At some point in the conversation — because it’s asked in almost every conversation — Charles Edmonds knows the question is coming.

“Did you play basketball?” the interviewer asks.

Edmonds, who is 7 feet tall, laughs the laugh of a man who has heard that his whole life before politely saying no. His body might have been built for basketball, he explains, but his heart has always been in the broadcast booth.

The 48-year-old Edmonds will begin his 25th year as the play-by-play man for Alcorn State athletics when he calls Thursday night’s football season opener against Georgia Tech in Atlanta. Less than 24 hours later he’ll be back in Vicksburg, in the press box at Viking Stadium to do the same for the Vicksburg-Warren Central game on 1490 AM on Friday night.

It’s the first of eight or nine high school-college doubleheaders he’ll handle this season, his first as Vicksburg High’s radio play-by-play man. The long trips are part of the job, he says, and part of the fun.

“It’s a labor of love. It’s something you know you’ve got to deal with. You just have to prepare yourself for it. It’s not that bad if you get the proper rest,” Edmonds said.

Edmonds grew up in St. Louis and said the city’s sports and broadcasting cultures drew him into the business. He would attend his cousin’s peewee football games and describe the action into a tape recorder while sitting in the stands.

Later, he interned at one of the country’s most powerful and well-known radio stations, KMOX. There he learned more about the craft from industry icons like Joe and Jack Buck.

As his body grew to gigantic proportions, Edmonds said his father tried to get him interested in playing sports but it was obvious he preferred to describe the action.

“My father did everything he could to get me into (basketball). When you’re living up to somebody else’s expectations, you’ll never be happy,” Edmonds said. “You do what you like to do. Being in St. Louis, with the Cardinals and the Blues, I was always interested in broadcasting. I was just a TV and radio person. I liked watching and listening on TV and radio.”

Edmonds attended college at Grambling and was hired as Alcorn’s play-by-play announcer two weeks after he graduated in 1991. He’s been there ever since, and is now the operations manager and sports director for the university’s radio station, WPRL 91.7 FM.

Edmonds also hosts a call-in show with Alcorn football coach Jay Hopson that airs Mondays at 6 p.m. It’s on locally on 105.5 FM. Tuesday and Wednesday of each week are typically reserved for prep work for Saturday’s Alcorn game, and on Thursday and Friday he turns his attention toward the high school ranks.

Edmonds called Port Gibson and Jefferson County football for more than a decade on WPRL, but had moved to Vicksburg in 2014 and this summer heard the city’s WVBG needed a new announcer for Vicksburg High. A few telephone calls and demo tapes later, and Edmonds had a new home on Friday nights.

He said he wants to bring a college-like approach to the high school game, with a level of broadcasting that goes beyond the action on the field.

“If the community is aware and informed, that’s a good thing and that’s important,” Edmonds said. “I want to tell people what’s going on with the program. I want to talk to the people behind the scenes who make Vicksburg High football good.”

Although he’s lived in the area for a quarter of a century, Friday will mark the first time Edmonds has attended a Vicksburg-Warren Central game. He said he’s looking forward to it, as much for the atmosphere as for the competition.

“It’s Alcorn-Jackson State, or Ole Miss-Mississippi State. It’s along those lines. When I saw the players warming up (in the Red Carpet Bowl), that was the first time I got a sense of it,” Edmonds said. “I’m looking forward to it. These types of games are good for the community.”