During his tenure at UCLA and later at ESPN, Lavin came to be known for his sartorial spender, even rivaling Villanova coach Jay Wright in stature. But Lavin joked that he’s perfectly ready to cede “Best Dressed Coach” honors to Wright. “Jay is George Clooney, he’s my hero,” Lavin said. “I’m attracted to Jay Wright. My wife knows it, too.” But seriously, Lavin says he breathes better and feels more relaxed without shoes and a tie. Hey, who doesn’t? “It struck me after that [Duke] game in terms of comfort, with the shoes and without the tie, I thought I was doing a more effective job of teaching just in terms of breath,” Lavin said. “It’s so basic but there isn’t anything more essential than breath and oxygen, and so I thought my decision making and clarity and everything was at a higher level when I didn’t have the tie on, and obviously I’d never coached a game without a tie on until that Duke basketball game, maybe some in Hawaii where you wear those funny flowered patterned shirts “So it’s not the record or good luck, but I think our staff agrees we’re much more comfortable in terms of breathing and then the shoes allow you to move a little better on the sideline “If you slip you’re not going to fall on your fanny with your Florsheims.” And like ZAGS on Facebook.
During his tenure at UCLA and later at ESPN, Lavin came to be known for his sartorial spender, even rivaling Villanova coach Jay Wright in stature. But Lavin joked that he’s perfectly ready to cede “Best Dressed Coach” honors to Wright. “Jay is George Clooney, he’s my hero,” Lavin said. “I’m attracted to Jay Wright. My wife knows it, too.” But seriously, Lavin says he breathes better and feels more relaxed without shoes and a tie. Hey, who doesn’t? “It struck me after that [Duke] game in terms of comfort, with the shoes and without the tie, I thought I was doing a more effective job of teaching just in terms of breath,” Lavin said. “It’s so basic but there isn’t anything more essential than breath and oxygen, and so I thought my decision making and clarity and everything was at a higher level when I didn’t have the tie on, and obviously I’d never coached a game without a tie on until that Duke basketball game, maybe some in Hawaii where you wear those funny flowered patterned shirts “So it’s not the record or good luck, but I think our staff agrees we’re much more comfortable in terms of breathing and then the shoes allow you to move a little better on the sideline “If you slip you’re not going to fall on your fanny with your Florsheims.” And like ZAGS on Facebook.