Boylan returns home as head coach
When the Bulls played at New York last month, Jim Boylan was an anonymous assistant coach who drew little attention.
This time, the Jersey City, N.J., native is an NBA head coach making a triumphant return home.
Asked if he still has many friends from his hometown, Boylan joked, "In the last couple days, quite a few. Before that, there weren't all that many. Suddenly, I have a lot of friends."
Boylan's sister lives in New York and his wife's family is from Brooklyn, so he has a few ticket requests to fill. His father lives on the Jersey shore but won't make it to the game due to an illness.
Not surprisingly, Boylan confessed to being a die-hard Knicks fan who grew up rooting for Walt Frazier, Bill Bradley and New York's championship teams of 1970 and '73.
"I actually copied my free-throw routine from Bill Bradley," Boylan said. "I didn't go to many games at all. Back then, you just kind of stayed in your own little neighborhood and listened on the radio or watched on TV. I only went to two or three games my whole life over there."
After being named to replace Scott Skiles on Thursday, Boylan made his NBA coaching debut a day later in a 103-99 victory over Milwaukee at the United Center. He'll try to improve his record to 2-0 against a tumultuous Knicks team that is 2-9 in its last 11 games.
"I told the guys not to be so hung up on winning and losing," Boylan said. "But rather let's just get lost in our effort out there and stay in the moment and whatever happens will happen."
"We're always going to think about winning," countered Luol Deng, who scored 28 points against the Bucks. "We're here to win. I think what coach is really trying to say is we've got to find an identity. If we come out and play hard every night and keep playing the same way, we're definitely going to get the wins."
During his postgame news conference Friday, Boylan choked up briefly when he mentioned his family being there to watch his first game as coach. His wife Jane was nearby, along with daughters Jessie and Shaina.
"The thing about family that maybe people do or don't realize, we've lived in like 17 houses and my kids have gone to eight different schools," Boylan said. "Some (NBA coaches) will keep their family in one place and they'll travel around. We always tried to stay together.
"Everybody made a lot of sacrifices. So yesterday when I got a little emotional, it was because I realized that I'm up here, but it's more than just me."
Actually, when Boylan first joined the Bulls in the summer of 2004, his family stayed behind in Phoenix so Shaina could finish high school, but that didn't last.
"She decided she didn't want to do that any more," Boylan said. "She said, 'I'll come to Chicago.' So she came to Chicago for her senior year at (Highland Park) high school."
Early in Boylan's first season with the Bulls, his wife had a health scare. She developed blood clots in her arms and spent time in intensive care.
"It was early in the season during the circus trip," he said. "I think it was the first stop. I got a call in Sacramento, flew down and stayed for that week. That was a scary time."