Bill Bayno Rejoins Blazers Staff

[lion4life]

It seems like this was the plan from the start.
Bayno is hired to recurit players...
Bayno sets up a coaching staff...
Then when everything is in place he is free to walk away, he was hired and payed to do the job of the AD.

[stonewall]

Rebel that all makes sense and I'll accept that version in the interests of "closure"--although perhaps that isn't the best word for it as we'll be dealing with the fallout from this catastrophe for an undetermined period of time.

But there's one thing that sticks in my craw: why not at least see out the season? I've had my share of sh**ty jobs and I've stuck with several of them longer than I would've liked to out of a sense of doing the responsible thing and honoring a commitment. I mean, this is college basketball ff sake, not a tour of duty in Iraq circu 2005, right?

[crazycagegirl]

Rebelfan, I respect your insight on Bayno, and I think that it's great that you are coming in to tell us exactly what he is REALLY like. In all honesty, I think we all have some level of respect for the guy. We're more POed with Husak for such a blunder. Instead of being honest, he covers it with BS that no one really believes. At least, that's what I am gathering from the more recent comments. IMO, I think that if Bayno just didn't feel it was the right fit for him, he should have at least stuck it out for the rest of the season, instead of walking out and leaving a team in shambles.

stillalion, I've been thinking about that part and talking about it with my family a lot lately. We've had good and bad run ins with the AD. The more recent one was sour, but if we pull out of our donations, Athletics won't care. We wouldn't make much of a statement to Husak at all. It's just sad that the big donors have the greatest control over who our bball staff will be.....

[stonewall]

"It's just sad that the big donors have the greatest control over who our bball staff will be....."

Actually I think "control" is not as accurate a word as "influence". Make no mistake that these donors definitely have influence, but so do you as a donating alum. Not as much influence perhaps, but some, and you should be creative in exercising it.

And those donors--and the senior administration--ultimately want what we all want, which is a competitive basketball team. This little university is ambitious and in the midst of a difficult campaign to raise $380 million. So make no mistake: they know more than anyone that having a good basketball team is the big ticket to national prominence for a small school, which is why they've been stepping up their financial commitment to the program year after year.

I agree with fanblade above: this hasn't fully played out yet, so buckle your seatbelt.

[greendoberman]

The die was cast when Bayno was hired. Everyone wanted to believe that a great reclamation story would bring us back to the promised land and the bumbling AD had finally stumbled on to a windfall.

In the end it was all smoke and mirrors and Hu-sack (heretofore referred to this, as in needs to be sacked) was left holding the bag of fool's gold.

There were a few who tried to light of their flares but alas the Jonestown crowd turned a blind eye while drinking their Kool-Aid.

Nowadays you can hear cricket chirps in place of the tulip madness. Turns out it wasn't "Just say Bayno", Nancy Reagan was right we should have just said no.

[ironlions]

How is that Snake's Oil tasting everybody?

[rebelfan]

I don't pretend to know anything about your AD. I'm not crazy about most AD's though.

Bayno has charisma. He's a genuine guy. If he believed in his heart that he was ready for this job, as passionate as he is, I'm sure he made for a great candidate. And the feel good story about the turnaround in his life, though a risk, could have paid huge dividends. It was a gamble for sure. Perhaps your AD shouldn't have taken the bait, but given the above factors, I can see where your AD could be drawn to Bayno as the next coach of LMU basketball.

As for not seeing out the season, I'd say that his leave of absence WAS caused by exhaustion. It wasn't a smokescreen. I think that mentally, he was battered. Oddly enough, had he turned back to alcohol, he probably could have made it longer because it would have masked the real issues. But we all know that downward spiral would have hurt everyone worse in the end.

Now, I understand that this is "only" college basketball. It's not life and death. But Bayno isn't your run of the mill type of person. When I say he's passionate, the things he feels for he feels deeper than most of us can imagine. The elation of victory and the pain in defeat is felt harder in this type of person. Things just hit him alot harder than most can appreciate.

I know the man well enough to say that his leaving LMU is another one of those things that is going to haunt him. It wasn't an easy decision. It was agonizing. He didn't want to disappoint so many people. I know he feels like he let everyone down. And unfortunately, because of how deeply he feels things, this is just going to pile up and probably become one of those demons.

You know, looking back at his years at UNLV, I do believe that was one of his "problems". He tried to please everybody all the time. It didn't matter if you were his sister or a man off the streets. He took everything so personally. Letting anyone down really hurt him. It's a tough way to live IMO.

I also feel for Coach Good. He was in a good place. Bryant just went D1, he had support at his school. And he is an East Coast guy. He loves the area. For him to displace his family once again was a big deal. And he would have done it for only one man, Bill Bayno. He loves that guy like a son. I know he's hurting for Billy, but he's got a job to do and he will see it through with every ounce of blood and sweat he has. But not tears, the guy doesn't have those.

Like I said, I think it's just extremely unfortunate for everybody involved. There were no winners at all in this situation. It turned out to be mass destruction. And now Good is left with the job of piecing everything together. I know he's up to the task, even though the results aren't there yet. One of the things I truly admire about the guy is he tells it like he feels it, there's nothing hidden with him.

My heart does go out to the LMU fans because believe it or not, it wasn't so long ago that we were going through the same thing.

[rebelfan]

Oh, trust me, I know how it looks.

I didn't come her to defend him. Just wanted to offer a perspective.

[LIONS90045]

As a disappointed season ticket holder who lives in the community, I am saddened by the scenario of Bayno's departure. I recall coming to the Notre Dame game - our first home game - and asking fans around me "Where is the coach?" We had just lost our first three games at the Iowa State tournament and were frustrated about the difficult schedule with such a young team. No one knew. Then we find the stress of facing a losing season was too much for Bayno.
Dr Husak, I believe, had the best interests of LMU in his heart when he brought Bayno on board. While the local paper questioned whether Bayno was a good fit for the LMU program before he even started, we fans were excited about the future. Then, the departures from the 2007-08 team and the injuries to our big guys and Bayno's leave of absence, left us with many questions. The worst scene was Bayno not coming back and the team and the recruits looking for greener pastures. Sadly, our star recruit, Terrell Vinson has already asked for release from his commitment. LMU, a class act, will honor his request and recruit him as if he isn't committed now. I agree with this action. We will probably lose him, another disappointment, but it may be OK for now. We only want players who want to play here.
Keeping our current roster is another priority for LMU. While we don't have the talent to compete this year, we definitely have the potential for the future. You should agree that this year's freshmen are the best lot in a long time - if we can keep them in the fold along with the transfers and the other recruits - especially the banger Garibay at Center - we will move forward next year.
GoLions and give Dr. Husak some space to create our future vision.

[crazycagegirl]

Feb 1, 2009 22:25:50 GMT -5 LIONS90045 said:

GoLions and give Dr. Husak some space to create our future vision.

How much more space does he need? He's already had 10 years....