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ESPN’s Jay Bilas is a Duke-educated lawyer and one of the more respected voices in the college basketball media when March Madness rolls around.
Bilas, 62, was also a four-year starter for head coach Mike Krzyzewski on the Blue Devils’ men’s basketball team in the 1980s.
MORE:Jason Whitlock sends message to Doug Gottlieb after college hoops stunner
You can’t spell “Bilas” without “bias,” and that’s been the basis for a chorus of complaints against Bilas over the years. No broadcaster is without his critics, and Duke’s polarizing place in the college basketball ecosystem makes Bilas something of a lightning rod for Duke haters.
When those complaints come from a former colleague and current Division I head coach, they carry a little more weight.
So it was this week when Doug Gottlieb called out Bilas’ role in shaping ESPN’s college basketball coverage, emphasizing the blue-chip Blue Devils program over a more balanced approach to the entire field of 64.
“Can we all admit his entire professional broadcasting life is based upon one thing: Duke?” Gottlieb asked Jason Whitlock on the March 17 episode of “Fearless.”
Gottlieb helped launch ESPNU in 2005 before becoming a mainstay on SportsCenter and working as an analyst on ESPN’s college basketball coverage.
Now the head coach of the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay men’s basketball program, Gottlieb coached the Phoenix to the Horizon League tournament for the first time since the 2019-20 season.
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Bilas, 62, was also a four-year starter for head coach Mike Krzyzewski on the Blue Devils’ men’s basketball team in the 1980s.
MORE:Jason Whitlock sends message to Doug Gottlieb after college hoops stunner
You can’t spell “Bilas” without “bias,” and that’s been the basis for a chorus of complaints against Bilas over the years. No broadcaster is without his critics, and Duke’s polarizing place in the college basketball ecosystem makes Bilas something of a lightning rod for Duke haters.
When those complaints come from a former colleague and current Division I head coach, they carry a little more weight.
So it was this week when Doug Gottlieb called out Bilas’ role in shaping ESPN’s college basketball coverage, emphasizing the blue-chip Blue Devils program over a more balanced approach to the entire field of 64.
“Can we all admit his entire professional broadcasting life is based upon one thing: Duke?” Gottlieb asked Jason Whitlock on the March 17 episode of “Fearless.”
Gottlieb helped launch ESPNU in 2005 before becoming a mainstay on SportsCenter and working as an analyst on ESPN’s college basketball coverage.
Now the head coach of the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay men’s basketball program, Gottlieb coached the Phoenix to the Horizon League tournament for the first time since the 2019-20 season.
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MARCH MADNESS: Predicting March Madness upsets in the 2026 NCAA Tournament
NFL DRAFT: New Mel Kiper NFL mock draft shows major impact of free agency
MLB: Dodgers announce Shohei Ohtani’s spring training pitching debut
NHL: Oilers’ Leon Draisaitl out for regular season with lower-body injury
ENTERTAINMENT: Is ‘Bachelorette’ still airing amid Taylor Frankie Paul domestic dispute allegations?
VIRAL: Livvy Dunne shares ‘Baywatch’ training with BTS swimsuit, set photos
Continue reading...
