No commitment from Talk ’N Text

Former University of Nevada at Las Vegas (UNLV) coach Bill Bayno arrives tomorrow morning to evaluate the Talk ’N Text team but isn’t sure of a job in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

Bayno, 39, was interviewed by Talk ’N Text owner Manuel Pangilinan and other club officials in the US last month as a candidate to replace resigned Phone Pals coach Louie Alas. Also interviewed was four-time International Basketball Association (IBA) Coach of the Year Duane Ticknor.

Phone Pals team manager Frankie Lim told The STAR yesterday there is no commitment to hire Bayno.

"He’s coming to assess our situation and recommend how to make us more competitive," said Lim. "Of course, it’s possible he will be offered a coaching contract in the end – that all depends on how he relates to the players and management in the next few days. Once he’s in town, we’ll take it from there."

Lim said in the absence of a coach, he will call the shots for Talk ’N Text during the PBA draft at the Glorietta this Sunday. He will also continue to conduct practices for the Phone Pals. Lim added it’s unlikely Bayno will show up for the draft.

Lim has been in the forefront of negotiations to bolster the Phone Pals lineup. It is rumored that Talk ‘N Text is finalizing a trade to acquire Alaska’s first round pick – sixth overall – in Sunday’s draft in exchange for Vic Pablo and is trying to lure Jeffrey Cariaso from FedEx. An earlier plan to trade Pablo for Shell’s Mark Telan was scuttled.

As for Bayno, Lim said his credentials attest to his coaching ability and performance.

Bayno apprenticed as a recruiter, scout and assistant coach for P.J. Carlesimo at Seton Hall, Larry Brown at Kansas, and John Calipari at Massachusetts before taking the UNLV job in 1995. On the varsity level, he was credited for recruiting and training stars like Danny Manning, Marcus Camby, ex-PBA import John Morton, Lamar Odom, Shawn Marion, and Keon Clark who later became pros.

At UNLV, Bayno steered the Runnin’ Rebels to at least 20-win records in three years. He was fired after seven games of the 2000-01 season in the wake of a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) decision sanctioning UNLV for recruiting violations. Bayno was not accused of any wrongdoing and pleaded innocent to the charges stemming from illegal payment to Odom while being recruited to join the varsity. Bayno threatened to sue UNLV management for the arbitrary termination of his contract which had 2 1/2 years left before expiring.

Bayno, a bachelor, was known to frequent nightclubs during his early years at Las Vegas. But in Sports Illustrated, he said he had cleaned up his act. "I’ve changed," claimed Bayno, quoted by writer Seth Davis. "In the last two years, I’ve stopped socializing in nightclubs. It was hurting my image."

Bayno was UNLV’s third coach after Jerry Tarkanian left the school in 1992. He took over from Tim Grgurich who had succeeded Rollie Massimino. Bayno was highly recommended for the UNLV post. Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook said Bayno had "the energy and enthusiasm for the job…if harnessed, can make him a coach with longevity…he has proved he can recruit (and) showed he can adapt."

Bayno was in line to coach the Phoenix franchise in the American Basketball Association (ABA) when the invitation to travel to Manila came.