Bayno signs 5-year contract to coach Loyola Marymount basketball

4/9/2008 7:38 PM

LOS ANGELES (AP) -Bill Bayno returned to college basketball after an eight-year absence Wednesday, signing a five-year deal to coach Loyola Marymount.

Bayno guided UNLV to a 95-65 record and two NCAA tournament appearances in 1995-2000. He was fired during the 2000-2001 season after allegations he broke rules in the recruiting of Lamar Odom in 1996 and 1997, but the NCAA cleared him of wrongdoing. He later filed a wrongful termination suit and received a settlement from UNLV.

The 45-year-old Bayno was introduced at a campus news conference as the successor to Rodney Tention, who resigned March 12 after guiding the Lions to a 30-61 record over three seasons. Loyola went 5-26 last season, including a 2-12 mark in the West Coast Conference.

Bayno spent the last five years as an assistant and scout with the Portland Trail Blazers. Before joining the Blazers, he coached the Yakima Sun Kings in the CBA for 1 1/2 seasons and coached in the Philippine pro basketball league in 2002.

Before coaching at UNLV, Bayno spent seven years as an assistant on John Calipari's staff at Massachusetts, where he also played from 1980-82.