OTS Media, Winthrop announce new radio partnership

OTS Media in Rock Hill and Winthrop University have announced a joint agreement for radio broadcasts of Men’s Basketball for the 2013-2014 season.

This season, the radio broadcasts will feature different commentators for home and away games. For all away games, Dave Friedman will return for his 8th season as the “Voice of the Eagles”.

The play-by-play of home games will be handled by four-time South Carolina Sportscaster of the Year and Winthrop alumnus Chris Miller, with color commentary by former Winthrop University standout and 2003 All-Big South Conference point guard, Pierre Wooten.

Games will air primarily on WRHI (AM 1340, FM 94.3) and online at wrhi.com. OTS Media sister station WRHM (FM 107.1) will broadcast others. An in-stadium feed is available at all home games inside the Winthrop Coliseum at FM 104.1. This feed is provided in real-time with no delay.

The complete schedule of games, broadcast times, stations, and staff bios are available on-line at WRHI.com.

STAFF BIOS

Dave Friedman, voice of the Eagles, returns for his 8th season handling play by play. This year, Friedman will be the primary play by play guy for road games on the radio. During home games he will be behind the microphone for the Winthrop online video stream. Since 2006, Winthrop fans have become familiar with Friedman’s energetic and passionate broadcasts. He has been behind the microphone for some of the biggest moments in school history, including: the historic NCAA win over Notre Dame, 3 Big South Championship games, Winthrop’s wins over ACC foes Miami, Wake Forest, and Georgia Tech. In addition to his duties for the radio broadcasts, you can also hear Dave on the online video streams of Winthrop sports for the Big South Network. This season he will cover men’s basketball and baseball home games for the Eagles. Friedman, a 2003 Syracuse University graduate, had the opportunity to call the 2003 NCAA championship win by the Carmelo Anthony led Orange and the 2002 Lacrosse NCAA championship. Prior to coming to Winthrop, Dave broadcast game for Radford University for one season and spent two years at Vermont University prior to that. His baseball background is extensive with stops at the following minor league baseball teams: Auburn Doubleday, Hickory Crawdads, and most recently the Charlotte Knights. If that’s not enough, Dave is the voice of Johnson C. Smith University Football, where he has served since 2010. Along with his degree from Syracuse, Dave is also a Winthrop alum as he earned his Master’s Degree in 2010. Follow Dave on Twitter: @friedman_dave

Chris Miller, 4-Time South Carolina Statewide Sportscaster of the Year, is in his 17th year covering sports in York County. Chris will handle the play by play duties for all Winthrop home games. Miller hosts The Red Zone Radio Show on Wednesday nights (a show dedicated to local sports). He also handles play by play duties for high school football, baseball, and basketball. You can hear him every morning on WRHI FM 94.3/AM 1340 and Interstate 107.1/107.3 with daily sports reports throughout the Charlie Derek Show (107) and Palmetto Mornings (WRHI). You can also find his sports blogs and stories on WRHI’s award winning website, WRHI.com. Along with the 4 Statewide Sportscaster of the Year awards, Miller has been honored with the 2013 Statewide Radio/Online Coverage event of the Year for the Northwestern State Championship, in 2012 he received the same honor for coverage of the South Pointe State Title game. In 2013 and 2011, readers of The Herald newspaper named Miller the “Best Sportscaster” in the Charlotte area. He, along with Andrew Kiel, was awarded the statewide radio website of the Year for WRHI.com in 2013 for their work on the site. In September of 2013, Miller received probably his biggest award as he was selected to the prestigious “Top 30 under 40” group by Radio Ink Magazine. By being a part of this elite group, Miller was named one of the top 30 people, under the age of 40, in radio, nationwide. His bio and picture were part of the September 26 issue. When not on-air, Miller serves as the Director of Sales for OTS Media. On the Sales side he has progressed rapidly, becoming just the 5th person in the 70 year history of OTS to become a part of the “Platinum Club”. This honor is for those that have amassed over a million dollars in sales for OTS Media. He was also honored in 2011 with the South Carolina Statewide Radio Commercial of the Year for his work on Comfort System’s Heating and Air’s “Critters in the Crawlspace” Outside of work, he is involved in numerous community activities, including: Rock Hill Area Chamber Council Board, York County Sports Hall of Fame Steering Committee, North Rock Hill Church Journey Group Leader, Boys and Girls Club of York County Board of Directors, Winthrop University Community Business Council, Northwestern Trojan Touchdown Club (President), Winthrop University Electronic Media Advisory Board, Winthrop Eagle Club, USC Gamecock Club and Leadership York County Class of 2011 Marketing Chair. Miller is a Rock Hill native (Northwestern High graduate) and a Winthrop University alum where he was named “Most Outstanding Senior in Broadcasting”. He is married to the former Jessica “Haven” Stroble of Orangeburg, together they have a dog named Brinkley and reside in Rock Hill. Follow Chris on Twitter: @ChrisWRHI

Pierre Wooten, 2003 All Big-South First team selection and Big South Scholar Athlete of the Year, jumps into the radio booth this season to handle color commentary for most of the home games. Wooten starred as point guard for the Winthrop Eagles, leading the team to 4 Big South Championships in his 5 seasons on the team. Wooten, a native of Cincinnati, OH, was described by teammates/coaches, and opposing teams as the consummate coach on the floor. “There is no doubt in my mind if I showed up to practice 15 minutes late, Pierre would already have the team doing drills,” said former Winthrop and current Wichita State and Final Four coach Gregg Marshall. Wooten starred on Marshall’s teams that focused on defense, and Pierre was always the leader, as Marshall pointed out. “He is the absolute best on-ball defender I have ever seen, and he worked as hard as any player I’ve ever coached,” Marshall said. “Not just on the court but in the classroom and in the community. The team or company lucky enough to get Pierre Wooten post-Winthrop is going to be better because they did.” Former Charleston Southern coach (Winthrop opponent) Jim Platt described Wooten the same way, calling him a natural leader and floor general. After graduating from Winthrop, Pierre spent 7 years playing overseas professionally in the following countries: Turkey, France, Czech Republic, Australia, Hungary, Switzerland and New Zealand. He also was a member of the 3 NBA summer league teams: Denver Nuggets, Charlotte Bobcats, and the New Orleans Hornets. Since hanging up his shoes, Wooten has moved back to the area where he is currently the Regional Sales Manager for DirectStar TV (a subsidiary of RedVentures). He calls Charlotte home where he lives with his wife (Lauren) and daughter (Bella).
Voted Player of the Year by www.collegeinsider.com in 2003
McDonald’s All-American nominee 1998
Only Winthrop athlete featured in an official NCAA Final Four program booklet
Member of Winthrop’s 1000 point club
All-Big South First-Team (2003)
Big South All-Tournament Team (2002)
1st ever recruit for Winthrop and Big South Hall of Fame Coach Gregg Marshall