This is not the best performance from Jay Bilas.

[Millhouse]

The worst part of the broadcast to me was not so much Bilas' comments but the first 10 minutes. It was more like Zion against the world than Syracuse vs Duke.
Zion is a great player but I don't need to be told and shown that until I'm ready to vomit. He may as well have ESPN tattood on his forehead.

i yelled at the tv like an idiot when they went split screen with syracuse on offense on the right and williamson sitting on the bench and sweating on the left

 

[OrangeinBoston]

Ridiculous comments. Bilas has been partial to SU forever, and more than fair. Last night, he was blown away by Zion to the point where it was hard to talk about anything else. Frankly, so was I. Except for Frank who was spectacular. Hope he is now in full NCAA tournament mode.

 

[cliftonparksufan]

i yelled at the tv like an idiot when they went split screen with syracuse on offense on the right and williamson sitting on the bench and sweating on the left

OMG. It was like OJ and AC driving down the freeway in their white bronco.

 

[PhatOrange]

Worst Bilas night ever. His man crush is intolerable.

 

[cliftonparksufan]

Ridiculous comments. Bilas has been partial to SU forever, and more than fair. Last night, he was blown away by Zion to the point where it was hard to talk about anything else. Frankly, so was I. Except for Frank who was spectacular. Hope he is now in full NCAA tournament mode.

You could talk about how the rest of Duke players have been very pedestrian.

 

[OrangeinBoston]

You could talk about how the rest of Duke players have been very pedestrian.

Actually, he did. Bilas made numerous comments about Duke's turnovers, inability to do much on offensive etc. You just had to be listening.

 

[Fat tire 13]

I'm pretty sure if Zion played for Cuse I would own 10 of his jerseys and have no issue with all the announcers gushing over him. Overall I like Bilas more than most of these announcers. Much better than people who go in with zero background and don't know the team at all. Bilas knows Cuse. Jeeze, he even dropped a Rakeem Christmas reference when he was talking about how Marek had to be plugged in at the 5

 

[Cowtown]

You might be a closet Duke lover if you think he was objective.

I'm already on the record here as saying I don't dislike Duke, certainly not with the vehemence so many others have. Do I dislike it when we get homered in Cameron (and generally in NoCar)? Of course I do. Do I dislike it when ESPN talks like the sun doesn't shine until Duke gets up? Of course I do. Can I separate kids playing basketball from officials and the media? Of course I can. Do I own a dozen SU golf shirts/tee shirts/sweatshirts/jackets/hats but zero Duke gear? Of course I do.

 

[RF2044]

i yelled at the tv like an idiot when they went split screen with syracuse on offense on the right and williamson sitting on the bench and sweating on the left

It is like watching a Duke infomercial.

 

[HakAttack]

I haven’t necessarily had an issue with how ESPN has been covering Zion this year, but last night was the straw that broke the camel’s back for me.

Bilas especially. I had so much respect for him as a basketball guy, knows his stuff, always been a supporter of JB, etc. But to hear him openly GUSH, (you can interpret that multiple ways) on the telecast, MOANING with delight at Zion’s amazing play, it was completely unprofessional.

What about the split screen showing Zion on the bench WHILE THE GAME WAS BEING PLAYED???? ABSURD

I mean, why even bother naming the other team at all? We’re just the latest lamb to be slaughtered on the altar of Zion.

Am I overreacting because during the age of social media he IS this generation’s LeBron?

Or is this shameless promotion and alignment indicative of a lack of neutral and fair sports reporting on the part of ESPN.

______________________________________
(All this to say: if he’s picked #1 by my Knicks I’ll be the first person in line to buy his jersey...)

 

[Cowtown]

I'm pretty sure if Zion played for Cuse I would own 10 of his jerseys and have no issue with all the announcers gushing over him. Overall I like Bilas more than most of these announcers. Much better than people who go in with zero background and don't know the team at all. Bilas knows Cuse. Jeeze, he even dropped a Rakeem Christmas reference when he was talking about how Marek had to be plugged in at the 5

Actually, he did. Bilas made numerous comments about Duke's turnovers, inability to do much on offensive etc. You just had to be listening.

 

[OrangeJEM]

Bilas is usually relatively unbiased. But the fact he didn't even mention that Zion got away with steps on that breakaway dunk shows that it's institutionalized Zion bias.

 

[longislandcuse]

Here’s the thing... as annoying as it is:

Most-watched (regular season) college basketball games on ESPN this season:
UNC at Duke: 4.47 million viewers
Duke at UNC: 4.15M
UVa at Duke: 3.84M
Duke at UVa: 3.38M
Tenn at UK: 3.06M
Duke at Syracuse: 3.03M

 

[OrangeAl]

A big problem for college basketball is that there are no stars who stick around for continuity. The press has to make hay while the sun shines - which is only one year for a major talent like the Zion. Everybody goes overboard because they'll miss the chance is they don't.

 

[EastCoast2]

Zion, Duke, etc. are ESPN's product. ESPN hypes them up to draw more viewers. More viewers = more ads, more ads = more $, we all understand how it works. Annoying, but we need to remember ESPN is a for-profit company, not PBS.

 

[MikeSU02]

I haven’t necessarily had an issue with how ESPN has been covering Zion this year, but last night was the straw that broke the camel’s back for me.

Bilas especially. I had so much respect for him as a basketball guy, knows his stuff, always been a supporter of JB, etc. But to hear him openly GUSH, (you can interpret that multiple ways) on the telecast, MOANING with delight at Zion’s amazing play, it was completely unprofessional.

What about the split screen showing Zion on the bench WHILE THE GAME WAS BEING PLAYED???? ABSURD

I mean, why even bother naming the other team at all? We’re just the latest lamb to be slaughtered on the altar of Zion.

Am I overreacting because during the age of social media he IS this generation’s LeBron?

Or is this shameless promotion and alignment indicative of a lack of neutral and fair sports reporting on the part of ESPN.

Zion is the likely the best college player since Ant Davis. (Luka obviously didn't go to college)

Zion is probably the most exciting and entertaining player since Blake, maybe?

College basketball, in general, isn't great basketball (not saying people can't enjoy it or be entertained by it). So when someone like Zion comes in, he's going to be covered like royalty.

 

[Lucid]

Here's the thing. When you look at those kinds of viewership numbers, all the added hype is completely unnecessary. I mean, c'mon! Give your viewers some credit for understanding that Zion is a generational talent, without having to make sure he's onscreen every 2 minutes, making him the lead coming back from every break, and making silly exploding cartoons out of his face; and without the announcers sounding like they want to have his baby. It's ridiculous.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Zion is the likely the best college player since Ant Davis. (Luka obviously didn't go to college)

Zion is probably the most exciting and entertaining player since Blake, maybe?

College basketball, in general, isn't great basketball (not saying people can't enjoy it or be entertained by it). So when someone like Zion comes in, he's going to be covered like royalty.

Davis didn't get this much coverage.

They've definately changed their Op Model over the last few years.

They need Zion to be popular to drive up their NBA ratings next year.

They overspent on the NBA package and it's hurt their bottom line.

 

[Cowtown]

A big problem for college basketball is that there are no stars who stick around for continuity. The press has to make hay while the sun shines - which is only one year for a major talent like the Zion. Everybody goes overboard because they'll miss the chance is they don't.

Deference to the NBA's star system has hurt college hoops. Kids leave early with dreams that overmatch their skill level, don't make it, and end up playing in Turkey, Italy or China. And the NBA doesn't care because there's another 60+ coming up next year, and the next.

Bilas is usually relatively unbiased. But the fact he didn't even mention that Zion got away with steps on that breakaway dunk shows that it's institutionalized Zion bias.

That was the old NBA rationale, "He was going to score anyway, so why deprive the crowd of what they showed up to see?" That's another example of how the NBA has infected college hoops.

 

[Cowtown]

Zion, Duke, etc. are ESPN's product. ESPN hypes them up to draw more viewers. More viewers = more ads, more ads = more $, we all understand how it works. Annoying, but we need to remember ESPN is a for-profit company, not PBS.

Agreed, and a business that has frankly been struggling lately. So why is anyone surprised when they have a new cash cow to milk?

 

[RoysRunts]

Syracuse goes on a 15 point run closes to six and we hear how Great Zion

 

[RF2044]

Personally, I think that Zion's performance was incredible. Especially his first game back after an injury.

All of those dunks... some of the shots he hit -- it was a performance that deserved to be gushed over, no question.

I had a bigger problem with the slanted pre-game coverage than I did in-game -- the announcers were fairly balanced, especially when we made our push to claw all the way back.

 

[Cowtown]

Davis didn't get this much coverage.

They've definately changed their Op Model over the last few years.

They need Zion to be popular to drive up their NBA ratings next year.

They overspent on the NBA package and it's hurt their bottom line.

LeBron is what, 36? ESPN desperately needs another star to carry its water, especially with the fizzlefest in LA, the dreadful and perpetual ineptitude that is NY, and the soap opera in Boston.

They tried so hard to make Jordan Speith the next Tiger and it's damn near killed him. But hey, look! Over there! It's Justin! And Brooks!

 

[Cowtown]

Here's the thing. When you look at those kinds of viewership numbers, all the added hype is completely unnecessary. I mean, c'mon! Give your viewers some credit for understanding that Zion is a generational talent, without having to make sure he's onscreen every 2 minutes, making him the lead coming back from every break, and making silly exploding cartoons out of his face; and without the announcers sounding like they want to have his baby. It's ridiculous.

It's called "cultivating the market." It's more important that the fans believe he's fabulous than for him to actually be so. That's going to be very important next year when he plays more against grown men and not still-growing boys. And his style of play is pure physicality, and that's going to get him hurt (again): 82 games is a LOT more than 35. But that's not the only problem he's going to have. The NBA has become a orgy of 3 point shooters, and he's not a particularly good one. LeBron could always thunder dunk with the best, and still can, but what made him "Lebron!" is his scoring, and he's one of the best shooters I've ever seen.

 

[MikeSU02]

Davis didn't get this much coverage.

They've definately changed their Op Model over the last few years.

They need Zion to be popular to drive up their NBA ratings next year.

They overspent on the NBA package and it's hurt their bottom line.

Davis didn't dunk like this. Davis didn't block shots like Zion does. Davis wasn't doing 360 dunks and busting out of his shoe.

Davis is an all world talent, but he wasn't creating the same "can't wait to see what he does tonight" feeling that Zion does.