Hard-nosed assistant Boylan given chance to run Bulls to season's end
Legendary Marquette coach Al McGuire was once quoted as saying he never wanted to recruit kids who grew up with grass in their yards.
He wanted tough city kids.
New Bulls head coach Jim Boylan was a starting guard on Marquette's national championship team in 1977, so it's reasonable to wonder if the Jersey City, N.J., native qualifies as a tough guy from the mean streets.
"Every house on my block was connected to another house, so there was no grass in my yard," Boylan said Thursday after being named the Bulls' interim coach for the remainder of the season. "There was cement and that was it. My background was very similar to Al's."
Boylan was one of four kids, and his dad was a Jersey City cop. So naturally, the playgrounds from his youth were not the place to show any weakness.
"I grew up with a lot of people who didn't put up with any sort of softness," Boylan said. "So I was very comfortable in that role. I was never afraid. I didn't back down. Talent-wise, I had a lot to be desired. So I couldn't afford to be anything but tough."
Boylan actually transferred to Marquette after playing two years at Assumption College in Worcester, Mass. While he was there, Assumption finished third twice in the Division II tournament.
During his redshirt year at Marquette, Boylan met another transfer student, Jim Dudley, who came from Michigan State. (Dudley now lives in Naperville and is president of JDA eHealth Systems in Lisle.)
A year later, Boylan scored 14 points in Marquette's championship game win over North Carolina.
Asked if Boylan was indeed a tough guy in college, Dudley replied, "I would say he is. He was kind of independent and quiet. He was certainly tough and very committed to the game. I think he committed at a very early age that he was going to spend his life playing basketball and it was reflected then."
As a player, Boylan had plenty in common with the man he replaced as Bulls coach, Scott Skiles. But where Skiles almost cultivated an arrogant punk persona at Michigan State, Boylan was the quiet guy you hardly noticed.
"I don't think I could point to one spectacular thing he did or one thing he'd be remembered for," Dudley said. "If you're going to recall what he did when he was playing, it was just the consistency. He was just very constant, very focused.
"He contributed quite a lot. He was very much a leader. He was reliable and hard-nosed. Very focused. Wasn't a big talker. Just did what he had to do and was always in the right place at the right time. So it doesn't surprise me where he is today."
When asked why he bypassed assistant Pete Myers, who ran the team during Wednesday's 94-79 loss at San Antonio, general manager John Paxson basically said that with 15 years of NBA coaching experience under his belt, Boylan deserved a chance to be a head coach.
Paxson doesn't plan to hire a permanent coach until the summer but suggested Boylan will have every chance to earn the position.
"It's a job interview for me and the rest of the league," Paxson said. "This is a great opportunity for him that he might not otherwise have gotten. I think he can be a calming influence."
On his first day of practice, Boylan led the Bulls in two hours of drills. He said he tweaked a few offensive sets and wants to play a more up-tempo style.
"I'm excited about the opportunity," Boylan said. "I've been waiting for this for a long time. It's always unfortunate when the circumstances are what they are. Scott's a very good friend of mine and we've worked together for quite a while. But that's the nature of this business and I'm glad John and (chairman) Jerry Reinsdorf had the confidence in me to give this opportunity."
Boylan has had a variety of coaching mentors. After playing for McGuire, he worked under Jud Heathcote at Michigan State; Lenny Wilkens and Mike Fratello in Cleveland; Brian Hill in Vancouver; Terry Stotts in Atlanta; along with Skiles in both Phoenix and Chicago. Boylan's most recent head-coaching job was at the University of New Hampshire from 1989-92.
Boylan and his wife, Jane, have two daughters. The oldest, Jessie, is in her first year as an assistant basketball coach at Stony Brook University in New York, her alma mater. The youngest, Shaina, is a sophomore on the Eastern Illinois volleyball squad and led the team in digs this season.
Tonight's tipoff
Bulls vs. Milwaukee Bucks at the United Center, 7:30 p.m.
TV: Comcast SportsNet
Radio: WMVP 1000-AM
Update: The first clear sign that the Bulls were not going to meet expectations early this season may have come on Nov. 3 at Milwaukee. The Bulls limited the offensive-minded Bucks to 78 points and 32.9-percent shooting from the field but still managed to lose 78-72 and drop to 0-3. Milwaukee is 2-13 on the road this season, including a 125-105 loss at Denver on Wednesday in which it trailed by 30 at halftime.
Fast facts: The Bucks are 2-10 at the United Center since the start of the 2001-02 season. … Leading scorer Michael Redd has been battling an illness the last few days and hit 1 of 8 shots against the Nuggets.
Next: New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden, 11 a.m. on Sunday
How will Boylan do?
What do you think of John Paxson's decision to go with Jim Boylan the rest of this season? Do you believe he's a good option, or should that Bulls have signed a former head coach to take over? Tell us what you think at sportstalk@dailyherald.com. Please limit your comments to 200 words and include your name, hometown and daytime phone number (for verification purposes).
Is this the right move?
What do you think of Jim Boylan's decision to ask Ben Gordon to come off the bench and provide some scoring punch as the sixth man? Tell us what you think at sportstalk@dailyherald.com. Please limit your comments to 200 words and include your name, hometown and daytime phone number (for verification purposes).