In my line of work, there are plenty of interesting and famous people I talk to. There was the time I talked with NBA Scouting Director Marty Blake for a story that never ran, or a Saturday morning phone call from former Seattle Mariners General Manager Pat Gillick.
More recently, my athletic interview was Hank Baskett, a Clovis native and Philadelphia Eagles receiver.
I’ll be very direct: Hank is one of the most media-friendly people I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with. He calls you back, and he’ll also help you in underrated ways (case in point: He exchanged numerous text messages to help me identify two people he spoke with during the tournament for a photo I snapped). He gives lengthy, well-reasoned answers. Iif he ever reaches the point where he catches 50-75 balls per season, he’ll be a shoo-in for the league’s All-Interview Team.
He’s also good with the press because he doesn’t let you trap him, or make him take a controversial position — no matter how much you make him try, or how trivial the position is.
While he was in town for his charity golf tournament, I got a few minutes with him. We talked about the tournament, the NFL Draft (which was on the same day) and general Philadelphia things.
The stuff about the tournament made the story we printed on Sunday, and the rest is making this blog. All quotes belong to Baskett:
We shortly discussed the draft as it played on a big-screen TV in the background. He said last year’s draft was a life-changing thing, but this year is just about seeing how your team would benefit.
A little bit before we talked, the Eagles traded their No. 26 pick to the Dallas Cowboys for Dallas’ second-, third- and fifth-round selections. He admitted he was a little surprised, but liked the deal.
“That just gives us more artillery for our arsenal. The more, the better. You can’t ever have too much in the NFL. Anybody who’s going to come in, help you win the Super Bowl is a good thing.”
Donté Stallworth left, so the receiver position is a priority for the Eagles. I asked him about the fine line between knowing you need receivers and being concerned about your spot on the depth chart.
“We’re not even worried about that. We picked up Kevin Curtis. We believe we’re all stronger than last year. We’ll go into minicamp, then we’ll know about depth charts.”
And what of the quarterback situation? It’s unfair under most circumstances to force a second-year receiver to comment on a decorated veteran quarterback like Donovan McNabb. I thought it was fair, since:
• McNabb’s missed significant time the last two seasons (2005 sports hernia, 2006 ACL), and
• Backup Jeff Garcia, who led the Eagles to the second round of the playoffs, signed with Tampa Bay.
“Donovan’s been coming back, working harder than ever. It’s unfortunate we lost Jeff, but A.J. (Feeley) showed in the Atlanta game that he can come in.”
(Full disclosure: The Atlanta game had no impact on the Eagles’ playoff position, and Baskett may be a little biased. He caught seven balls for 177 yards, including an 89-yard touchdown in that game.) Just in case, the Eagles picked up quarterback Kevin Kolb from the University of Houston.
At the point we were talking, Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn had gone from a possible top three pick to No. 22 (Cleveland Browns). He really didn’t have much of an opinion.
“Y’all know more about sports than I do. I don’t watch TV. I see how they hype up the draft. I learned what the draft can do to you last year.”
I tried to put him on the fence about a prime Philadelphia issue: Who makes the best cheesesteak?
“I’ve been to Tony Luke’s, I’ve been to Jim’s on South Street, I’ve been to Pat’s (King of Steaks), I’ve been to Geno’s. I spread it around.”
Another safe answer, but he did mention a variation of the popular Philadelphia sandwich.
“The best cheesesteak rolls are at Davio’s. Those things are awesome.”
