Ian Mahinmi was on the French television broadcast of the Final Four.
Ian Mahinmi traded in his jersey for a suit, credential, microphone, and a much smaller paycheck last weekend — only temporarily, though.
With the Pacers in town for the weekend, Mahinmi joined French TV station, Ma Chaine Sport MCS, for the broadcast of all three Final Four games, held at Lucas Oil Stadium, as well as for stand-ups to discuss the games.
Mahinmi, who enjoyed being behind the microphone, discussed his experience on Tuesday.
How did it go?
I think I did pretty good. For my first time, I was pretty happy about myself. Obviously the Final Four, the good thing about that is you got three games. The first game was a little shaky, but when I got by the second and the final, I think I got the hang of it.
Did you watch the teams or have to do a lot of research?
I watched the teams that were going to advance to the Final Four. I did a little bit of research. I had the guys on the team helping me, too. The coaches and trainers … so I was prepared.
What did you find to be the most difficult?
For me, it was more when to talk because there was three of us. Everybody has something to say so finding the right time to talk and say the right thing. Obviously it’s a lot of people watching so a lot of the stuff you can’t really say…
That doesn’t stop Quinn…
Yeah, but Q is a vet so he gets a free card.
Is this something that you’d like to do a little more of?
After that, why not? Probably not on an everyday basis but big events like that, yes. I like that.
Did you gain a new respect for broadcasters?
You know what, yeah. It actually went up. My respect went up. You guys do a hell of a job.
Did you hear any feedback from back home?
Yeah, all of the feedback was good. And, actually we had a hashtag during the games so the people could interact with us and tell us what they wanted, if I was doing good. The feedback was good. I think I did a good job.
[Photos via @IanMahinmi]