Jay Bilas

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Jay Bilas (b. December 24, 1963 in San Pedro, California) is an American lawyer and basketball analyst for ESPN.

1 Playing career
2 Coaching career
3 Broadcasting career
4 Legal career
5 Philanthropy
6 References
7 External links

[edit] Playing career

Bilas was a four-year starter on the Duke University men's basketball team from 1983-1986, and helped lead Duke to the Final Four and National Title game in 1986. That year, Duke won an NCAA record 37 games in a single season. Duke's 1982 recruiting class of Bilas, Johnny Dawkins, Mark Alarie and David Henderson still ranks as the highest scoring single class in college basketball history. Bilas graduated in 1986 with a degree in political science, and was selected very late in the 1986 NBA Draft by the Dallas Mavericks in the sixth round, but played professionally overseas for teams in Italy and Spain.

[edit] Coaching career

Bilas served as an assistant coach under Mike Krzyzewski at Duke for three seasons from 1990-1992. While serving as an assistant coach, Bilas simultaneously attended Duke's law school, and received his law degree in 1992. During his three year tenure as an assistant coach, Duke advanced to three Final Fours and won two National Championships. Bilas still teaches and speaks at clinics, and has been an instructor at the Nike Skills Academy in Beaverton, Oregon, which annually tutors some of the nation's finest high school players. In 2005 and 2006, Bilas was one of 12 coaches of "Operation Hardwood I and II" that coached United States Service teams in tournament competition in the Middle East. Among the other coaches of Operation Hardwood I and II were Mark Gottfried, Tom Izzo, Kelvin Sampson, Tubby Smith, Rick Barnes, Gary Williams, Dave Odom, Bobby Lutz, Bobby Cremins, Mike Jarvis, Billy Lange, Jim Crews, and Reggie Minton.

[edit] Broadcasting career

Bilas began his broadcast career as a color commentator alongside play-by-play man Bob Harris for the Duke Radio Network and Raycom/Jefferson Pilot in 1993.^[1] Bilas joined ESPN in 1995 as a college basketball analyst on games and in the studio.^{[citation needed]} He has served as co-host of College Hoops Tonight, and now serves as co-host of College Gamenight and College Gameday with Rece Davis, Hubert Davis, and Digger Phelps. Bilas makes frequent appearances on SportsCenter, ESPNEWS and ESPN Radio, and is a featured basketball writer on ESPN.com. In 2003, Bilas joined CBS as a game analyst for the network's coverage of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, and has been paired for the most part with Dick Enberg as his color analyst. Sports Illustrated has called Bilas the best analyst in college basketball. A member of the Screen Actors Guild, Bilas has appeared in national television commercials and the feature length movie "Dark Angel" (Also Known as "I Come In Peace" ).

[edit] Legal career

Bilas received his J.D. from Duke University School of Law in 1992. He is Of Counsel to the Charlotte office of Moore & Van Allen, where he maintains a litigation practice. Because of his responsibilities for ESPN, Bilas has an arrangement to practice on a part-year basis with the law firm.

[edit] Philanthropy

Bilas is a partner with former NBA star Dell Curry and Carolina Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith in a charitable foundation, Athletes United For Youth, which is a non-profit educational foundation based in Charlotte.