I am done defending Jay Bilas

[brevity]

I'll read the book and resurrect this thread -- pun intended -- to share further insight.

Just finished the book. I plan to start a thread this offseason about college basketball books, but until then, here are some thoughts.

* His list of toughest players is not in the book. Internet searches tell me that his list appears in the ESPN Insider blog, posted March 6, probably as a way to promote the book. Not an Insider anymore, I found the list here. It names Bilas' 10 toughest college basketball players over the past 20 years:

1. Mateen Cleaves, Michigan State
2. Tyler Hansbrough, North Carolina
3. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Kentucky
4. P.J. Tucker, Texas
5. Juan Dixon, Maryland
6. Dwyane Wade, Marquette
7. Kenneth Faried, Morehead State
8. Draymond Green, Michigan State
9. Kirk Hinrich, Kansas
10. Ronald Nored, Butler

I can't speak to the reasoning here because none of these players appear in the book. The book's framework is autobiographical, so he mostly discusses David Henderson, Mark Alarie, Tommy Amaker, and a little bit about Johnny Dawkins. There's a lot of input from Grant Hill, covering both his college and pro career.

* The book, if nothing else, is definitive. If anyone asks, "Who wrote the book on toughness?" here's your answer. Bilas clearly sets forth what he means when he talks about toughness, and it would be unfair for me to try to sum up his whole book in a sentence. Obviously Bilas' story operates within the world of sports, and it should become standard reference reading for every coach and player, but its lessons apply anywhere. I'm hoping, for the book's sake, that it finds a larger audience that normally gravitates toward the more broad works of Joel Osteen or Phil McGraw. I don't know if millions of people would want to read this book, but self-help sales indicate that they probably need to read it.

* For those concerned about Bilas and his loyalties, they're firmly entrenched at Duke. He discusses the broad subject of toughness with a lot of people, most of them from the ESPN family, but there's a fairly steady undercurrent of Coach K's teachings throughout the book. Forced to be honest, he can't gloss over the fact that Coach K either taught him toughness or reinforced the earlier teachings of Bilas' parents and youth coaches. (Roy Williams does appear, but I would break down his purpose in the book as follows: 70% relaying Dean Smith stories, 20% discussing his own coaching experience, 10% golf.)

* Finally, it's a good book about basketball. The 1986 class was before my time, and while Bilas doesn't spend a lot of time covering it, I learned quite a bit anyway. Because its author was a player, assistant coach, and now analyst/commentator, the book approaches the sport from multiple angles, each fascinating.

[DCGeneral]

Okay.

I used to love Jay.

I loved him for what he did for Duke, both as a player and as a coach.

I loved him for how well he represented Duke as a broadcast, especially when compared to some of the folks from other universities *cough Len and Stuart cough*

I loved him for his sense of humor.

And I defended him against the legions of Duke fans who felt that Jay often turned his back on his school, that he often went too far trying to seem impartial, to the point that he was relentlessly negative about Duke while he heaped praise on others.

But no more. Jay... You are dead to me.

Want to know why?

Well, check out his recently published list of the toughest players in the last twenty years. Kirk Hinrich? Dwayne Wade? Juan Dixon? Tyler Hansbrough? Maternal Cleeves?

And yet... The toughest Dukie to put on a uniform, the toughest Dukie to have a black eye given to him by the equipment room as a part of his regular gear, the toughest Dukie to ever go diving into the announcers for a ball... And he isn't on there?

Redickulous. I am done defending Jay. He has just gone too far. Forget that there were NO Duke players on the list, forget that Shane wasn't on there and Nate wasn't on there... To leave off the toughest Dukie since Art Heyman makes it a joke.

Is this some kind of joke? Bilas is arguably the best color commentator out there. You are done with him simply because he didn't list anyone from Duke on a random list?

Really?

[wilko]

Jay is selling Jay right now... I can cut him some slack.
Duke can sell Duke just fine w/o him.

Maybe I am dreaming, but there may come a day when he decides to give up law and being a talking head and pick up a whistle again. After having his face in SO many living rooms for SO many years, he would have an air of celebrity and credibility to go with his many other gifts.

It would be a recruiting COUP of the highest magnitude to find him back on the bench someday.

[DukeAlumBS]

IMO over time I saw a decrease of Vitales rants during our games. I felt political at ESPN. I miss it. I disagree with your feelings about Jay Bilas, and even JW some have made a comment. Regarding JB, I met him at the Duke/Kentucky game at the MSG at an alumnae event. I saw him at the Marriott bar, and in comes my great fan Digger. This was the game we one in overtime, Elton Brand era. JB then, was a sincere alumnus, and very social at the pre game meal. I also saw him at the Duke / Texas alumnae event at the Meadowlands. When Reddick went on fire we won by 40 points. Duke 1 and Texas was 2 that year. I can sincerely say, he is an active Dukie and very social when he is at those games. I feel ESPN politics have pushed a button on the Duke praise. I also met my favorite Duke announcer. Digger Phelps. In one meeting, he is arrogant, and is jealous of what we have a Duke, a Legacy. There will never be another K. Not many coaches have the military background he brings to his coaching, and Duke. Again, IMO Jay is a true, active alum.

Nice day
Jimmy

[DukeAlumBS]

Vitale FUI picks MSU to win against us. Now that is so political to add to my comment above . ESPN maybe is tiring of what we have. We need another network for ourselves. Or winning out this year!!!
Have a nice day

[sagegrouse]

I like Jay and think that the criticism he receives here is mostly unmerited. But did anyone see the Charlotte Observer/N&O article on Jay referenced in "tournament links" in the last week or so. Worth reading.

But, as the article indicates, there's a real loyalty test underway. His daughter Tori is applying to colleges and has been admitted to Duke, UNC, and Wake and is waiting to hear from Stanford. She had, as of last week, not made a decision. Now, we'll see...

sagegrouse
'Although when I went to college, I managed to reject everybody else's advice.'

[wncgrad]

I like Jay and think that the criticism he receives here is mostly unmerited. But did anyone see the Charlotte Observer/N&O article on Jay referenced in "tournament links" in the last week or so. Worth reading.

But, as the article indicates, there's a real loyalty test underway. His daughter Tori is applying to colleges and has been admitted to Duke, UNC, and Wake and is waiting to hear from Stanford. She had, as of last week, not made a decision. Now, we'll see...

sagegrouse
'Although when I went to college, I managed to reject everybody else's advice.'

This is NOT a loyalty test. It is one young lady making a decision about where she wants to go to college. Everyone of the stated options is a very good school and it is up to her to decide where she wants to spend the next few years preparing for the rest of her life.

[ForkFondler]

This is NOT a loyalty test. It is one young lady making a decision about where she wants to go to college. Everyone of the stated options is a very good school and it is up to her to decide where she wants to spend the next few years preparing for the rest of her life.

Assuming moral equivalency, of course.

[_Gary]

This is NOT a loyalty test. It is one young lady making a decision about where she wants to go to college. Everyone of the stated options is a very good school and it is up to her to decide where she wants to spend the next few years preparing for the rest of her life.

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that sagegrous was simply engaging in some good-natured joking.

[ForkFondler]

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that sagegrouse was simply engaging in some good-natured joking.

Punchline candidates:

a) Wake
b) UNC
c) Stanford

[gep]

I pick... Stanford ;-)