Former Duke Blue Devils standout and current ESPN analyst Jay Bilas reflected on the life of the late Chris Spatola.
The world lost a great person three days ago as Chris Spatola unexpectedly passed away at the age of 47.
Not only was Spatola involved in the sports world with Duke, but he was a loving husband and father who is gone too soon. The college basketball analyst on ESPN has a tie to the Duke Blue Devils basketball program as he's the son-in-law of Mike Krzyzewski and was a member of his coaching staff for a few years before going to ESPN.
Spatola also went into the Army, serving his country as well as being a student-athlete on the basketball court. With his tragic passing, a former Blue Devils standout reflected on his life.
ESPN released a statement on the passing of Spatola.
"Chris Spatola brought a unique perspective to ESPN's college basketball coverage, shaped by his experiences as a student-athlete, Army veteran, coach and broadcaster," ESPN said in a statement. "He was thoughtful, prepared and passionate about the sport, earning the respect of colleagues, coaches, players and fans alike. We extend our heartfelt condolences to his loved ones during this difficult time."
Colleague and friend Jay Bilas spoke with WRAL in North Carolina on Wednesday morning to talk about Spatola's life. Bilas had nothing but positive things to say about Spatola, calling him an incredible human being and saying how he was really fortunate to know him and call him a friend. Bilas added that Spatola was a selfless person.
He also noted that Spatola never made it about him and instead it was always about the game or the players he was covering.
You can see Bilas' full interview here.
After being a four-year starter at West Point and leading the team in scoring, he wrapped up his career ranking No. 10 all-time on Army's career points list (1,543). He served on active duty from 2002 to 2007. From there, he joined Coach K's staff at Duke from 2007-2012 and was part of the staff that won the national championship in 2010.
Following his coaching career, he opted to join ESPN as an analyst providing key analysis for college basketball games.
Duke also released a statement on the passing of Spatola, saying there are no words to adequately express our heartbreak over the loss of our beloved Chris Spatola. They praised him for serving our country and being a devoted husband and father.
