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<p>MIAMI (AP) &#8212; Chris Webber&#8217;s first night as a television analyst ended with the former Michigan star getting teased about his infamous extra timeout that helped seal the Wolverines&#8217; fate in the 1993 NCAA championship game against North Carolina.</p><p>He laughed it off.</p><p>It was, as Turner Sports colleague Ernie Johnson called it that night, an initiation. And not only did Webber pass, he has flourished &#8212; evolving into one of the game&#8217;s respected voices, a player-turned-broadcaster who tries to combine the emotion of what&#8217;s happening on the floor with a professionalism that he believes is required of those behind the microphone.</p><p>Webber will be one of the headliners when TNT unveils its new &#8220;Players Only&#8221; platform on Monday night, a five-week run of doubleheaders where all the commentators will be former pro men&#8217;s and women&#8217;s players.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a crazy opportunity as a player to be able to kind of take over the studio,&#8221; said Webber, a finalist for induction in this year&#8217;s Basketball Hall of Fame class. &#8220;Some of the guys and I have talked about what a crazy opportunity this is, and we&#8217;re going to make the most of it.&#8221;</p><p>Among the other players involved: Chris Bosh, Isiah Thomas, Baron Davis, Grant Hill, Kevin McHale and Lisa Leslie.</p><p>&#8220;I do think we can change the game with this opportunity,&#8221; Webber said.</p><p>In a time when television remarks have started feuds between current and former players &#8212; like the longstanding back-and-forth between Charles Barkley and stars like Dwyane Wade and LeBron James, and in the last few days the dustup involving Shaquille O&#8217;Neal, JaVale McGee and Kevin Durant &#8212; Webber has prided himself on being fair with criticisms.</p><p>There are times when people within the game tease one another, like the night Johnson asked him how many timeouts are allowed in college games. Webber thinks that&#8217;s fair &#8212; but he avoids the banter that turns personal.</p><p>&#8220;As long as I don&#8217;t speak about guys&#8217; character, then it really doesn&#8217;t matter,&#8221; Webber said. &#8220;There&#8217;s nothing that I can say about a player that hasn&#8217;t already been said about me. There&#8217;s no sensitivity there. Players, when certain commentators say something, he can say: &#8216;How can he say that? He&#8217;s never been in that position.&#8217; Well, the player can&#8217;t look at me and say that.&#8221;</p><p>Webber retired averaging 20.7 points and 9.8 rebounds, numbers that will likely have him headed to the Hall of Fame &#8212; possibly this year. He&#8217;s among 14 finalists who will get word on their fate in April at the Final Four.</p><p>The induction in Springfield, Massachusetts, is in September.</p><p>&#8220;About time,&#8221; said Barkley, a Hall of Famer. &#8220;He should already be in there.&#8221;</p><p>Webber said hearing his name listed as a finalist was surreal.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m just thankful that I was nominated,&#8221; Webber said. &#8220;I&#8217;m taking in the moment, being very thankful and that I&#8217;m here. But as far as thinking about more than that, nah, I don&#8217;t do that.&#8221;</p><p>Webber doesn&#8217;t play anymore &#8212; nearly losing to his 16-year-old nephew in a 1-on-1 game last summer was the last straw &#8212; and has enjoyed being around basketball in other capacities since retiring. He represented the Sacramento Kings at an NBA draft lottery, agreed to teach a class at Wake Forest in sports storytelling and is involved in a production company.</p><p>He said he sees broadcasting as a privilege, after working alongside the likes of Kevin Harlan, Dick Stockton and Marv Albert, which is why he&#8217;s taking &#8220;Players Only&#8221; especially seriously.</p><p>&#8220;If you&#8217;re around someone and you&#8217;re willing to learn, you can get better,&#8221; Webber said. &#8220;We&#8217;re going to take from their examples. You have to honor the game with professionalism, but I also think we give a unique perspective. And I think we have a validation that can&#8217;t be taught.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Former NBA player Chris Webber participates in a sports and activism panel in San Jose, Calif. on Jan. 24, 2017. Webber tells The Associated Press that he believes he and other former players &#8220;can change the game&#8221; with their unique perspective. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File) </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_AP17057779992917.jpg</photo0><caption0>Former NBA player Chris Webber participates in a sports and activism panel in San Jose, Calif. on Jan. 24, 2017. Webber tells The Associated Press that he believes he and other former players &#8220;can change the game&#8221; with their unique perspective. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File) </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Tim Reynolds</p><p>AP Basketball Writer</p></bylineMeta></div>

Webber eager for new ‘Players Only’ NBA programming