It’s that time of year again when basketball becomes the focal point in this country, with the NBA heading into the final stretch of its season, the playoffs looming, and college basketball heading into the always highly anticipated NCAA Tournament, with everyone filling out their brackets following Selection Sunday.

Legendary college hoops analyst Dick Vitale has been giving us bracket intel for more than 40 years now. After completing his 46th year with ESPN, Vitale finally got a career milestone we’ve all been begging to happen for decades. He called his first March Madness game Tuesday, calling the Texas-North Carolina State game alongside fellow hoops legend Charles Barkley and play-by-play man Brian Anderson.

Vitale spoke with EssentiallySports about players and teams to watch in the tourney, his ongoing partnership with Planet Fitness, and his resilience in a hard-fought battle with cancer.

What makes this time of the year so special for players, coaches, and fans, do you think?

“What makes it special, I think, first of all, I always teach Charles Barkley about this, basically. The one thing about the college scene, it’s one bad night and the party’s over.

“In the NBA, you can slip a night or two. It’s four out of seven. In college basketball, one day you have a bad game, and it is over, the party. So it looks on paper, you look at Duke, you look certainly at teams like Arizona, Michigan, Connecticut and Florida.

They look like, certainly, the heavyweights for the whole year, during the regular season they’ve been. But you get to and reply. Have a bad night shooting a three, your star gets in foul trouble. And I think it’s that drama and that kind of feeling that creates that excitement. And I’ll tell you, this time of the year, you get people following basketball.

“First of all, they don’t know any of the players, but they just know a certain school. They put a sweatshirt on at school. They start cheering grandma, grandpa, everybody. It seems like March Madness has become an absolute phenomenon. But it’s just fantastic, the interest and the excitement that it creates.”

Can you tell us a little bit about your partnership with Planet Fitness for a second straight year?

“It’s time for March Madness, and I get really excited. I’m glad to be with Planet Fitness. It’s my second year. And they’re really, I don’t know if you’re aware of this or not, they’re the largest and fastest-growing franchise right now of fitness centers in the world. And their members are growing and growing and growing. And people can get the Black Card Spa.

“It’s that card, man. It’s only $24.99. You can afford that. That’s less than $300 a year. And you get in great, great shape.”

Who’s a player in this NCAA Tournament that could be your next ‘Diaper Dandy’ that’ll capture the nation’s attention?

“We got a lot of Diaper Dandies. I think this year, more than ever, Ryan. Probably the best year for freshmen this year.

“An incredible Cameron Boozer right now would be my Player of the Year. Give you a scoop here. He’d be my Player of the Year. Cameron Boozer from Duke, freshman, Diaper Dandy, PTP’er. He’s got it all, man. You got kids like AJ Dybantsa from down at BYU. He’s having a phenomenal year. Probably the first player, I think, taking the NBA Draft.

“You got the kid at Kansas. [Darryn] Peterson is a terrific talent. You got the kid that got hurt at [North] Carolina, tough break, losing Caleb Wilson. You got [Kingston] Flemings at [University of] Houston, a super freshman. There are so many Diaper Dandies this year.

“In fact, I firmly believe that the first nine picks of the NBA Draft will be freshman Diaper Dandies.

“But you know what? All those guys, they must go to Planet Fitness because they’re all in great shape. You want to get in great shape, you’ve got to go to Planet Fitness. I’ve been with them for two years. They’re great people. I’ve been part of their program. And I’m so happy they’re involved in March Madness, running commercials, et cetera. I’m glad to be part of that because they really excite me.

“And I feel so energized anyway because, first of all, I think you’re well aware of what I went through for the last three, four years with four different cancer battles. And I lost my voice. I had five major vocal cord surgeries. And to be back, I mean, I get emotional. I’ll be honest. My partner’s also. I get very emotional when I sit at courtside because there was a day in my life a few years ago, I never thought I’d dreamt that would happen while I was doing chemotherapy at all. I never, ever thought that I’d have that happen. And God has rewarded me. It’s my 46th year now at ESPN.”

I admire you for that. I have two parents going through that right now. So in fact, my dad’s getting checked out this morning to see if it’s come back.

“So I know your dad just went through a nerve-wracking time. I have to do that now and every four months. And I’m due for one in about two to three weeks. It’s the most nerve-racking time for a cancer patient waiting for the phone to ring from the doctor to find out one of two things are going to happen. One will say you’re cancer-free, you’re home-free, and the second, unfortunately, cancer hasn’t come back. And therefore, we got to do more chemo and radiation.

“That is a nightmare. And my heart goes out to anyone like your dad who’s got to go through that waiting game. I pray for all, and I pray for him that he really gets good news.”

What’s one tournament memory that still gives you chills to this day?

“Oh, my God. The one that gives me the chills was my first tournament that I covered for ESPN in 1983.

“When I covered the tournament, Jimmy V won the tournament in ‘83. He’s my buddy, first of all, but seeing him win a miracle run, no one thought they had a chance. Houston was the dominant team all year. And as I said earlier, you never know one bad night. And Houston had their bad night, and NC State took advantage, and they won that national title.

“And that has led to saving so many lives. I don’t believe that without that championship, the V Foundation would have been as big as it is today. But there’s always the memory of Jimmy running around the court. I sat at the press conference with his father, and we were just hysterical about how he had the purse in the palm of his hand. But that one stands out. It gave me definite chills.”

Why do you think recovery is so important during March Madness? Is it just the repetitive games? 

“I’m glad you brought that up, because that’s the one key right now, which is what Planet Fitness is all about. It’s about rest and recovery. It’s about the emotional distress people go through.

“People really go through a lot of stress this time of the year. For many of them on a certain team, it’s like life and death. They think it’s so serious. And getting a little rest, recovery, getting a workout, going down to Planet Fitness, getting that Black Card Spa, and having really people take care of you in a very positive way, I think it’s a big, big plus. It’s a big plus mentally, physically and emotionally.”

What are you most excited to see in the tournament this year? Are there any storylines that you think the fans should keep an eye on?

“I think the big storyline for me is will the heavyweights, who we’re all predicting, I mean, we’re all predicting that right now, you got a separation from a Duke, Arizona, Michigan, Florida, and Connecticut, teams like that, and the rest of the field. And it’s really going to be interesting to see how they competitively hold out. Can they really live up to that? 

“Last year, we had four number one seeds. Some people think it’s going to happen again. Four No. 1 seeds in the Final Four. That’s going to be exciting to watch for me.”

Vitale’s message on people battling cancer:

“I really try to tell people who are battling cancer and their families, you must, you have no chance if you don’t think positively and have faith, and also get yourself to Planet Fitness and get in shape, because if you’re in shape, you’ve got another chance of beating that disease.”