Just wanted to acknowledge what a great job he did last night. In the opening funk, he was 100 percent spot on talking about the lack of energy and, most telling, that "They don't talk to each other" when he noted you could hear everything on the floor because the arena wasn't that full. He was also pointed out what was being done correctly/differently in the comeback and gave praise where it was due. FWIW, it wouldn't hurt for the players to listen to his commentary while watching a replay.
Bilas is far and away ESPNs best commentator... maybe for ANY sport. Love listening to his insight. FWIW, hes pretty funny on Twitter too.
Jay is one of my favorite commentators. Very smart & knowledgeable about the game. Almost always has something positive to say about UConn. Very funny guy as well - didn't he crack a joke about being careful what he says because of former athletes getting ejected from games?
The refs were not great last night either. Bilas and Digger were both on the officials for the lack of calls when Ty Johnson was using his right arm to fend off the opposing players. I'll give them this, at least they were consistent. They also missed a foul on Roscoe Smith at the end which could have resulted in a different outcome. That shot at the end of OT has been criticized but I think it was the only thing that Shabazz could have done. If he passes, time expires. If he misses, we go into a second OT against a team with almost no bench and in foul trouble. It was a good decision.
The thing that makes him great is that he is unbiased and can look at all of NCAA basketball objectively. That is something really rare, especially from a Duke guy.
This to me is what makes him even better. He doesn't let his alumni status from Duke interfere with his commentating. All too often it's very clear who these commentators favorite team is. Bilas is the rare exception. Plus, I LOVE his dry humor. My favorite comment from him last night was when they were talking about Villanova being the best FT shooting team but worst FG shooting team. His analysis when asked why this could be, "Well no one is covering you at the free throw line. That probably helps...a lot". He tells it how he sees it and isn't afraid to put it out there. I agree with another person who referenced his comments on UConn players not saying a word. That is a HUGE problem. Bilas is a great analyst and I was saying it all last season that he was on UConn's side from the get go. He's a refreshing difference from some of the people on ESPN such as Doug Gotlieb and DukieV.
Bilas would make a very good coach for a program at the elite level. JMHO Experience is overrated at times. At least in his case it might be. JMHO
Bilas is great but we love him because he has not been a UCONN basher. He has treated our program with a surprising amount of respect.
It goes to show that the preppy, Coach K cronies/smug bastards at Duke can actually produce ONE person that isn't completely full of ignorance and extreme bias.
Honestly, I may be biased, but everybody should treat UConn with that level of respect, at least among analyists. Over the past 15 years we are just as good as UNC, UK, Duke, UCLA, AU, SU, KU, and should be treated as such. Oddly enough, the only fans who don't seem to like Bilas as a commentator are Duke fans. I guess he doesn't kiss their ass enough.
Thats interesting because he was on Coack K's staff in the early 90's but i guess he really had no interest in becoming a coach. By the way he is a lawyer in North Carolina so i think that helps his analysis.
