Davis keeps job at IU

[Kodos]

A lot of folks in Hoosier-land have been calling for Mike Davis' head. I fall in the give him one more year camp, although I will admit that my patience is running out...

hxxp://www.indystar.com/articles/0/230851-5950-204.html

IU's Davis to return next season
Coach's future had been in doubt after Hoosiers struggled at the end of the season.
By Terry Hutchens
[email protected]
March 21, 2005


BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Indiana University basketball coach Mike Davis will return for the 2005-06 season, a source close to the IU basketball program revealed this afternoon. The official announcement is expected Tuesday.

IU athletic director Rick Greenspan had said all season that Davis would be evaluated at season's end, looking at his entire body of work. The Hoosiers concluded a 15-14 season with a 67-60 loss to Vanderbilt last Wednesday in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament.

Davis and Greenspan met Thursday and Friday of last week, and then held a short meeting today. At the conclusion of that meeting, it was determined that the university would send out a statement announcing that Davis had been retained.

Davis, who has three years left on his contract, has a 96-67 record in five seasons at Indiana, including a 46-34 record in Big Ten play. IU has qualified for postseason play in four of the five seasons but has missed the NCAA Tournament in each of the last two years.

On June 30 of this year, Davis will receive a one-time bonus of $300,000, which he was guaranteed if he was still the IU basketball coach on that date.

Davis was unavailable for comment.

[ColtCrazy]

Well, I fall in the let him go camp. 15-14 is not IU basketball. There was a time when this program was one of the biggest in the country. The last two years have been horrible to watch. This isn't about pro-Knight or anti-Knight either, it's simply Davis not achieving to the level of what used to be an elite program. Would Kentucky fans stand for two years of this? Carolina didn't.

Still, I'm very excited about watching Bracey Wright be the star of the team when he has no leadership skills whatsoever. Should be fun!

[bosshogg23]

Not an IU fan but alot of my family is.

It seemed to be IU hasnt been an elite program for several years. Definitely before Knight left. I would have been pretty surprised to see Davis let go after a Final Four trip(ya I know it was a few years ago).

[Kodos]

I'm not crazy about Wright either. Seems selfish, and has that annoying shoot from anywhere mentality that drives me crazy.

I just think that Davis has brought in some promising young talent, and he should be given one last chance to do something with that talent. If the team isn't markedly better next season, then by all means give him the boot.

[Greyroofoo]

As a huge IU fan I say anyone is better than Bob Knight.

[Kodos]

Yep. Aside from being too "Goddy" for my liking, Davis has been okay. He hasn't brought much embarassment to the university. If you ignore how the team has fared... :(

[hoosierdude]

If I was Davis, why would I want to go thru another season of second guessing and carping about my lack of ingame adjustment skills, when I could go anywhere else that would accept me for me, and not replacing a legend at IU.

If I was Davis, I would seriously think about leaving during the spring/early summer, because if he thought it was bad this year, it will just get worse next season, where every LOSS will be scrutinized and Davis' skills be questioned at every turn.

Also from my friends and contacts in the newspaper field, they are saying it is almost a foregone conclusion that Bracey Wright is gone and he will leave for the NBA early.

I am not sure Wright will go, but it is obvious the guy isn't a team player any longer. Interesting news, to say the least.

[st.cronin]

Wow... Bracey Wright doesn't strike me as an nba player at all ...

[dubb93]

Not an IU fan but alot of my family is.

It seemed to be IU hasnt been an elite program for several years. Definitely before Knight left. I would have been pretty surprised to see Davis let go after a Final Four trip(ya I know it was a few years ago).

Ok, wow, he took a team Bob Knight recruited to the final four. What have his recruits done? Here in Indiana all we have heard about is top 5 recruiting classes for about 4 years now and he still puts this out. We can't hit free throws late in the game[this is coached]. And the team gets very out of control and can't seem to run an offense[coached as well]. I have a feeling Mike Davis will be a great coach some day, but he just didn't have the experience when he got the job. The team he took to the final four had it all, a lottery pick in the post[jared jeffries], a major hustle player[moye], a point guard that could set up the offense, and 2 legit defensive stoppers at the gaurd possition, and especially streaky three point shooters[at every position] that got hot at the right time. It was not a product of his "good" coaching.

[dubb93]

Wow... Bracey Wright doesn't strike me as an nba player at all ...

Ditto, but I hope he goes this year, not a team player.

[BishopMVP]

I just think that Davis has brought in some promising young talent, and he should be given one last chance to do something with that talent. If the team isn't markedly better next season, then by all means give him the boot.Considering how it went for UMass and Steve Lappas this past year (and I fell squarely in the fire him after last year camp) best of luck.

[SunDancer]

Here's an interesting comment from Mark Cuban (an IU alummi and fan-of course), www.blogmaverick.com.

[Ragone]

Ok, who are you going to get to replace him.. i get the feeling steve alford doesn't want any part of that disaster..

[cody8200]

I've seen every single home game for the last 4 years in person...some have been really crappy to watch. Nevertheless, I want to see Davis for one more year (I unfortunately will have graduated). Heres the deal: Indiana should be a Final 4 favorite next year. Why? Our starting lineup will be:

Marco Killingsworth-transfered from Auburn, scores 17 ppg. Huge body, muscular, 6-9 250 or so
D.J White-Big 10 Freshman of the year, 15 ppg. Will gain 25 pounds of muscle. Will dominate
Lewis Monroe-Finally IU will have a PG. Another transfer from Auburn. Has great skills.
Bracey Wright-Selfish with the ball in the past but that will change when he has so many new options. One of the best pull up and shoot shooters in the country.
Robert Vaden-Would have been Big 10 Freshman of the year if DJ White didn;t win it. At 6-5 he's a huge force for a SG and may play forward.

I didn't mention that that means that we will have 4th year senior Marshall Strickland coming off the bench, AJ ratcliff who had a great Freshman year this past year, and new freshman Brian Shaw (one of the top ranked guards in the nation).

Next year is the test. We should be the Big 10 favorite and should easily start the year in the top 25. If we fail there will be no one to blame but Davis.

[albionmoonlight]

People pull the trigger too early on coaches of major programs. Dean Smith and Coach K would not have become Dean Smith and Coach K had UNC and Duke had the quick trigger finger in the early years. When you have a good guy like Mike Davis, you want to give him every chance to succeed. If he does succeed, then you have the face of your program for the next 30 years. If he does not, then you simply delayed getting the new guy for a couple of years.

[Bo Jackson's Hip]

When I say this I am not being racist, but when he is interviewed, he sounds like a complete moron.

[cody8200]

When I say this I am not being racist, but when he is interviewed, he sounds like a complete moron.

I'd say that was true for the first year or two. He had speech therapy though and sounds much better than before.

[kurtism]

When I say this I am not being racist, but when he is interviewed, he sounds like a complete moron.

Usually good practice to avoid the "I am not being racist" tag, it inevitably sounds like the opposite (no accusation, just an observation). As for Mike Davis, he has struggled with a stutter for his entire life. While speech therapy has clearly helped, the more extemporaneous his comments, the more likely he is to take them slowly and/or stumble over the words.

[st.cronin]

I always thought he sounded like a bright, thoughtful, focused guy. He does sometimes have some trouble forming words, but what he actually says is always coherent and usually intelligent.

[Bo Jackson's Hip]

I always thought he sounded like a bright, thoughtful, focused guy. He does sometimes have some trouble forming words, but what he actually says is always coherent and usually intelligent.


He and I are both from Alabama so maybe I shouldn't be so hard on him :)