Craig Sager’s sports coats and Gregg Popovich being a bit of a jerk—if you’ve managed to stay dialed in whenever a sideline reporter lobs a few underhanders at a coach between quarters, that’s the sum total of your reward during the past decade.
Thank God, then, for Raptors assistant Tom Sterner, a 21-year NBA coaching veteran and undisputed king of the sideline interview. Armed with enough energy to power a small city, Sterner has done the impossible this season: He’s made the sideline interview destination viewing. Want to follow in his footsteps? Here are three keys from the master.
1) Soul-piercing eye contact
“People are going to notice if you make eye contact with them. A lot of people are intimidated by that lens—I’m not. I look at that camera, I don’t see the cameraman behind it, I look directly at the lens, because I’m looking at the people in the viewing audience. I’m talking to all of ’em.”
2) Knowledge is power
“You have to know your subject and come with facts. Whether you’re talking about shooting, defence or a play, you should have the confidence to be able to talk on all different topics.”
3) For inspiration, trust in Jack Nicholson
“A Few Good Men. ‘You can’t handle the truth.’ That speech was one that I played over in my head a lot of times. It was powerful; it was emotional; it was what he believed was the truth at that point in time. And even though he was wrong, he still delivered it in a very positive vein. That one has stuck out to me.”
This story appears in the April 20, 2015 issue of Sportsnet magazine.