Son of Bay Area sports broadcasting icon finds hoop dreams at his dad’s South Bay alma mater
SAN JOSE — It’s the name that hits you first.
Radunich … where have I seen that before?
Maybe you haven’t. But you probably have seen Radnich, as in Gary Radnich, the Bay Area sports broadcasting icon.
His given last name is actually spelled Radunich. And it is that name that his son, Spencer, is now carrying on as a key piece of Branham’s boys basketball team, the very program that Gary, a former college player at UNLV and BYU, starred for in the late 1960s.
“I saw the name, and I threw it out to the athletic director,” first-year Branham coach Kenny Williams said. “It’s just like, ‘This isn’t Gary Radnich’s son, is it?’ Because I’m like, ‘He can’t have a high school kid.’”
In fact he does.
“I was like, ‘Oh, OK,” Williams said.
Spencer is the youngest of Gary’s six children, a Branham senior who opted to follow in his father’s footsteps after spending two years at an elite private school (Stuart Hall) in San Francisco.
Branham, the San Jose public school where Gary, now 76, was a high school All-American, dazzling fans with antics like dropping anchor at the sideline water cooler after making a shot from long range.
The action continued. Gary eventually got back on defense.
“You hear famous stories about the crowd size and some of the wild things he used to do,” Gary’s wife, Alicia, said.
But there’s no hot-dogging it for Spencer. It was his idea to transfer to Branham, a move Gary attributed to looking for a landing spot where, at 6-foot-2, Spencer wouldn’t have to serve as Stuart Hall’s center as a junior.
“He played as a regular guard, but when they played summer league, all those guys had graduated, so he was the tallest guy on the team,” Gary said. “And even though he had a real nice high school coach there, if you want to try and play a little bit in college, you can’t be playing center in high school.”
So Gary asked his son, “What do you want to do?”
“How about I play at your alma mater, where you played?” Spencer replied.
“And I said, ‘Oh my gosh, really?’” Gary recounted.
Thus the idea of returning home to San Jose was born. It was an adjustment for the Radunich clan, which had grown used to San Francisco over decades in the City but agreed to become South Bay residents.
Suddenly, Spencer was dropped into an unfamiliar environment at the South Bay public school. But he embraced everything that came with following a program legend.
And being Gary Radnich’s son.
“It’s definitely a lot of pressure,” Spencer said. “Going into a completely different city, completely new school, and obviously not going there just to go there, but going there to play a sport that your dad was super good at and has the records for and all of that. So it’s definitely been a lot of pressure, but it’s super fun, and I’m super happy I did it.”
That feeling passes muster as mutual for the Radunich family.
Gary, who retired from KRON in 2018 and KNBR about a year later, has reconnected with old acquaintances and childhood friends. Alicia, a San Fernando Valley native, has adjusted to seeing (and feeling) the South Bay sun after decades cloaked in the City’s fog.
And Spencer has thrived on the court. This season, he led Branham in scoring during Blossom Valley Athletic League Santa Teresa-North Division play, averaging 14 points per game.
In Branham’s final game of the regular season, he put up 29 points against Prospect.
He’s done it all wearing Gary’s old No. 24, a decision that very nearly made the old man bust out the waterworks.
“He almost brought me to tears,” Gary said. “Because he wore No. 2 in San Francisco. Then he didn’t even tell me. Then he came home, and they had the uniform deal with the kids, and I said, ‘What are you going to wear?’
“He said, ‘I’m going to wear 24, the same number you wore.’”
Spencer has done those digits proud this season, leading Branham into a home Central Coast Section playoff game on Friday against Los Altos. And as he chases a college basketball career, he’s helped bring Branham back to the Central Coast Section playoffs after a down year last season.
“He brings a calmness,” Williams said. “It seems like there’s never a moment that is too big for him. He brings an understanding on a deeper level of IQ. Not saying that all of our other kids don’t have high basketball IQs, but there’s something about having the experience of it, right? Being able to have done it and being around people who have done it at a high level.”
Gary was famous during his radio days at KNBR for occasionally positing that “Nobody cares” about certain topics.
Not true for his son. The former KRON sports director diligently keeps stats and is perturbed – but understanding – when fans approach him in the stands.
“When I go to the games, I want to sit there and watch my son,” Gary said. “I don’t want to have to talk to people. You’re always nice, not like you’re ever rude or anything, but it’s kind of annoying, right? When people kind of know you and you want to watch your son. But that’s the least of my problems.”
Spencer also ranks low on Gary’s list of challenges. Williams raved about Spencer’s makeup and how he has developed this season on and off the court.
Gary had his own take.
“The main thing is he’s a good guy,” Gary said. “Doesn’t – without getting too corny – he doesn’t do any of that drug stuff. It’s all over the place nowadays. But he doesn’t fool around with any of that stuff. Just studies in school and a girlfriend every once in a while to go out for a soda or something. He’s a good kid.”
For Spencer, the focus has been improving his game, which can be difficult when even referees are approaching you to ask about your dad.
But this is the life he’s lived. And with each passing game, he’s adding his own pages to the Radunich story at Branham.
“That’s always how it’s been,” Spencer said. “But it’s been a little bit different just because now I’m actually playing in the same building he was in, same jersey and stuff. So it’s cool when people ask me. But I try to play well enough so they’re like, ‘Oh, but he’s really good, too.’”
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