He came from humble beginnings in Alabama, suffering a speech impediment early in his life, to arrive at his current position as a head coach in the Big Ten. Through hard work, determination, experience and a strong faith, Mike Davis waltzed the Indiana Hoosiers to the top of the NCAA pyramid only two years into his career as head coach.
While the Indiana Hoosiers fell to Maryland 64-52 in the NCAA Finals Monday, their performance in the tournament proved just how far the team has come in recent years. Indiana, which had not advanced past the second round of the NCAA Tournament since 1994, showed maturity and strength on the way to the top, knocking off powerhouse Duke in the Sweet Sixteen and pushing its way past Kent State and Oklahoma to reach the NCAA Finals.
While players and coaches alike acknowledge top shooter and Big Ten Player of the Year sophomore forward Jared Jeffries as one of the top successes of the team, the man behind the Hoosiers cannot be forgotten.
Mike Davis, in just his second year as head coach, has seen many successes in his short time with the Hoosiers. He led Indiana to a 21-13 overall record in his pilot season as head honcho, becoming the most successful first-year coach in school history and the second-winningest first-year coach in the nation. He later coached his team to the Big Ten Championship after shocking top-seeded Illinois in the semifinals, where it dropped a close 63-61 game to Iowa. Davis' team had no seniors but plenty of young talent in then-freshmen Jeffries and guard A.J. Moye, and then-sophomore guard Tom Coverdale.
\Last year, they were just good,"" Purdue Head Coach Gene Keady said in a teleconference Jan. 28. ""Mike did a great job with them.""
Davis proved to be even more successful this season, leading the team to the final round of the Big Dance, in addition to a share of the Big Ten crown with an 11-5 conference record.
But Davis' career with the Hoosiers did not begin there. As an assistant under former Head Coach Bobby Knight from 1997 to 2000, Davis assisted in recruiting and developing a winning team with a solid record and an ability to shoot from the outside.
Before his stint at Indiana, the Fayette, Ala. native earned coaching experience both nationally and internationally, coaching everywhere from Miles College in Birmingham, Ala. to Wichita Falls to Venezuela. Davis coached both the Venezuelan national team and professional teams for two summers in the late eighties before returning to the United States to serve as an assistant coach to the Wichita Falls Texans in the Continental Basketball Association. When the team moved to Chicago, Davis packed his bags as well, and played with the team while simultaneously coaching it.
However, his alma mater, Alabama, called his name, and Davis returned to the college scene in 1995. As a student-athlete for the Crimson Tide from 1979 to 1983, Davis averaged 10.1 points per game, scoring 1,211 points in his four years. He also recorded 165 steals, the third-highest in school history. While coaching at Alabama under Head Coach David Hobbes, the 1995-'96 Crimson Tide earned a 23-10 record and advanced to the National Invitational Tournament Final Four.
Through his hard work, Davis has advanced from an assistant coach for a NIT Final Four team to the head coach of a NCAA Final Four team in just six years. And perhaps that is Davis' most impressive achievement.
