Bilas Bias?
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by user J Cunningham
Browsing through the message boards over at CAAZone today when I came across a thread in which someone posted a portion of ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas' blog.
The topic? A discussion of whether or not to let a certain mid-major coach go. Have a read for yourselves:
Much was expected this season from a hot coach with a fancy resume and pedigree, but so far this year, the Golden Boy is only a mediocre 4-4. Could you blame the boosters at his school if they pulled the plug on him?
This coach was a really good player in college, and was an assistant under one at one of the game's more prominent programs before taking off on his own. Since he left his cushy job as a power conference assistant, the jury may still be out for some on whether he can really make it as a head coach. In today's world of parity, results speak volumes, and it is understandable why some would be uneasy about keeping this coach in place.
Look at the evidence: In 21 years as a head coach, this guy has won only 57 percent of his games, with an uninspiring record of 340-253 for an average of 16 wins per year. In those 21 years, he has guided his team to only seven postseason appearances, with four of them NIT berths, and with the exception of one outstanding year with a record of 28-7, he was never able to win a game in the postseason.
Now, with a middling 4-4 start this season, maybe it is time to make a change. It is understandable, isn't it?
Of course, that coach is Jim Larranaga at George Mason.
Now bear with me for a moment as I try to break this down and wrap it around my admittedly-cluttered head. Bilas, a Duke grad and known power conference supporter, is suggesting George Mason University dispense of Larranaga because he's gone 4-4 or so far this season and has only won 57 percent of his games as a head coach.
I'll give everyone a minute to let the absurdity of that remark sink in.
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Done? Good, we can move on now. I could see this argument working at a national powerhouse school--say, Duke, perhaps? If Coach K had a lifetime winning percentage of .570, took his team to the Final Four last season, only to limp to a 4-4 record here in '06, I could almost get behind the outcry for his head.
But Larranaga? The darling of all the mid-major coaches?
I'm sorry, but did Bilas honestly expect George Mason to replicate the success of a year ago? Did he really think after losing his top three scorers in Lamar Butler, Jai Lewis and Tony Skinn that Larranaga could find the magic again, run rough-shod through the Colonial Athletic Association and barrel his way into contention for another national title?
If so, he's really lost sight of what life is like for mid-major schools.
I recall on numerous occasions Texas Tech head coach Bob Knight calling for two separate national tournaments--one for the power conferences and one for the mid-majors. His reasoning? No mid-major who makes the NCAA tournament has any realistic hope of competing for the national title. Never mind the fact that college basketball's postseason for many schools is set by making the tournament, not necessarily winning it.
And we could argue the Patriots' run to the Final Four last season proves Knight's point wrong, that any team any year can compete and contend. I would imagine there are a few mid-majors this year who have NCAA tournament success on their minds; would anyone be surprised if Wichita State went deep into the tournament?
I wouldn't.
But did Larranaga really raise the bar that high for mid-major programs and coaches? I'd like to think not; otherwise, Old Dominion coach Blaine Taylor might be looking for work this year if his Monarchs only return to the NIT.
In my opinion, Bilas calling for Larranaga's job is as absurd as the outcry for Joe Torre's after the New York Yankees failed to win the World Series for a sixth straight season. If I had a manager in Torre who took my team to the playoffs year in and year out, I'd be begging management to keep him, if not extend his contract with the club, and it's the same way with Larranaga.
If I were in charge of athletics at George Mason, I would give Larranaga a lifetime deal after last season's Final Four magic. And all I would ask in return is for him to keep the Patriots in contention in the CAA every year, making numerous postseason appearances (NCAA or NIT) and winning some games.
Simple as that, because as much as mid-majors have closed the gap in recent years, there's still a noticeable gap, and anyone who thinks we'll see mid-majors getting to the Final Four year in and year out is delusional.
If Bilas wants to criticize Michigan State for not being annual Final Four participants, that's fine; Tom Izzo has set the bar high for the Spartans, who play in the tough (and "big time") Big Ten. But to call for Larranaga's job because his mid-major team is sitting at 4-4?
Please...take off the Blue Devil costume, Jay. You might actually see something for what it is rather than what you want it to be.
"How stupid does it sound to even consider firing Larranaga, or suggesting that he is not a good coach because his winning percentage is less than 60 percent for his career? When I think of things like this, I remember what a mentor of mine said about coaching: "Some of the very best coaches in America have .500 records."
Basketball is a game of resources and circumstances, and the schools at which Larranaga has coached have not had great resources. A little perspective never hurt anyone."
He was obviously being facetious about the way some programs/boosters judge coaches on small sample sizes (like the first 8 games of the season), or things like career winning % (who knows under what conditions a coach's record was achieved?). Of course Bilas doesn't think Larranaga should be fired. Larranaga's bulletproof after last year, anyway. But Bilas purposefully withheld the name of the coach in question until the end of the piece to make people think twice about criticizing coaches at other schools -- coaches that those four paragraphs could also apply to, but they happen to have not been to a Final Four. I understand the outrage, though, and sometimes it can be hard to pick up on sarcasm when it's in print. But Bilas is on your side; these commentators love pretty much all mid-major coaches!