Good stands in, stands up for Bayno

A close friend of Max Good was surveying the carnage this week, reflecting on the ridiculously huge challenge now facing the veteran college basketball coach, and offered this trace of hope:

"You have to remember," the friend said, "this isn't Max's first rodeo."

Maybe not, but he never rode into an arena on this frail a horse.

It's not the rebuilding part that bothers Good. Been there, succeeded at that. It's the slurs being aimed at his good friend, the unfounded rumors being spread, the nasty innuendo from those with neither conscience nor clue.

"It makes my heart bleed," Good said. "It's sickening. People are saying he's off the wagon. He has been alcohol and drug free for seven years. When he was drinking while coaching UNLV, it was easier to cope. Now, he has to man up and look this right in the eyeballs. That's hard.

"There is nothing I want more than to see Billy have peace and serenity in his life. I'd step in front of a train for him. I love Billy Bayno. He's one of the most kind and compassionate people I've ever met. But people want to assume the worst. They get their jollies out of watching other people fall. It's cowardice. It's sad."

It's this: Good today is head coach at Loyola Marymount, where he came this season to assist Bayno, who was hired in April to resurrect one of the West Coast Conference's worst programs.

But the strain of such a task bit Bayno early, and after taking medical leave for stress and anxiety in November, he officially resigned Monday for what was described as work-related depression.

It has fallen on Good to somehow improve a team that is possibly worse than its 1-16 record, that was picked eighth in the league before it lost three starters and a 6-foot-9-inch reserve to season-ending injuries, that suits up eight players, only five of whom are on scholarship, including two former walk-ons who were put on aid for their senior seasons.

This isn't a project.

It's a nightmare.

"It's hellish in some respects and rewarding in others," Good said. "These kids come to practice every day like we're undefeated. Honestly. I don't B.S. I'm too old and too stupid and too New England to B.S. Their attitude is so positive.

"I have to be a little more patient than usual. I can't be as demonstrative, but that doesn't mean we're not demanding. A couple of priests have gotten some messages to the athletic director about not being fond of some of my vocabulary. But you motivate kids the best way you know how."

This chore has Max Good written all over it. If there is a sturdy monument to be built from sand, he's your guy. He is 66 and as fiery as ever.

Bryant University in Rhode Island had four straight losing seasons when Good arrived. In seven years under him, it went 132-86 and made the Division II national championship game in 2005 as it transitioned into Division I-A this fall.

When UNLV needed someone to calm its storm in December 2000 after Bayno was fired and the Rebels placed on NCAA probation, Good stepped forward for the remainder of the season.

He won five New England Prep School championships at Maine Central Institute and was the Ohio Valley Conference Coach of the Year at Eastern Kentucky in 1987.

But he has never inherited quite a situation as LMU.

The Lions start three freshmen who average at least 30 minutes each, kids Bayno anticipated playing 10 to 12 a game this season. One (Jarred DuBois) recently played 115 straight.

They have to be close to perfect even to stay close most nights, and perfect these Lions aren't. Teams run them to exhaustion, because eight willing bodies just can't keep up over 40 minutes.

LMU's best players (transfers from Seton Hall and Oregon) aren't eligible until next season, when an early signing class of three will also arrive. Good signed a multiyear contract this week, which he will need and perhaps then some to right the sinking ship.

For now, he is most worried about the kids who are losing every night and the good friend who battled addiction in the past and now confronts a different set of demons.

"I would have never left a great job with a (long-term contract) at Bryant for anyone other than Billy," Good said. "Rest assured, him gaining peace is my biggest concern. Billy is more sensitive than me. I'm more callous. I'm just crazy enough to deal with all this.

"I don't mind other teams trying to kill us. It's what I would do. You step on their throat until the bubble pops. It's my job to prepare our team. We'll be much better next year. We could quadruple our talent.

"For now, we'll ask them to do something, then tell them, and they don't want to get to No. 3 on that list. Someone said it's David vs. Goliath. It feels more like King Kong against Fred.

"What do you do? You find a way to compete. You deal with it. That's life.

"It's all we can say all darn year long."

Las Vegas Review-Journal sports columnist Ed Graney can be reached at 702-383-4618 or egraney@reviewjournal.com.