Columnist Tim Graham: Bayno may not receive public support

Tim Graham

Thursday, March 25, 1999 | 11:46 a.m.

Tim Graham's column appears Thursday. His media notebook appears Wednesday. Reach him at tim@lasvegassun.com or 259-4078.

Two years ago, the past and future of Rebel basketball converged at the Thomas & Mack Center.

It was February 1997, and Fresno State was here to play UNLV. But the game meant so much more than a mark in the standings.

Jerry Tarkanian was returning to play UNLV for the first time in the arena he virtually built. This time he sat on the visitor side of the scorer's table.

On the home side was Bill Bayno, the man heralded as the one who would lead the Rebels out of their morass. Bayno was in his second year and leading the Rebels to their most victories since 1991-92, Tark's last season.

The main storyline was obvious: Bayno could exorcise Tarkanian's ghost from the T&M and officially claim the Rebels as his team, no one else's.

UNLV won 78-64. Bayno downplayed the symbolism, but no one could deny it.

It was in the air from the moment the crowd wildly cheered Tarkanian's pregame introduction until it wildly cheered Bayno's triumph. The fans basically said "Thanks for everything, Tark. But this is our guy now."

It was time for Bayno to create his own legacy.

But on Tuesday he grabbed a Rebel torch of a different sort.

Bayno got his very own NCAA investigation.

Maybe this makes it official, and Bayno now can be considered a full-fledged UNLV basketball coach.

His program brought the NCAA's investigators back to Maryland Parkway. Soon they will be rifling through the university's paperwork, interrogating its administrators and staff, cross-examining its athletes.

It took the NCAA less than two working days -- a shockingly quick deliberation period -- to decide they will formally look into possible recruiting and extra benefit violations committed on Bayno's watch, charges the coach denies.

But as Tarkanian, who knows a thing or two about NCAA inquiries, told the Sun Tuesday "I don't think (the NCAA) would have come back unless they had something concrete. ... They gotta have some stuff."

Tarkanian had his share of community support during his travails, but Bayno likely won't be afforded the same luxury. Tarkanian was a winner. He ran a national powerhouse. He was accommodating.

Right or wrong, people were willing to give Tarkanian the benefit of the doubt.

Bayno's aloof act started wearing thin long before the NCAA came knocking. He couldn't control his players. He couldn't win when it counted. Rumors of his personal life started to swirl -- and still do.

Now if it's found his program operated illegally, there's not much to think about.

What does it say for Bayno's coaching skills if he was able to manage only a 16-13 record despite cheating? Isn't cheating frowned upon because, by definition, it provides an unfair advantage?

Risking your job, your program's reputation and your university's integrity for mediocre results and players you can't keep around sounds rather foolish.

When Bayno grabbed the torch, he wasn't expected to ignite the negative fires that once burned on UNLV's campus and in this community.

If his actions wind up doing so, the torch must quickly be passed again.