Former New York Knicks announcer John Andariese dies at 78

John Andariese, a longtime radio and television broadcaster for the New York Knicks, died Monday, the team announced.

Andariese was 78.

Last week reports surfaced that Andariese was suffering from dementia. His health was mentioned during ABC's telecast of the Knicks-Golden State Warriors game on March 5.

Play-by-play announcer Mike Breen wished him well on air, and former Knicks coach turned analyst Jeff Van Gundy echoed the sentiments.

Nicknamed "Johnny Hoops," Andariese began broadcasting Knicks games as the radio analyst with Marv Albert in the championship season of 1972-73. He paired with Albert for 12 years on MSG network before returning to radio from 1998-2014.

Andariese also worked on NBA games for ESPN and TBS and spent 10 years as a college basketball analyst for NBC. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2014 as the Curt Gowdy Award winner.

Before turning to broadcasting, Andariese grew up in Brooklyn and played at Fordham from 1956-60 under coach Johnny Bach.