Good to see him back in the fold. Outside of David Jackson, I don't think we mention our game day crews enough.

Love me some Pierre Banks!

Pierre just needs to remember he is the analyst not the play by play announcer. That said, he was a great representative for App when he played and he continues to rep it well.

Yall r kidding, right?

I loved Banks as a player, but as an announcer, or public speaker, he needs more practice.

Here is how Banks would say that previous sentence on the air:

I. LOVED. BANKS. AS. A. PLAYER., BUT. AS. AN. ANNOUNCER., OR. PUBLIC. SPEAKER., HE. NEEDS. MORE. PRACTICE.

Just sayin.

hapapp wrote: ↑

Sun Sep 06, 2020 3:11 pm

Pierre just needs to remember he is the analyst not the play by play announcer. That said, he was a great representative for App when he played and he continues to rep it well.

Yep. He needs to make his point and get out before the offense lines up for the next play.

Met Pierre's mother after one of the football games standing outside Owen. when he was about a Jr or so.. Pierre comes from a family of about 8, 9, or 10 kids..can't recall which. At the time I met her, Pierre was a double major and had a 3.00 over all. She was super nice and classy. Ms Banks was head of a large Head Start program. Talking about being proud of a son..she was mega proud.

Hate to pile on but Pierre could stand to leave some cliches in the bag. Painted area. And he does take forever to say something. He seems to enjoy what he’s doing and I’m sure he will get better. Seems like he’s 100% App State.

I love Pierre's love for APP but, I majored in Broadcasting and spent some time working for some of NC's TV stations and my opinion is this, Pierre makes a great side line commentator and he is good with his weekly updates but as a on air color analysts, he doesn't have the polish that the job requires, he sounds amateurish. I hate to say that but someone needs to say it. People I know from other markets have heard his commentating with me and have said the same thing.

NewApp wrote: ↑

Sun Sep 06, 2020 4:52 pm

Met Pierre's mother after one of the football games standing outside Owen. when he was about a Jr or so.. Pierre comes from a family of about 8, 9, or 10 kids..can't recall which. At the time I met her, Pierre was a double major and had a 3.00 over all. She was super nice and classy. Ms Banks was head of a large Head Start program. Talking about being proud of a son..she was mega proud.

I believe he was the 16th of 17 kids.

Strange lot, you are.

Sorry, I don’t agree with you guys on PB. I think you are being a little harsh. It almost sounds like you haven’t heard or viewed anything he has done lately with his AppVision videos or DJ and Podcast work. He comes off polished and smooth to me. Maybe he speaks a little long for some with analysis but no problem here. Huge asset for the program. His knowledge and passion are awesome. Big fan and I’m someone who grew up listening to baseball greats on the radio like Jack Buck and Ernie Harwell with my Dad before cable TV and all we have now.

Witten is always great, and I’ll miss Simms, but am happy to welcome Pierre back.

APPChad90 wrote: ↑

Sun Sep 06, 2020 6:26 pm

Sorry, I don’t agree with you guys on PB. I think you are being a little harsh. It almost sounds like you haven’t heard or viewed anything he has done lately with his AppVision videos or DJ and Podcast work. He comes off polished and smooth to me. Maybe he speaks a little long for some with analysis but no problem here. Huge asset for the program. His knowledge and passion are awesome. Big fan and I’m someone who grew up listening to baseball greats on the radio like Jack Buck and Ernie Harwell with my Dad before cable TV and all we have now.

Oh man - I started listening to Ernie Harwell in the early 60s from the mountains of WVA - Tigers were my team way back in the day - Ernie had the smoothest voice and perfect delivery. I think he was the one who started referring to small towns around the area - such as - "there's a swing and a foul ball heading toward the section behind the Tigers dugout and a great grab by a fan from ----" (If it were Boone, it could be something like a great grab from a fan from Valle Crucis) As a kid I used to wonder how he knew that

appchicago wrote: ↑

Sun Sep 06, 2020 6:40 pm

Witten is always great, and I’ll miss Simms, but am happy to welcome Pierre back.

Speaking of which...where is Simms off to? I'm assuming it was probably his choice to not return? Career related?

APPChad90 wrote: ↑

Sun Sep 06, 2020 6:26 pm

Sorry, I don’t agree with you guys on PB. I think you are being a little harsh. It almost sounds like you haven’t heard or viewed anything he has done lately with his AppVision videos or DJ and Podcast work. He comes off polished and smooth to me. Maybe he speaks a little long for some with analysis but no problem here. Huge asset for the program. His staffand passion are awesome. Big fan and I’m someone who grew up listening to baseball greats on the radio like Jack Buck and Ernie Harwell with my Dad before cable TV and all we have now.

We've gotten to know Pierre over the years and I doubt any of us would question his pride and passion for App State. We all started from scratch in a new job once-upon-a-time; and if we're honest with ourselves, we know that the parchment our degree designations were inscribed upon didn't have a quick-start-guide for workplace success printed on the reverse. Pierre will continue to be different from Steve Brown going forward because they're from different generations, backgrounds and experiences. We should consider ourselves fortunate that our Alma Mater is in a position to staff our various broadcast booths/sidelines with our own quality grads and/or professional associates rather than just hiring "have-mike-will travel" types with no Mountaineer in their hearts and souls.

Look, we are not going to have another David Jackson/Steve Brown combo and the Tigers are not going to have another Ernie Harwell, nor the Yankees and Mel Allen, nor the Pirates and Bob Prince, nor the Holes and Woody Durham --- doesn't mean those who come after aren't good - they are just different !!!

Wow, when I made the OP I thought this would be a positive thread where we could mention those folks as we get ready for the season. Pierre is young and has time to improve, but he brings great game experience to the crew. I don't think Simms is in broadasting now, he is a salesman for a medical company called Stryker. I'm glad there is some connection to App in our crew, as others have said we could have some suitcase industry climbers giving generic input.

This is now Yosef's Cabin of Negativity. How about we try to change that.

Listen I think Pierre is great and no one can question his loyalty to App. His passion is unmatched. I don't think folks are being critical of Pierre. His work with the updates is well done as are his other contributions outside of broadcasting games. I don't see fault in folks offering constructive criticism. No one blasted him personally. And, it has nothing to do with comparing him to Steve Brown. IMHO, I think he tries too hard to say the clever thing. That would be my only criticism. And, I would agree that it is a plus to have someone with ties to the program to be able to offer insight and locker room knowledge. I have no doubt with seasoning his time as analyst will continue to improve.

Yeah I don't think anyone is being mean to Pierre, certainly not me, I've just listened to some other game broadcasts of other college teams and some just have a higher level of professional talent. Again I love our gameday crew, they do a great job and I love that they have strong personal ties to APP. I'm thinking of those who do not know of our crew and tune in for the first time and hear the broadcast.

Count me as proud to have Pierre on the crew because I know he will “give his all” just as he did in his playing years and just as he has done for our university since his graduation. Not calling out any criticism, just sharing my opinion. Can you imagine all the stories from Pierre’s playing years that could fill time if we are ever faced with lightning delays on the broadcast similar to the Coastal game last year? I could see a scenario where he grows into this role in time and years from now people will be complaining about the next guy, wishing Pierre was still on the job.