Random trivia about ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas: He’s a member of the Screen Actors Guild and appeared in an episode of the TV show “The White Shadow,” in addition to a role in the movie “I Come in Peace.” But the former Duke star and assistant coach is better known for his college basketball opinions, and he shared them during a phone conversation Monday.
Q. Jeff Lebo, the former UTC coach, is finally starting to succeed at Auburn. What do you think of the job he’s doing there?
A. “Jeff is a really, really good basketball coach. I thought the last couple of years he had to deal with a ton of injuries and things off the basketball court. It was nothing schematic. Guys were just off the floor for different reasons, and that was the biggest issue for him. Now you’re seeing that he’s a really good coach. I’m not surprised he’s doing well. I’ve known him since he was 18 years old (Bilas was a senior at Duke when Lebo arrived at North Carolina), so it’s nice to see him having success.”
Q. The SEC is taking a beating this year. Is it deserved?
A. “I think all the criticism has been absolutely fair. The SEC is not as good as it used to be. People don’t just pick this stuff out of the sky. No reasonable person can look at the SEC right now and say it’s as good as it was in the past. That doesn’t mean it’s not very good or there’s not good teams in it.”
Q. But only three, four or five teams are getting in the NCAA tournament, right?
A. “Well, whether they get five or four or six or whatever — and there’s still plenty of time to go — it’s less of a function of how good the league is and more about how good the rest of the country is. The league can be worse than ever and get seven teams in if the rest of the country is really bad. And the league could be really good and only get three or four in the tournament.”
Q. Are you surprised at LSU?
A. “No. ... They have a group of veterans and a couple of key guys who played in the Final Four. That’s a good team. That’s a team with a good nucleus of players. Trent Johnson is a great coach and he was a really good fit for that situation. They play defense and they rebound and they have just a flat-out scorer in Marcus Thornton. Bo Spencer at point guard is also really talented.”
Q. Will Georgia’s perception as a football school hurt its search for a new coach?
A. “I don’t think so. You’re always going to find football schools here and there. It doesn’t mean you can’t win at basketball. Look at Florida. It doesn’t seem to bother Billy Donovan. Look at Texas and Tennessee. It’s not an impossibility. Basketball may not be the whole piece of the pie, but if you commit enough, you can do well.”
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