Kevin Harlan took his broadcasting capabilities — and reflexes — to a new level during Friday’s March Madness game between North Carolina and Mississippi.
During the NCAA Tournament matchup, a loose ball went right towards the broadcasting table and Harlan tipped the ball away from the other commentators.
Harlan also somehow managed to narrate the sequence of events to perfect execution.
“Knocked out of bounds, deflected by me, and off to the side,” Harlan said emphatically.
If not for Harlan’s heroics, the ball was headed straight for color commentator and longtime NBA head coach Stan Van Gundy’s face.
Van Gundy seemed unfazed, however, immediately referencing the prior play.
“That was great defense by RJ Davis,” Van Gundy said.
Davis, a graduate student for the Tar Heels, was the team’s leading scorer during Friday’s loss against Ole Miss with 15 points.
North Carolina nearly erased the 18-point lead that the Rebels garnered in the first half, but ultimately lost the game 71-64, knocking them out of the NCAA Tournament in the first round.
The loss comes just three days after the Tar Heels beat San Diego State in blowout fashion during the First Four.
In that game, Davis, 23, led the team with 26 points, shooting a perfect 6-for-6 from the 3-point line, in the 95-68 victory.
“As a head coach, I don’t know what it looks like to exist without him on the sideline and on the floor, and I don’t want to think about it,” North Carolina head coach Hubert Davis said about Davis.
The Tar Heels, who finished the 2024-25 season with a 23-14 record, were seen as a long shot to reach the NCAA Tournament.
Critics noted that North Carolina’s athletic director, Bubba Cunningham, was the chair of the tournament selection committee, and speculated how that could have played into the team’s March Madness chances.
“Whether North Carolina should be in or not is a good debate. Their AD is the chairman of the selection committee but cannot be in the room when the Tar Heels are discussed,” ESPN analyst Fran Fraschilla posted on X.
“But it’s human nature that it doesn’t hurt UNC’s chances when other members of the committee have spent so much time with him. Not criticizing it but just pointing it out.”