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While the Blazers were town on April 2nd to play the Lakers, I looked over at the Portland bench, just like I always do during basketball games. Having dibbled and dabbled in coaching for a little while, I still find myself intrigued by them. Thus, I pay attention to what the assistants on the bench are yelling out and whether I can pick up on what teams are trying to accomplish at certain points during the game.

I noticed Monty Williams on the Blazers bench, along with Maurice Lucas, with whom I was fortunate to share a couple of words on his way out of the arena. One person I did not notice, however, was Bill Bayno. The following day, I was at home, checking the wires to stay abreast of the happenings in the world of sports. Suddenly, a headline: “LMU hires Blazers assistant Bill Bayno.” It immediately made sense. A local school announces the hiring of an NBA assistant who just happened to be in town the previous day.

It’s fair to assume that Bayno’s time in L.A. was time well spent.

On Wednesday, Bill Bayno was officially introduced as the head coach of the Loyola Marymount Basketball Lions. It’s been a tough decade or so for Bayno, who at one point was considered one of the young, upstart coaches in the game. His journey began in 1985 as a grad assistant at Seton Hall under then head coach P.J. Carlesimo. One year later, he took on the same role at Kansas under Larry Brown, one of the many talented graduate assistants Brown had during a two year stretch in Lawrence (including 2008 title game coaches Bill Self and John Calipari).

Bayno eventually transformed his Lawrence relationships into an assistant position at UMASS under Calipari. In seven years at Massachusetts, Bayno solidified his reputation as one of the nation’s top recruiters, bringing in players such as Lou Roe, Edgar Padilla, Carmelo Travieso, and Marcus Camby. During Banyno’s time as an assistant, UMASS gained national prominence, earning four Atlantic 10 championships, six postseason berths, four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, two Sweet Sixteen appearances and one Elite Eight appearance, plus a trip to the NIT Final Four.

Bayno eventually took over as head coach of the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels at just 32 years of age, making him the NCAA’s youngest Division I head coach. The lack of life experience didn’t prevent UNLV’s teams from winning. In five and a half seasons, his Rebels were 94-65 with four conference championships and four postseason appearances, including two NCAA Tournament appearances. He’d eventually become the third-winningest coach in UNLV history. He was also able to recruit future pros in Shawn Marion, Keon Clark, and Tyrone Nesby.

Off the court issues, however, would lead to his termination at UNLV. They call it “Sin City” for a reason. Gambling, sex, alcohol run rampant in the 702. Unfortunately for Bayno, who comes from a family of alcoholism, it was his uncontrollable drinking that led to his demise. There was no question the coach enjoyed success on the court, but away from the game he partied, and partied hard.

There were other off the court issues to deal with as well. UNLV was already on probation from violations during the “Tark Era,” when the NCAA discovered Lamar Odom received cash and improper benefits from a Rebel booster while attending summer school to gain admission (which immediately became out of the question). The Rebels were banned from participating in postseason play during the 2000-2001 season. The NCAA placed a four year sanction on the UNLV program. Despite having reported the Odom/booster relationship to the Athletic Department and going on record that he never gave the recruit a dollar, as the saying goes, it was now a wrap for Bayno.

Now practically a basketball exile, Bayno coached in the Philippine Professional Basketball Association, leading his team to a regular season title and finishing a game short of capturing a championship. He did, however, win a championship as the head coach of the Yakima Sun Kings of the CBA in 2003. From there, he was hired as a scout by the Portland Trailblazers before being promoted to an assistant coach on the Blazers bench. Which leads us to 2008 and LMU.

If there is anything to learn from this story, it’s of Bill Bayno resiliency. He knows how to win, and not just on the court. He won his battle with alcohol, having gone nearly six years without a drink. He’s also won in court, having been cleared by the NCAA of any wrongdoing. A wrongful termination suit was filed against UNLV and a settlement eventually reached. The now 45-year-old Bayno will need that same resiliency to rejuvenate a downtrodden LMU basketball program. The Lions lost 12 of their 14 conference games and finished the 2007-2008 season with a 5-26 record. Currently, next season’s roster features six freshmen and just one senior.

Its been a long road for Bayno to land another head coaching gig. He’s gone the extra mile (or 14,000+ round-trip from here to the Philippines, but who’s counting?) to get back in this position. As Bayno takes over the reigns of the LMU basketball program, he seems ready to take advantage of his second chance.

RH

Rahshaun Haylock is a production assistant for CBS2/KCAL9 Sports and does play-by-play and sports reporting for SportsNetUSA.net Internet radio. He likes to take a look at some of the less-talked about issues in SoCal sports.

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