Jay Bilas Interview

Now be enjoined by ESPN college basketball analyst capabilities. There are a lot of things to get to regarding the NCAA. The ACC college hoops college sports and otherwise the first thing I'm interested in how have you been filling this extra unexpected time journalist well out of the other party about year-over-year growth will go out early in my job, but the euro moving on in the way the make sure that my family take care of To to be prepared. Some of course played for Danny Manning at Wake Forest. I think it's only right that we start local you were in our backyard last week at the ACC tournament in Greensboro and at this time last week we were talking about the ACC tournament being a test of sorts where it was the first tournament held yearly ACC since 2015 first one in five years since the nine ACC AEDs have been hired to have no connection to Greensboro whatsoever so when you see this tournament getting canceled understanding how much the tournament means to that place. Being someone who played there and covered many tournaments there what you think the right thing for the ACC to do is in terms of the next time they come back to Greensboro because DCM Berkeley sinners. Next up there. I don't know the answer that I don't know. For the relevant notes relevant to Greensboro right now.

You were looking at it very serious issues facing all of college sports all sports in general and basically our our our global economy. So things are going to change and looking to change awfully quickly as we built where where we are now, where were basically restaurants and bars gyms and officers shut down and back of this 10 days ago that every sport into the across our country would would shut down operations that will be unfathomable so and there's no there's no short-term cessation of this so we got a lot of things to deal with coming out and I don't think anybody knows the answer. Where this issue should permit go five years from our four years now. Whatever does the NCAA reacted swiftly and canceling the tournament.

He acted swiftly and dealing with the scholarships and eligibility for the spring sports now. I think it's the deeper issues of what you do with the athletes who were seniors unable to compete in March madness this year even finish out the conference tournaments. What's the biggest issue you think the NCAA is debating back and forth in this discussion of eligibility for seniors who were able to finish their careers the right way all the way I understand it, they haven't decided anything with regard spring sport a single committee made a recommendation that it would be appropriate that right that's not that's not a decision or action.

I frankly don't think that this is not not not the time they got bigger issues, thing facing not only Association member institutions.

Right now all the campuses are completely shut down and there's no prospect of opening back up for the school year. In order for the summer for that matter. So the idea that were concerned about whether seniors play next year seems a bit know that that how we get how we make those decisions when there are gigantic issues facing all these campuses that have to do first and foremost when they can open up again when their students to graduate and all those kind of issues and how you how they conduct their business and finish out his current school year to do it online. If they don't do it.

Who knows, I don't even know all the issues on the significant financial issues but always as the cancellation conference tournaments, cancellation of the collector endowments are taking it.

They're not bringing revenue right now from even their foodservice and their schools. I made a hard time charging for Midori is an on-campus housing one there not let anybody on campus to be a tough one. So there there lot issues facing the University's mythic the may not be the last thing they need to be worried about way down the list restoring eligibility. I like how comprehensive you are and recognizing a lot of things that people might not be thinking about as you're outlining every specific thing I think about what Mike Sharansky said in the wake of the national are the NL in IL conversation a couple months ago talking once again about college basketball's need for a commissioner of sorts.

Not just having Mark Emerick have to be the one address every single issue and having someone who specifically designated dealing with the issues of college basketball. David Teal wrote about it last week and he was asking John Swofford about it. He didn't think that was the time to address it. But in times like this. Do you think this kind of stresses the need of having something central somebody central that specifically has the interest of college basketball in mind. Well hopefully not times like that probably won't have a course or for any time having proper coordination is vital in any any leadership capacities so you could see even even on Wednesday when it was made and it was the right intermediate step. Step one the AA decided that the tournament the AA tournament would proceed with that that announcement was made and it was made without notifying the conference so there was very little coordination or communication. While that was going on the AA at information from it. It assembled panel of experts in the healthcare field. But that wasn't made available or coordinated very well with the conferences so it was certainly a bath look for the conferences to be playing games on Wednesday night was full crowd on the AA set at 430 that were not going to play with. So there's a disconnect there late.

Got all the broad strokes right they made all the right big decisions, but it did point out some sort of structural leadership failures or leadership problems that the current the current system have and those to be fixed. Going forward, but it takes a recognition that there needs to be change in any event needs to be changes in leadership going for. This seems to me that when work through this particular catastrophe that that would be that that would be a very good time to assess those things done and make some changes when you're trying to pinpoint how surreal last week was to be in Greensboro as we all were. Where is the first thing you go to a somebody who was on the court with Dan Schulman as Florida State was being yanked off the floor and then we learned that there was gonna be no tournament and no tournaments cross college basketball probably 9 o'clock that morning when I was on the set of Packer and Durham for the network and was asked what happened. My response was emphatically A attorney to be canceled and no there's no way that there's no way to hold the term and John Swofford got up right after that will play the game and I thought there's no way that people should walk into this building is irresponsible and that became clearer and clearer and you figured that something happened that there there's no way were to play and it wasn't until just right around noon. I would say when we got we got word that the Big Ten canceled the big yacht was a big piece that was the American conference.

Yes, the Southeastern conference that all that all canceled on the Big Ten or the Big East. It in your like what what is going on that's that's bizarre and there's no way when Florida State ran out before, and I was on the fourth big band started playing. I think I even said the SportsCenter anchor condo that this is just this feels wrong and I don't know what the timing was 5020 Slater caps lock on the whole thing. I did think after what happened on Wednesday. I didn't think there was any way that anyone would would bring people into a building just seemed like socially responsible and it turns out several days later me what we I might be from all that and then bars and restaurants are closed and you down.

Most places I live in Charlotte and authority here and then in the tri-state area for New York New Jersey Connecticut now.

They closed enclosed all all restaurants are closed except for take out all out for me think changed and in the code be this way for a while but it took it took people, including people in leadership positions quite a while and I don't blame about that is a difficult thing is really Daubert doesn't contract the virus in the game doesn't get canceled when it was last Wednesday.

Are you convinced games get played next couple of days. Maybe if you maybe if you can't get played but I think ultimately we will have the same place. I don't remember before that happened in the lake with this decision that played and so it's not like that that this all these actions undertaken were totally foreign to young leaders in the infectious disease area in the healthcare field of me. I was told to go by my really good friends. Dr. he reached out to me and gave me a bunch literature agreed on the impending pandemic and global pandemic and he advised me that I don't want to alarm you blinded more that if you got the opportunity to drive you should drive and because he knew there were going to be games of luck. And I did the best I could drive through. Despite turns out right now the right guy duly canceled her tournament on Monday morning and and people thought they were crazy and and so clearly things would change the minds of change but I thought it was when I thought the biggest moment was not really just my mind.

Biggest moment was when the world help help organization on Wednesday morning declared a global pandemic that that's that's big stuff and not shock me and I can I can imagine I was alone there and John Swofford.

He's a very smart guy. But the day after the Daubert stuff happens the moment I knew that it just isn't a sound argument. The play is when somebody asked him at the press conference hey if somebody gets the coronavirus of somebody is cooked has contracted in college basketball isn't too late.

At that point in his bonds was that's a fair question.

I don't have the answer. If I guess if nobody gets it. It would've been the right answer and if and if you're getting to that point you know it's not a sound argument to play into at two hours later players are playing on the floor anymore so well, and that points up and started to rub that place up sort of a lack of coordination on the part AA and and the commissioners and the members that this is like the commissioners represent the member is sufficient, and they were and and by the time we had gotten to the ones they were really talking about the biggest conference with countries that were grabbing her tournament and the fact that they didn't have the same access to the probation that was being provided by the advisory panel to the leadership team for the AA I think is a failure in leadership now everybody made right and they made it within a day of, but it wasn't done in a coordinated fashion and blessing for you. James fully let you go. Jaden was with us of ESPN, what, where is the next place the NCAA and Mark emirates input needed. What's the next thing you would like to see from them their next role in this. Well it's all part and parcel same same role outlook. I felt that that AA shouldn't be putting out written statement find a clue. Background on social media. I felt that even in this is that I think a tremendous leadership failure on the part of the AA family is always talking about education. It is great have any problem but Ben-Ami given that been the stance of the mantra on AA members. Decisions on those campuses are some of the world leaders not only infectious diseases but in the healthcare field and Weatherby research, you name it. Medical professionals and why the NCAA didn't didn't have an oppressive and to be able to say here's here's what we are doing here is why we are doing it. Here's the advice we been given and here the medical gave that if I asked them whatever questions and they can and then after that there should be coordinated by the NCAA daily. You know, if not more often whatever whatever vehicle you want whether webinars are the same where they can get all of you know some of these experts they have on their member campuses to be educating the public on what is going on and what should happen. In other words how you can take care of herself how you should social distance. Why how to best go about this. We are all in a way stumbling around in the dark and in through social media. You have people I would consider to be uninformed, saying more people die with the flu.

This is just like that. No, it's not. It's not like the flu and and this is not being made up. So in the absence of a voice, a reassuring voice from the AA. We've got a bunch of voices taking over in other areas that are not informed access to two important questions, and I think that's a problem. So rather than sit here and talk about brackets that should we put out a bracket. What about the eligibility of people that you like were really worried about eligibility for people next year.

Now I don't I don't get that and I don't get why were not keeping you know what maybe they're keeping her eye on the ball by but but I'd like them to to step forward and help educate the public would be marshaling the resources of the members and starting to act like education is the primary focus of the AA is a public trust, and I think you have a public responsibility in this bill is for college basketball Commissioner. I think I think a lot of people would nominate you in that regard would not be something you're interested in the absolute best good luck figuring out the rest of your margins appreciated you to spend time in the triad. Thank you got good luck with everything and then got it. That's Dave Ellis of ESPN that that is something we've actually discussed in private circles of the media, okay Jay Millis he's the guy that you want to be the Commissioner of college basketball is that going to be an upgrade and pay what he's making it ESPN probably my guess I could be wrong but that's my guess. And in terms of good information being put out there. Robert, I mean it's true the NCAA doesn't have anybody forward out think this is what you need to do wash your hands do all these things that we got Wu-Tang Clan out there giving you an acronym much like the Dennis system and it's always Sunny in Philadelphia. They spell out Wu-Tang also. We got Edward to Ron.

He has his PSA.

If you need a forward voice to tell you what happened in the wake of this crisis. What needs to happen. What better then this voice here for avoiding same success to learn the playbook that's throwing football that's also true, would take all the virus spread the virus is a serious matter, but there is a game plan for keeping the residence as safe as possible.

Everyone has a role to play. Every phaser sounds together. Cover your golf with durable like this washer and slowly for 40 seconds.

If you're sick stay home if you think you should be tested full gallop about a force of articles contact with anyone who said projector at Grace family members including family is not a real estate care as you go about the facts now one of ours not go in your state health department were all in this together listing about the health I feel like there's something missing at the end there. Maybe we can fill that void with something possibly go to sounds a lot better than CHA dose and it's time we got the final four. Like the AA shouldn't be worried about fake brackets as Jay Dillon said we on the other hand definitely should. This week will a real bracket to fill out that we have a 2000s pop music bracket.

We have the final four.

Find out who the winners can be next on the drive