Cyprien gets taste of role as coach as Rebels open Mountain West play

Victoria Sun

Monday, Jan. 10, 2000 | 9:56 a.m.

Tonight is not Glynn Cyprien's night.

One day as acting head coach for the UNLV men's basketball team isn't going to define his career and he knows it.

If all goes well for Cyprien, then days, months or years from now Cyprien will have plenty of big nights.

Nights where he strolls out onto the hardwood and assumes the end seat on the bench not physically marked, but understood to be reserved for the head coach.

"I want to be a head coach at a Division I college one day," he said. "Right now, though, it's just important for me to keep our team together and get us going.

"The responsibilities that Billy (Bayno) have given me have prepared me to become a head coach. Responsibilities on the floor and recruiting, all those things are going to be instrumental in me getting hired one day."

Tonight, Cyprien, the associate head coach of the Rebels, will take over for Bayno, who is serving a one-game suspension for missing the mandatory Mountain West Conference coaches meeting on Oct. 21.

To keep things in perspective, Cyprien focuses on the fact that this is a one-game opportunity.

"Nothing's really gonna change a whole lot," he said. "The system's in place and I'm just there to make sure the kids play hard and get at them if I need to.

"As much as I'm looking forward to it and excited, at the same time, we've got other coaches that are going to be there to lend a helping hand. It's not about me. It's about us.

"The most important thing is that we are starting conference play and the guys need to realize that we have to have a good start."

Bayno will miss his first game since he became head coach of the Rebels in 1995.

The only advice Bayno said he gave to Cyprien was to be himself.

Both coaches just hope the players will view tonight's 7:35 game against BYU at the Thomas & Mack Center as an opportunity to win an important game for each other and not let Bayno's absence be a distraction.

"I think they'll rally around each other," Bayno said. "It comes at a good time after a tough period for us where a lot of people have been criticizing us.

"This should show the guys that really need to rely on each other as a team to get through the game."

Renowned sports psychologist Dr. Joseph Carr met with the Rebels before the season started to help the players and coaches get a better understanding of each other and to provide them with the tools necessary to overcome situations, such as Bayno's suspension, that could hurt the team.

Carr has been in town for a follow-up session with the team. He thinks there is a lot to be learned from Bayno's suspension.

From Carr's point of view, leadership, trust and support are important to every sports team.

"This game has significant magnitude because it's the first league game," Carr said. "It is a model for them to trust each other in successful situations such as a win streak and difficult situations such as a suspension.

"Bill Bayno has empowered Cyp to perform. And if the players see Cyp is empowered, they will be empowered as well.

"This experience should be very helpful because if you look at it, Cyp is on the bench. He is a bench player in a sense that he has his role as a coach to help Bayno and the team just as the role players on the team have a role to help out when they are asked.

"The players should look at this as, if Cyp can step up and perform they can as well. It's a good lesson."

Chris Popoola doesn't think the coaching change will affect the team very much because winning is all that matters.

"I think it's going to be a good experience for him and for us," Popoola said. "He finally gets to coach in the game and not just during practice.

"Everybody loves Cyp. But it doesn't matter if Dave Rice, Bill Woo (Wuczynski), or coach (Max) Good are coaching. It's gonna be a regular game."