Bill Bayno savors quiet
life
By Kevin Gleason, March 09, 2003
Times Herald-Record
[email protected]
Bill Bayno finally has found a comfortable place. Not
technically Yakima, Wash., though he likes it there.
A comfortable place in life. You mean, only now has Bayno found a comfort zone? The same
Bill Bayno who has made millions coaching basketball? Same guy who at UNLV
held one of the most electric jobs in college sports?
Same guy with two homes in Vegas, who hung with the likes of
Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley ("Charles Barkley thought I was
nuts'')? Same guy. Different person.
Happier, inside and out, fulfilled, prouder. Healthier.
Meet Bill Bayno, 2003 AV (after Vegas).
"This,'' Bayno was saying into his cell phone, "is
the happiest I've been since I've been out of UNLV.''
The new Bill Bayno, Goshen native and 1980 John S. Burke
Catholic graduate, coaches the Yakima Sun Kings of the CBA. This is
minor-league hoops, where players – and coaches – are on a perpetual
audition for NBA riches.
Bayno got to Yakima via a head coaching job in the
Philippines. But the journey was far greater than that.
It began, really, the day in 1995 Bayno was hired to coach
the UNLV Runnin' Rebels. Fresh off helping John Calipari turn around UMass,
Bayno was 32 years old making $600,000 a year amid insomniac-intense pressure
to win.
He could schmooze recruits and administrators and alumni. He
frequented the club scene and, idealists be damned, strip clubs. Bayno was a
gossip columnist's dream – young, single, handsome – and wrung every drop
of excitement from his part.
Bill Bayno was the toast of Vegas.
And that got him in trouble.
"I'm not saying I was an alcoholic,'' Bayno says,
"but I drank too much.''
Bayno relates alcohol to many of his problems at UNLV. Poor
decisions. Clouded judgment. Recruiting mistakes.
"It took away a lot of my focus and it really had a lot
to do with a lot of bad decisions in my life,'' Bayno says. "I probably
lived 100 years in 30. I had a lot of fun.''
But then, "I got to the age where it wasn't worth it
anymore.''
Bayno had his last drink well over a year ago, soon after he
was fired from UNLV on Dec. 11, 2000. Bayno was dumped after the NCAA barred
UNLV from the '00-01 postseason and put the program on four years probation
for the recruitment of Lamar Odom. Bayno says he was unaware of Odom receiving
at least $5,400 in cash and improper benefits from UNLV booster David Chapman.
Bayno got a $400,000 settlement to cover his services for
the '00-01 season and final two years on his contract. He was cleared of
wrongdoing by the NCAA. Bayno left with a 94-64 record and two NCAA tournament
berths in five-plus seasons.
"I still have fun,'' he says. "I just have fun
with Diet Cokes. The fast lane is not appealing to me anymore.''
Bayno hardly took a post-UNLV rest. He coached another minor
league outfit and worked in the NBA at pre-draft camps and as a part-time
scout. He spent nine eventful months as coach of Talk 'N Text in the
Philippines.
Bayno won a regular-season title and lost in the finals in
two mini-seasons. Not a bad return on Talk 'N Text's investment, a $130,000
tax-free salary and condo to Bayno.
He gave back $6,000 of it in fines, a Philippines coaching
record, for making game-fixing accusations. Bayno says four teams with the
same ownership dominated the championships, and the cheating was obvious.
League commissioner Jun Bernardino replied by reportedly
telling Bayno to "focus on coaching your team on the court instead of
questioning the wisdom of the league policies and practices.''
Bayno appreciated his management and enjoyed teaching a
coachable team. He remains a consultant with Talk 'N Text.
But Bayno found an even better fit in Yakima. None of that
fanny-kissing recruiting that's unique to college hoops. The CBA's just pure
basketball.
"In college it's 80 percent non-basketball,'' Bayno
says. "Recruiting, dealing with their social lives. Many of the kids I
had, I was their father, big brother. Coaching was the least of it.''
Bayno just lost four players. One went to the NBA, another
to Italy. Two got hurt. The playoffs begin Tuesday.
Bayno bobs and weaves through the adversity. He has Yakima
at 28-17. During one stretch, director of team operations Rich Austin says,
Bayno had Yakima "playing as well as I've ever seen them.'' And Austin
has seen Yakima win both of its CBA titles, in 1995 and 2000.
"He's worked out better than I could have ever
imagined,'' Austin says.
And not just from the coaching side.
"When we (make appearances), it's usually with kids,''
Austin says. "And he's gone out and done some things on his own.''
Bayno wants a shot in the bigs like everyone else. But he
rests easily knowing an NBA opportunity may never come.
His work ethic remains as intense as ever. But Bayno has
slowed down. Whether in Yakima or three hours away coaching the Portland Trail
Blazers, Bill Bayno has found a comfortable place.
Bill Bayno's coaching travels
2002-present: Head coach, Yakima Sun Kings (CBA)
2002: Head coach, Talk 'N Text, Philippines professional
league
2001-02: Head coach, Phoenix Eclipse (ABA)
1995-2000: Head coach, UNLV
1988-95: Associate coach, University of Massachusetts
1987-88: Assistant coach, Baptist College (Charleston, S.C.)
1986-87: Graduate assistant coach, Kansas
1985-86: Graduate assistant coach, Seton Hall