As an aspiring sportswriter, I'm lucky.

I get the best seats at Marquette sporting events, without pesky lines. I get to attack free pregame buffets with all the ferocity of, well, a college student at a buffet.

I get to talk to world-class athletes and coaches on a daily basis, and most times they talk back. And when Dick Vitale plans a trip to Marquette, I get to talk to him too.

Wednesday, Vitale will be at the Marquette Spirit Shop in the Alumni Memorial Union from Noon until 1 p.m. signing copies of his book 50 Fabulous Players and Moments in College Basketball: From the Best Seat in the House During my 30 Years at ESPN.

The book ranks Vitale's favorite memories (and characters) from three decades calling college basketball games. Vitale is donating his proceeds from the book to the V Foundation for cancer research. His goal? To raise "a million-plus" dollars.

He found time to chat with me on the phone Sunday. If you expected him to throw around terms like "PTP-er" and "Dipsy Doo Dunkaroo" in casual conversation, he didn't. But that doesn't mean there weren't highlights, baby:

John Borneman: When you signed on with ESPN (in 1979) did you think you'd be in broadcasting for 30 years?

Dick Vitale: I thought I'd be back coaching, to be honest with you, on the collegiate level. I thought my passion, my spirit, my love of the game would be on a college campus.You know, students chanting 'Dickie-V,' and I'm having a blast acting like a little kid before the game.

JB: Care to share one of your favorite moments from the book?

DV: Jimmy (Valvano) cutting the nets down (in 1983, upsetting a highly-favored Houston team that featured Hakeem Olajuwon for the NCAA Championship).For his North Carolina State team to cut the nets down and win and Jimmy then looking for someone to hug, that was certainly a No. 1 moment.

JB: You coached against Marquette legend Al McGuire (leading Detroit to a win over Marquette during the 1977 season). What do you think of current Marquette coach Buzz Williams?

DV: You know, he's a diaper dandy; he's doing a heck of a job in a pressure situation. He'll be the first to tell you there were great expectations and he's been able to meet those.

JB: What do you think about Marquette?

DV: I think Marquette has the best perimeter threesome you could have in the country, I think size has been a problem for them on the inside.Wednesday night might be a game where the loss of (Connecticut guard Jerome) Dyson is big because he would have been a key match-up with one of the three amigos, the three superstars from Marquette.

JB: Is there an answer to the question 'Which conference is better, Big East or ACC?'

DV: I think Big East, because of the depth factor, but very close. I think the top three in order would be No. 1 the Big East, No. 2 the ACC and No. 3 the Big Ten.

JB: I have to ask: People say 'Oh Dickie-V, he's a Duke fan.' Are you as big a Duke fan as people say you are?

DV: If I go to Duke, they tell me I talk too much about North Carolina, if I go to Carolina, they tell me I talk too much about Duke. I go to Connecticut, they tell me I talk too much about Georgetown. People hear what they want to hear, but you know what? They've all been beautiful. I get a big kick out of it; I laugh at all that Duke stuff.

For more information on Dick Vitale and the V Foundation, visit dickvitaleonline.com.