Sacramento Kings broadcaster and local celebrity Jerry Reynolds came to Sacramento State’s Alumni breakfast on Tuesday to riff on his meager upbringing, his family and his history with the Kings. Reynolds sat down for an exclusive State Hornet interview following his speech.

During his speech he talked about his birth and childhood in the small town of French Lick, IN, which is famous for also producing Larry Bird. Reynolds poked fun at his own poor beginnings by cracking up the crowd with the line, “I never used an indoor toilet until I was in 2nd grade.”

Reynolds’ daughter Danielle is a former Royal Court Dancer for the Kings. He recalled that he was less than enthusiastic about the news when she made the team.

“I always enjoyed the dancers during timeouts,” he said. “But then when my daughter was out there I was looking at people in the stands and saying ‘What are you looking at? Go get some popcorn, you old fool.'”

He admits that not a day goes by where he isn’t recognized on his daily walks. “People recognize me even though I usually wear a hat,” he said. “People are usually really nice, with a few jerks mixed in now and then.”

He had some things to say about a truly dark time in Kings history as well. The moment that has since been immortalized by Kings fans as “The Horry Shot.”

“I always tell people that was a bad play by Horry,” he said. “The Lakers were down by two and there’s Horry standing out at the three-point line instead of crashing the boards. He’s no hero in my eyes.”

“It’s hard to hate Robert Horry because he’s such a nice guy,” he said. “But I try.”

Reynolds referred to the game as the “Roof Game” because the loss cost him a playoff share which he was going to use to put a new roof on his house. “I once jokingly told Horry that he cost me a new roof and he said that he was glad.”

Perhaps the biggest thought in the back of Kings’ fans minds is the question of a new arena. Reynolds believes that an arena should be built and that eventually it will.

“I have known Joe and Gavin (Maloof) for several years now and everything they have said to me is true. That’s how I judge people.” He went on to add that Sacramento needs a new arena for not only basketball but for all kinds of events.

He sloughed off the thought of the Kings relocating to Las Vegas or elsewhere by saying “Joe and Gavin want to stay here.”

As a color analyst for the Kings the past several years, Reynolds has become famous for his colorful and often hilarious “Jerry-isms.” One of these sayings was uttered during a Kings playoff game a few years back. After an exciting play by the Kings Reynolds said, “Go get grandma off the porch.”

Reynolds said:

“Back in French Lick my grandmother lived with us for a while and when something exciting happened my mother would say to me ‘go get grandma off the porch so she can see this.'”

As for broadcast partner Grant Napear, Reynolds offered up some insights on his often excitable other half. Reynolds has nicknamed Napear ‘Coffee’ because of his almost constant energy (and volume) level as well as being an acquired taste.

Napear has become known for his on-air outbursts, especially after controversial calls and highlight reel plays. Reynolds said that most of the time he just tries to calm Napear down.

“We’ll be on the road on the bus to the arena and Grant will start getting really irritated that the trip is taking longer than expected,” he said. “I tell him ‘I expect that they’ll wait for us, Grant, don’t worry. There will still be a game played.'”

“About three times a game Grant will say something like ‘That was the worst call I’ve ever seen,'” he said. “And I say that can’t be the case because you’ve said it three times already tonight.”

As far as the new additions (and losses) for the Kings, Reynolds gave his thoughts.

“I think this team can be very good, but it has some problems,” he said. He cited rebounding as one of the team’s biggest shortcomings. “Coach (Eric) Musselman will use the bench more than (former coach Rick) Adelman did. He will also stress the defensive end of the court.”

In response to Adelman being fired for not focusing enough on defense, Reynolds discredited the cliched phrase ‘defense wins championships’ with another winning one-liner. “One thing I’ve noticed is that the team that scores more points is usually the team that wins the game,” he said. “There has never been a team that won a championship that wasn’t really good offensively too.”

“I’m not sure how the loss of Bonzi Wells will affect the team,” he said. “Offensively it won’t be a problem. What the team has to do is make up for his rebounding somehow.”

For the Kings to be successful three things have to happen, Reynolds said.

“I think Brad Miller, Mike Bibby and Ron Artest have to have career years. I think they can. It’s time for them to step forward and lead.”

He stated that both Bibby and Miller have come into camp in better shape this year before playfully poking fun at Miller.

“Brad put on some muscle during the summer,” he said. “But I guess he would have to eventually put on some muscle or he would just shrivel down into nothing.”

As for the ethereal Artest, Reynolds offered that he likes him a lot, but that “sometimes it’s like talking to a 12-year-old.” Behind closed doors Artest is genuinely a nice man, Reynolds said, but on the court he can be a different person. On the court Artest is a difference maker and that fact is not lost on Reynolds. “Half the players in the league are scared of him,” he said. “And the other half ought to be.”

Reynolds sees the Kings falling anywhere between 4th and 10th in the Western Conference this season. “I think Phoenix, Dallas and San Antonio are locks in the top three positions,” he said. “The Kings will contend with Houston, the Clippers and some other teams for that 4th position.”

His preseason pick to win the NBA championship is the Phoenix Suns if the freakishly athletic Amare Stoudemire can come back from microfracture surgery on his left knee at close to 100 percent.

No matter what people think about him, Reynolds remains a true Kings fan.

“People say I’m a homer,” he said. “Hell yes I’m a homer. I’m employed by the Kings, why wouldn’t I be?”