Episode 108- Jay Bilas on How to Develop Toughness

Jay Bilas has been called one of The 10 Most Powerful Voices in Sports Media by The Hollywood Reporter and one of The 25 Most…

Episode 108- Jay Bilas on How to Develop Toughness

Jay Bilas has been called one of The 10 Most Powerful Voices in Sports Media by The Hollywood Reporter and one of The 25 Most…

Jay Bilas has been called one of The 10 Most Powerful Voices in Sports Media by The Hollywood Reporter and one of The 25 Most Powerful People in College Sports by Forbes. Both a lawyer and talent for ESPN, Jay brings a unique perspective to the world of sports. A four-year starter on the basketball team at Duke, Jay played professionally overseas before returning to Duke to join the coaching staff and earn his law degree. Since 1995, he’s worked for ESPN covering college basketball, the NBA draft and sports business. In our conversation, we dig into the future of college sports, his book Toughness, and the lessons he learned playing for Coach K.

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Show Notes

Building a versatile career: from coach to lawyer to broadcaster (1:59)
How Jay’s mom encouraged him to get out of his comfort zone (4:08)
Why he traded his legal career for broadcasting (7:25)
Never say no to an opportunity (9:23)
Why he isn’t afraid to use his platform to criticize NCAA policies (11:08)
The changes he thinks need to happen in college sports (12:40)
What he thinks the college sports landscape will look like in 5-10 years (14:30)
Jay’s thoughts on name, image and likeness (18:10)
His approach to receiving feedback or criticism (20:24)
How he defines toughness (24:51)
The toughest player Jay ever faced (28:40)
How to develop toughness (31:59)
What makes Coach K special (35:17)
The characteristics of an ideal teammate / colleague (39:12)
The most memorable event he’s covered (43:25)

Resources / People Mentioned

Toughness by Jay Bilas
Jay Bilas Skills Camps
Jay Bilas, ESPN
Duke men’s basketball
Mike Krzyzewski, college basketball coach
The 10 Most Powerful Voices in Sports Media (Hollywood Reporter)
25 Most Powerful People in College Sports (Forbes)
Moore & Van Allen, law firm
George Habel, Capitol Sports Network
Kevin Eastman
Doc Rivers, NBA coach
Senator Nancy Skinner, California
How does one define toughness in basketball? (ESPN.com)
John Ebeling, basketball player
Mark Alarie, basketball player
Steve Kerr, NBA coach
Jerry Colangelo, USA Basketball
A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein
Serena Williams, tennis player
Lebron James, NBA player
Tom Izzo, college basketball coach
Jay Wright, college basketball coach
John Thompson, college basketball coach

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