Mike Davis (coach)

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Mike Davis (born September 15, 1960 in Fayette, Alabama) is an American college basketball coach. He is currently the head men's basketball coach of the UAB Blazers. He formerly held the same position at Indiana University, but resigned on February 15, 2006, effective following Indiana's NCAA tournament loss to Gonzaga on March 18, 2006. [1]

Contents 1 Personal 2 Alabama 2.1 Player 3 Professional play 4 Miscellaneous coaching positions 5 Indiana University 5.1 Assistant coach 5.2 Head coach 5.2.1 Initial Success 5.2.2 Leaving Indiana 6 UAB

[edit] Personal

Davis is married to Tamilya Davis (neé Floyd). The couple has a son, Antoine. Davis is also the father of Mike Davis, Jr., who is a transfer to the UAB men's basketball team and a daughter, Lateesha. The Hoosiers lost to Gonzaga in the NCAA Tournament in the 2005-2006 season, ending Davis' reign as coach for the Hoosiers.

[edit] Alabama

[edit] Player

Davis, an Alabama native, spent his collegiate playing career with the University of Alabama Crimson Tide after earning the state's Mr. Basketball honor and All-America status in 1979. He was a standout for four seasons at Alabama and finished his career in the Top 25 on the Crimson Tide's all-time scoring list with 1,211 points. In his first season, he played for the legendary C. M. Newton and then spent his final three years playing under another coaching legend, Wimp Sanderson. He averaged 10.1 points per game for his career and ranks third on the school's all-time steals list with 165.

He won Alabama's Hustle Award all four of his seasons in Tuscaloosa and was named to the Southeastern Conference's All-Defensive team his senior year.

After earning just 60 transferrable credits in 5 years at Alabama, Davis left college without graduating. He later earned a degree by correspondence course in 1995 in telecommunications from Thomas Edison College.

[edit] Professional play

Following his playing career at Alabama, Davis was a second-round selection of the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association in the 1983 draft, but never played in the league. He would spend the next two seasons playing in Switzerland, where he was named to the league's all-star team, and in Italy. He played the 1988-89 season with the Topeka Sizzlers of the Continental Basketball Association (CBA).

[edit] Miscellaneous coaching positions

Davis began his coaching career as an assistant coach at Miles College in Fairfield, Alabama. He stayed at Miles for the 1989-1990 season and then coached in Venezuela, directing the country's national team for two summers as well as professional teams in that country. Davis returned to the United States and the CBA in 1990 and worked with the Wichita Falls Texans.

In 1994, the Wichita Falls franchise relocated to Chicago, and Davis moved with the team not only as an assistant coach, but also as a player. Despite not having played for five years, the then 35-year-old Davis averaged 8.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists per contest for the Rockers.

[edit] Indiana University

[edit] Assistant coach

Davis began his time at Indiana with three seasons as an assistant coach to Bob Knight. His successful recruitment of several of the country's top prep players earned him national recognition at Indiana. In Davis' three seasons as an IU assistant, the Hoosiers compiled a 63-32 overall record and advanced to the NCAA Tournament all three seasons. The summer before accepting the head coaching job at Indiana, Davis interviewed at Tulane and Delaware.

[edit] Head coach

University president Myles Brand dismissed head coach Bob Knight in 2000, finding him in violation of a zero tolerance policy Brand had previously instituted. Students and alumni protested the Knight firing, and several players threatened to transfer unless assistant Mike Davis was chosen to replace Knight. On September 12, 2000, Brand named Davis the 25th head coach in school history.

He would soon have the most successful first season of any of his 24 predecessors, as his 21 wins were four more than any other first-year IU head coach, while his 13 losses also set a record. Davis won his 100th game faster than any other IU Basketball coach except Knight. Davis, selected as the National Coach of the Year by The Charlotte Observer, was one of just 14 of a total of 319 men's basketball coaches that season who guided a team that did not include a single senior. His team was the highest ranked seniorless team according to the RPI and just one of two to make the NCAA Tournament.

[edit] Initial Success

In 2002 Davis took the Hoosiers to the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship title game, though he became the first IU coach ever to lose a championship game. One month later, Indiana rewarded Davis with a contract extension through the 2007-2008 season. He was the first coach in Indiana history to begin his tenure with three straight 20-plus win seasons and three straight NCAA Tournament appearances.

Despite his initial success, Davis struggled to live up to the high fan expectations. Indiana's 14-15 record during the 2003-2004 season was the school's first losing season since 1969-70. Fans, alumni and school leadership were displeased. In the spring of 2005, Rick Greenspan warned,

"While we share this common goal and are both confident that it will be reached, we also know that our record the last two years is not up to the standards to which Indiana is accustomed and to which we aspire. This is why we have set ambitious and achievable goals for next season of competing at a very high level in the Big Ten Conference and successfully competing in the NCAA tournament."[2]

Criticism of Davis reached such a fever pitch that numerous websites sprang up calling for his dismissal, most notably FireMikeDavis.com

[edit] Leaving Indiana

On February 11, 2006, Mike Davis missed a home game versus Iowa. Although he was reported to have the flu, rumors were swirling across campus that he was in the middle of contract negotiations, making him unable to appear for his duties. On the following Monday during the Big Ten coaches' teleconference, Davis sparked controversy when he responded to a question about the criticism he'd incurred throughout his six-year career, saying that maybe Indiana needed one of its own. Davis did resign on February 15, 2006, but remained with the team for the rest of the 2006 season. He said he came to the realization that he wasn't the right coach after November's game against Duke, and he made the decision to step down after a home win over Illinois in January. The Indiana Daily Student reported that Davis told his players on the plane ride home from Wisconsin, five days before the Iowa game.

[edit] UAB

On April 7, 2006, Mike Davis agreed to become the new head coach of the UAB Blazers. Davis replaced Mike Anderson, who left UAB after a successful stint to become the head coach at Missouri.

Preceded by: Bob Knight	Indiana University Basketball Coach 2000–2006	Succeeded by: Kelvin Sampson
Preceded by: Mike Anderson	UAB Basketball Coach 2006–	Succeeded by: (current)

UAB Head Basketball Coaches
G. Bartow • M. Bartow • Anderson • Davis