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TV Analyst Profile: Jay Bilas

Sunday, November 25, 2007 , Posted by Christopher Byrne at 10:54 PM, under , , , , , ,

Athens, GA (Nov 25, 2007) - Love him or hate him, Jay Bilas is not afraid to share his opinions. The following is a profile of College Basketball Analyst Bilas as published by ESPN. I learned something I did not know: he is a lawyer.

Former Duke standout Jay Bilas joined ESPN as a college basketball game analyst beginning with the 1995-96 season. Since that time, Bilas has served as a game analyst, studio analyst (including ESPN2’s College Hoops 2Night) and sideline reporter for both ESPN and ESPN2. In 1999, Bilas served as a WNBA analyst for ESPN’s telecasts and in 2000, Bilas added the role of NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament studio commentator.

He has served as an ESPN reporter at major college basketball events, such as the NCAA Final Four, the Great Eight Classic, the College Slam Dunk & 3-Point Championships, and the 1998 Duke at North Carolina game (No. 1 vs. No. 2) in 1998. From 1993-96, Bilas also served as a analyst for Raycom/Jefferson Pilot and the Duke Radio Network.

The 6-8 Bilas was a four-year starter for Mike Krzyzewski at Duke from 1983-86. As a forward/center, he averaged 8.4 points (1,062 career points) and 5.4 rebounds during his career and played on Duke’s NCAA Final Four team as a senior.

As an undergraduate, Bilas also served as a football and soccer commentator for the Duke student cable station, and was one of two student-athletes in the nation appointed to the NCAA’s Long Range Planning Committee (1985-86). He appeared on CBS’s Face The Nation on April 7, 1985, to discuss academics and athletics. During summers, he worked as a production assistant for ABC Sports, which included stints at the 1983 PGA Championship, the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles and 1984 & ‘85 Monday Night Baseball.

Bilas graduated from Duke in 1986 with a degree in political science, then went on to graduate from the Duke University Law School in 1992.

A 1986 NBA draft pick of the Dallas Mavericks, Bilas played professionally in Italy (1987-88) and Spain (1989) before returning to Duke as an assistant coach from 1990-92 (and to attend law school) -- the Blue Devils made the NCAA Final Four in 1990 and were NCAA champions in ‘91 and ‘92.

Since 1992, Bilas has been an attorney with the Charlotte, N.C., firm of Moore & Van Allen, PLLC.

A member of the Screen Actors Guild, Bilas also has appeared in commercials for Budweiser and Minolta, in addition to a feature role in the 1989 Columbia Pictures movie I Come in Peace. A native of Palos Verde Peninsula, Calif., Bilas averaged 23.7 points and 13.5 rebounds as a senior at Rolling Hills HS. Born Dec. 24, 1963, he and his wife, Wendy, have two daughters.

Bilas Photograph Courtesy of the ESPN Networks.

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