Spurs, Wake Forest mourn longtime scout and broadcaster Mark Freidinger

The basketball world lost one of its longtime voices.

Mark Freidinger, a respected NBA scout and college basketball analyst, has died at the age of 76.

The Spurs held a moment of silence to honor Freidinger before Sunday’s game against the Rockets, celebrating a man who spent nearly two decades working in the organization’s scouting department.

Around the Spurs, he was simply known as “Dinger.”

He worked closely with longtime coach Gregg Popovich and former executive R.C. Buford during some of the franchise’s most successful years.

“Dinger’s excellence in scouting played a significant role in the success the Spurs have enjoyed over the years,” Popovich said.

Freidinger’s impact went well beyond the NBA.

For generations of fans of Wake Forest basketball, he was a familiar voice on the radio. Freidinger served as the program’s color analyst from 1990-2025, calling more than 1,000 games alongside play-by-play man Stan Cotten.

Before that, he coached the game himself, working as an assistant at Wake Forest under Carl Tacy and later at Kansas under Hall of Famer Larry Brown.

Those who knew him say Freidinger brought energy, insight and a genuine love for the sport wherever he went.

To many around basketball, “Dinger” wasn’t just part of the game. He helped shape it.