Jay Bilas for Coach

[Marquette_TEE]

It's a no-brainer...The new head coach at MU should be Jay Bilas.  He loves the tradition at MU.  He would be a great recruiter and he clearly has a ton of basketball X's and O's knowledge.  Board of Trustees, please don't make another "Gold" decision.  Hire Jay Bilas NOW!

[muwarrior87]

moron...bilas has NO coaching experience and we need to bring in someone proven if we want to continue to compete in the BE.

EDIT: HEAD coaching experience

[TallTitan34]

He's a lawyer too!  A great fit for Cottingham!   

[EmJ5]

moron...bilas has NO coaching experience and we need to bring in someone proven if we want to continue to compete in the BE.

Well he hasn't had that much coaching experience... but... he was an assistant coach at Duke for 3 years.

"Bilas played professionally in Italy (1987-88) and Spain (1989) before returning to Duke as an assistant coach from 1990-92 (and to attend law school) -- the Blue Devils made the NCAA Final Four in 1990 and were NCAA champions in '91 and '92."
(http://www.espnmediazone.com/bios/Talent/Bilas_Jay.htm)

[Cooby Snacks]

Haha, I was thinking this at 3 AM (probably the least productive time for coming up with reasonable ideas): team Bilas up with the recruiting prowess of Fran Fraschilla and Steve Lavin.  I bet we'd be on ESPN a ton.

[Marquette_g]

What do we need to do for this to get "legs"?  I recognize his lack of experience, but he can surround himself with some more experienced assistants, and really provide a huge bang.  Stranger experiments have worked.

[Marquette_TEE]

Bobby Knight would be my next choice and then Steve Lavin...

Jay Bilas knows his stuff.  He has a lot of cliches and is dorky sometimes, but he'd be a fan favorite.  

The only downside is he'd be unavailable for the annual NBA draft commentary and his glowing remarks on all the draftees.

[cmoore80]

I love the idea,  who wants some retread or a 'hot' assistant.  Bilas is superbright and is a name all the middle school/high school kids already know.  Listening to him call a game shows me he's got some real knowledge and I bet he could come up with a better offense than Crean's 'weave' 30 feet from the hoop

[Marquette_TEE]

Cmoore80 really knows what he is talking about.  We need to get a smart tech person to come up with a web site to promote Mr. Bilas.

[Tribby]

I'm glad I'm not the only person that thought this was an idea with merit. Not that it will ever happen, but I'd love it if Cottingham at least tossed it around ...

[mwbauer7]

Jay Bilas loves (-ed) Marquette because he's a buddy of Tom Crean.

Which is another unforunate thing about TC leaving-- Probably won't get much love from Bilas...

[Carl Spackler]

Cmoore80 really knows what he is talking about.  We need to get a smart tech person to come up with a web site to promote Mr. Bilas.

I dont know, TEE.  I have met cmoore, and he is usually talking out of his ass.  

As far as Bilas is concerned, the NAME would be great.  But right now he gets to hang out in a studio talking hoops and travel to a few games a year with Erin Andrews.  Not a bad gig.  

[Frenns Liquor Depot]

I have to say I hadn't thought about this crazy idea before.  However, Bilas would be a perfect fit for the MU faithful.  Many have been whispering that he has been looking for the right opportunity to join the coaching ranks.  Time to get the admin on board... 

[MUWeb7]

Haha, I have definitely thought about this too!

[ChicosBailBonds]

Considering what Bilas just said about Crean....."Crean is the best coach in the country, the one I respect more than any other."

That's one thing I'll miss terribly, Crean was wired into the national sports media big time.  Some people here hated it, but for those of us on the coasts, it put MU into relevancy again, on the national scene.  It was great to hear Crean and MU talked about by Bilas, Vitale, Davis, DeCourcy....I don't care how much of dink Crean was, it helped MU out tremendously with national coverage.  It will be difficult for the next coach to match that because this is where Crean excelled most...the PR angle.

[Marquette_TEE]

I love Jay Bilas

[Chicago_inferiority_complexes]

Considering what Bilas just said about Crean....."Crean is the best coach in the country, the one I respect more than any other."

That's one thing I'll miss terribly, Crean was wired into the national sports media big time.  Some people here hated it, but for those of us on the coasts, it put MU into relevancy again, on the national scene.  It was great to hear Crean and MU talked about by Bilas, Vitale, Davis, DeCourcy....I don't care how much of dink Crean was, it helped MU out tremendously with national coverage.  It will be difficult for the next coach to match that because this is where Crean excelled most...the PR angle.

I have to agree with most of that sentiment. I spent a semester in DC and if it weren't for McGuire or Wade few would have even known of Marquette's existence ...

[Daniel]

I like Jay Bilas too - he knows basketball - he may npot know how to coach basketball, however, but he has insightful comments during games about what coaches should be doing etc. and he's usually right.  Anyway, he would certainly be wired into the media