Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Commenatry: Keep fanfare to minimum, Bayno says

HE WAS JUST about to roll his eyes, invoking the universal symbol of feigned disbelief. Instead, Bill Bayno merely looked skyward.

The comment that prodded the reaction was innocent enough, although it's one Bayno can't seem to escape. The occasion was his introduction at a Thursday press conference at UNLV to formally announce recruiting classes for the men's and women's basketball teams. Sports Information director Jim Gemma had the honors and he brought Bayno to the podium with just enough fanfare, welcoming him with "Now people are going to start talking about the Final Four."

Bayno would rather they didn't.

"Some say we had the No. 1 (recruiting) class, some say No. 10," he said. "That's nice, but that's just potential."

All the praise does, he said, is "set you up for failure."

Yet he knows there's no dodging it. People in Las Vegas want the Rebels back in the NCAA Tournament, back in the Final Four. While their constant questioning is redundant to Bayno, it's of the utmost importance to them.

So when the press conference was all but over, former Rebel Glen Godrezick -- now a broadcaster for the team -- picked up some points as a humorist by raising his hand and asking Bayno: "So how long will it be before we're back in the Final Four?"

Everyone in the Si Redd Room had a laugh, Bayno included, the result of knowing that question is precisely the one he is tired of having to answer. However, it remains one he's going to have to hear.

"I'll give you the reality," he said. "These kids are 18, 19 years old. All (they have) is potential."

Whether it's No. 1 or 10, the Rebels have an excellent -- and badly needed -- recruiting class in tow. Six newcomers have been signed and Bayno promised a seventh whose paperwork is in the mail. (Another scholarship could open up this fall if Warren Rosegreen sticks with the UNLV football team; if he does, football coach Jeff Horton will put Rosegreen on a football scholarship to free up a spot for Bayno.)

If the newcomers match their advance press clippings, the Rebels -- even though this may make Bayno cringe -- will be loaded. But, as he was quick to point out, not every prep phenom makes it big at the collegiate level.

Nonetheless, Bayno said "I don't think I could have gotten any better players."

He's in a tough spot. On the one hand, he knows he has some talent coming in, guys who are obviously better than the players UNLV has put on the floor the past couple of seasons. On the other hand, the very last thing he wants to do is overstate their abilities before they're battle-tested. The fact is, he and every other coach would like to sneak up on their opponents, yet the advance publicity about his first real recruiting class is going to make that impossible.

So Bayno acts happy without acting ecstatic. He comes across as content without being jubilant. He even peers skyward -- as in, "Oh, Lord, not again" -- as others bang the tom-toms, prefacing his introduction with suggestions of a return to the Final Four.

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