory bank is loaded with decades of the National Basketball Association - the Knicks and Willis Reed, the Bulls and Michael Jordan, the Lakers and Kobe Bryant - it's impressive that Albert has such a detailed recall of two college assignments that occurred long, long ago.

Taking a break from his NBA play-by-play work on TNT, Albert is in Tulsa for this weekend's NCAA Tournament games. His partners also are on loan from TNT's NBA talent pool: Steve Kerr on color and Craig Sager on courtside reporting.

"I look forward to seeing the (BOK Center). I hear it's very nice," said Albert, best known for a simple, timeless and cool signature call on significant baskets: "Yes!" This will be his first college basketball play-by-play since 1981 - the final year that NBC had rights to NCAA Tournament telecasts.

A New York Times writer expressed this opinion: "Albert is the finest sports announcer of his generation."

A Brooklyn native and lifelong New Yorker who did his first Knicks play-by-play gig at the age of 19 (19!), Albert is visiting Tulsa for the first time since Jan. 17, 1976, when he was at the Mabee Center for NBC's coverage of a contest matching the Chuck Daly-coached Penn Quakers and the Oral Roberts University Titans.

ORU lost 75-74 to a good Quaker team that three years later would crash the Final Four. What Albert remembers most, however, is that the Rev. Oral Roberts - ORU's founder and president - scolded the Titan fans for being unruly.

"The crowd started to boo the opponent, and (Roberts) got on the public-address and told the fans that it was not proper to treat the guests that way," Albert recalls. "He said, 'We will not have this.' And that was the end of it. It was pretty good live television. I'll never forget that."

Albert also has a vivid memory of being given a tour of the ORU campus.

"It was pretty amazing, actually," he said.

And in March 1981, the University of Tulsa faced Syracuse for the NIT championship at Madison Square Garden. That showdown also had Albert on play-by-play. His analyst partners were then-Notre Dame coach Digger Phelps and Bucky Waters.

It was a great night for the Golden Hurricane, an 86-84 winner in overtime. Thirty years later, though, some TU fans still harbor a grudge against Phelps.

Before the game, Phelps rankled Hurricane fans by saying, "Tulsa can't beat Syracuse."

During the telecast, Phelps made comments perceived to have been anti-TU. He botched the pronunciation of the names of Hurricane players. TU fans were hacked.

"Digger made a remark that was not well-received at the time," Albert said with a laugh. "We killed Digger on that. I remember that. ... Any time I've seen him, I somehow bring it up."

While in the eighth grade, Albert decided that he wanted to become a sportscaster.

"My father took me to Knick games," he says. "I would take my tape recorder with me and annoy people around me as I would be in the stands, doing games."

As a teen, Albert was a Knicks ball boy and the president of the team's fan club. He went on to study journalism at Syracuse University and worked at WHN radio in New York City, convincing the general manager to complement the station's country-music format with live-sports programming.

"We ended up carrying Knicks basketball, Rangers hockey and college basketball," Albert said.

In 1967 - at the age of 26 - Albert succeeded his mentor, Marty Glickman, as the Knicks' radio voice. That led ultimately to Albert's television career at NBC Sports.

During the 1970 Knicks-Lakers Game 7, played at the Garden, center Willis Reed became a New York legend by attempting to play in spite of a torn thigh muscle. When Reed launched an early shot, Albert captured the moment: "Right side from 20! Jumps! Yes!"

The effort of the hobbled Reed inspired the Knicks to conquer Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West and the Lakers. On the Madison Square Garden website, that game is ranked as the No. 1 event in the arena's storied history. Albert's voice provided the soundtrack on New York radio.

"You make your breaks, but sometimes you're in the right spot. I was in the right spot," Albert said. "(Glickman) was really the voice of New York. I ended up getting to know him when I was in high school. ... He hired me as a producer and writer, and he put me on the air.

"I was able to do some subbing at a very young age, doing Knick games and Ranger games. That kind of circumstance just doesn't happen very often. It just clicked and led to TV at NBC."

ABC-ESPN's Brent Musburger is 71 and remains among the elite in sportscasting. NBC's Al Michaels is rock-solid great at 66. Albert turns 70 in June and still does brilliant work.

How much longer will Albert want to sustain such a heavy load of assignments and travel?

"As long as I have passion for it and feel that I'm still at the level I've been, I'll continue," he said.

"I just love what I'm doing."