Mike Davis (coach)
Encyclopedia
Mike Davis is an American
college basketball
coach. He is currently the head men's basketball coach at University of Alabama at Birmingham
. He formerly held the same position at Indiana University
.
native, spent his collegiate playing career with the University of Alabama
Crimson Tide after earning the state's Mr. Basketball
honor in 1979. 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 ended his career with a 10.1 points per game average. His 165 steals ranks third all-time at the school. Davis won the teams's Hustle Award all four seasons and was named to the Southeastern Conference
's All-Defensive team his senior year.
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 and teammate Ron Burns were 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).
in Fairfield, Alabama
. After one season at Miles College
, Davis relocated to Venezuela
, directing both professional teams and the country's national team.
In 1990, Davis returned to the United States
and took a position with the Wichita Falls Texans
of the Continental Basketball Association
(CBA). In 1994, the Wichita Falls franchise relocated to Chicago. Davis moved with the team not only as an assistant coach, but also as a player. Despite not having played for five consecutive years, the then 35-year-old Davis averaged 8.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists per contest for the Rockers.
and served as an assistant coach from (1995–1997) under head coach, David Hobbs
.
. In his three seasons as an IU assistant, the Hoosiers compiled a 63-32 overall record and advanced to the NCAA Tournament three times.
dismissed Bob Knight in September 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 assistants John Treloar and Mike Davis were promoted to replace Knight. Brand offered the assistants jobs as 'co coaches' but Treloar declined, deferring to Davis who became Knight's successor on September 12, 2000. Treloar accepted the title of 'Associate Head Coach.'
In his first season, Davis led a team featuring NBA Draft
picks Kirk Haston
and Jared Jeffries
to a 21–13 record. On March 21, 2001, Davis was given the head coaching position on a permanent basis. In 2002, the Davis-led Hoosiers followed a 19–11 regular season with surprise run to the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament title game. One month later, Indiana rewarded Davis with a contract extension through the 2007–2008 season.
Coach Davis was unable to maintain similar success in the following years. Indiana's 14-15 record during the 2003-2004 season was the school's first losing season in over 35 years. In 2004 'Associate Head Coach' John Treloar left Indiana for a position as an assistant coach at LSU
. The following season, Indiana went 15–14, including a first round home loss in the NIT
. In the spring of 2005, Rick Greenspan warned,
Indiana again failed to meet expectations during the 2005–2006 season. By late January 2006, the Hoosiers were at risk of missing the tournament for the third straight year and the calls for Davis' job grew louder. On February 11, 2006, Davis missed a home game against Iowa. Four days later, he resigned effective at the end of the 2006 season. Davis said that he decided to make the announcement before the end of the season to end the distraction that his position's uncertainty had created around the team. The Hoosiers performed better after this announcement and reached the second-round of the NCAA Tournament. Indiana lost 90–80 to Gonzaga
in the NCAA Tournament on March 18, 2006, ending Mike Davis' tenure as Indiana's head coach.
. Davis replaced Mike Anderson
, who left UAB after a successful stint to become the head coach at Missouri
. The Blazers finished 15–16 in Davis' first season at the helm, earning a 9th seed in the Conference USA tournament and losing to 8th seed Marshall 53–52 in the first round. UAB subsequently failed to qualify for the NCAA men's basketball tournament, ending the Blazers' three-year streak of appearances in the NCAA post-season and causing some to question whether Davis was the right man for the job.
Despite several injuries and academic casualties in Davis' second year at UAB, Davis led the Blazers to a 22–9 regular season record and a 2nd place finish in Conference USA. The Blazers narrowly missed making the NCAA men's basketball tournament and instead were rewarded with an appearance in the NIT.
On April 24, 2007; the University Board of Trustees rewarded Coach Davis with a 2 year contract extension. The contract which now runs through the 2012–2013 season features a base salary that was increased to $625,000 from $600,000 annually. He is also eligible for increased incentives, including $35,000 for taking UAB to the NCAA Tournament, $75,000 each for a Sweet 16 appearance and a Final Four appearance and $100,000 for appearing in the national championship game. The buyout clause in the contract was increased from $500,000 to $625,000. This contract is fully guaranteed.
, the 2001 NCAA Division I men's basketball scoring champion and professional expatriate basketball player.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
college basketball
College basketball
College basketball most often refers to the USA basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Basketball in the NCAA is divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II and Division III....
coach. He is currently the head men's basketball coach at University of Alabama at Birmingham
University of Alabama at Birmingham
The University of Alabama at Birmingham is a public university in Birmingham in the U.S. state of Alabama. Developing from an extension center established in 1936, the institution became an autonomous institution in 1969 and is today one of three institutions in the University of Alabama System...
. He formerly held the same position at Indiana University
Indiana University Bloomington
Indiana University Bloomington is a public research university located in Bloomington, Indiana, in the United States. IU Bloomington is the flagship campus of the Indiana University system. Being the flagship campus, IU Bloomington is often referred to simply as IU or Indiana...
.
Playing career
Davis, an AlabamaAlabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
native, spent his collegiate playing career with the University of Alabama
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States....
Crimson Tide after earning the state's Mr. Basketball
Alabama Mr. Basketball
Each year the Alabama Mr. Basketball award is given to the person chosen as the best high school boys basketball player in the U.S. state of Alabama. The award winner is selected by members of the Alabama Sports Writers Association.-Award winners:...
honor in 1979. In his first season, he played for the legendary C. M. Newton
C. M. Newton
Charles Martin "C. M." Newton is a retired American basketball player, coach and administrator. He was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a Contributor on October 13, 2000....
and then spent his final three years playing under another coaching legend, Wimp Sanderson
Winfrey Sanderson
Winfrey "Wimp" Sanderson is a retired American college basketball coach. He coached at the University of Alabama from 1981 to 1992 and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock from 1994 to 1999....
. He ended his career with a 10.1 points per game average. His 165 steals ranks third all-time at the school. Davis won the teams's Hustle Award all four seasons and was named to the Southeastern Conference
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference that operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama...
's All-Defensive team his senior year.
Following his playing career at Alabama, Davis was a second-round selection of the Milwaukee Bucks
Milwaukee Bucks
The Milwaukee Bucks are a professional basketball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. They are part of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was founded in 1968 as an expansion team, and currently plays at the Bradley Center....
of the National Basketball Association
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
in the 1983 draft
1983 NBA Draft
The 1983 NBA Draft took place on June 28, 1983 in New York City. A total of 226 players were selected over 10 rounds by the league's 23 teams. At least three players from the 1983 draft now serve as coaches...
, but never played in the league. He would spend the next two seasons playing in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, where he and teammate Ron Burns were named to the league's all-star team, and in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. He played the 1988-89 season with the Topeka Sizzlers of the Continental Basketball Association
Continental Basketball Association
The Continental Basketball Association was a professional men's basketball league in the United States, which has been on hiatus since the 2009 season.- History :...
(CBA).
Coaching career
Davis began his coaching career as an assistant at Miles CollegeMiles College
Miles College is a historically black college founded in 1898. It is located in Fairfield, Alabama, which is six miles west of Birmingham, Alabama. It is a private liberal arts institution of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church...
in Fairfield, Alabama
Fairfield, Alabama
Fairfield is a city in Jefferson County, Alabama, United States. It is part of the Birmingham–Hoover Metropolitan Area. The population was 12,381 at the 2000 census. As of 2006, the Census estimates the population to be 11,547.-History:...
. After one season at Miles College
Miles College
Miles College is a historically black college founded in 1898. It is located in Fairfield, Alabama, which is six miles west of Birmingham, Alabama. It is a private liberal arts institution of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church...
, Davis relocated to Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
, directing both professional teams and the country's national team.
In 1990, Davis returned to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and took a position with the Wichita Falls Texans
Wichita Falls Texans
The Wichita Falls Texans were a minor league basketball team in the Continental Basketball Association from 1988-1994. The team was located in Wichita Falls, Texas, and played their games at D.L. Ligon Coliseum, located on the campus of Midwestern State University. The Texans won the CBA...
of the Continental Basketball Association
Continental Basketball Association
The Continental Basketball Association was a professional men's basketball league in the United States, which has been on hiatus since the 2009 season.- History :...
(CBA). In 1994, the Wichita Falls franchise relocated to Chicago. Davis moved with the team not only as an assistant coach, but also as a player. Despite not having played for five consecutive years, the then 35-year-old Davis averaged 8.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists per contest for the Rockers.
Alabama
Davis returned to his alma mater, AlabamaUniversity of Alabama
The University of Alabama is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States....
and served as an assistant coach from (1995–1997) under head coach, David Hobbs
David Hobbs (basketball coach)
David A. Hobbs is an American basketball coach. He was head men's coach at the University of Alabama from 1992 to 1998 and also was an assistant coach at Alabama, the University of Kentucky and Virginia Commonwealth University....
.
Assistant coach
In 1997, Davis joined the coaching staff of legendary coach Bob Knight at IndianaIndiana University Bloomington
Indiana University Bloomington is a public research university located in Bloomington, Indiana, in the United States. IU Bloomington is the flagship campus of the Indiana University system. Being the flagship campus, IU Bloomington is often referred to simply as IU or Indiana...
. In his three seasons as an IU assistant, the Hoosiers compiled a 63-32 overall record and advanced to the NCAA Tournament three times.
Head coach
IU president Myles BrandMyles Brand
Myles Neil Brand, Ph. D. was the 14th president of the University of Oregon, president of the United States' National Collegiate Athletic Association , and 16th president of Indiana University.-Personal life:...
dismissed Bob Knight in September 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 assistants John Treloar and Mike Davis were promoted to replace Knight. Brand offered the assistants jobs as 'co coaches' but Treloar declined, deferring to Davis who became Knight's successor on September 12, 2000. Treloar accepted the title of 'Associate Head Coach.'
In his first season, Davis led a team featuring NBA Draft
NBA Draft
The NBA Draft is an annual event in which the thirty teams from the National Basketball Association can draft players who are eligible and wish to join the league. These players are usually amateur U.S. college basketball players, but international players are also eligible to be drafted...
picks Kirk Haston
Kirk Haston
Kirk Haston is a former American professional basketball player. He attended Perry County High School in Linden, Tennessee, where, as a senior, he was a part of the 37-0 Class A state championship team, being named Class A "Mr. Basketball"...
and Jared Jeffries
Jared Jeffries
Jared Scott Carter Jeffries is an American professional basketball player who last played for the New York Knicks. He was drafted in 2002 by the Washington Wizards as the 11th overall pick...
to a 21–13 record. On March 21, 2001, Davis was given the head coaching position on a permanent basis. In 2002, the Davis-led Hoosiers followed a 19–11 regular season with surprise run to the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament title game. One month later, Indiana rewarded Davis with a contract extension through the 2007–2008 season.
Coach Davis was unable to maintain similar success in the following years. Indiana's 14-15 record during the 2003-2004 season was the school's first losing season in over 35 years. In 2004 'Associate Head Coach' John Treloar left Indiana for a position as an assistant coach at LSU
LSU Tigers basketball
The Louisiana State Tigers basketball team represents Louisiana State University in NCAA Division I men's college basketball. The team is currently coached by Trent Johnson and has enjoyed recent success, including a Final Four run in the 2005–2006 season. Past coaches include John Brady, Press...
. The following season, Indiana went 15–14, including a first round home loss in the NIT
National Invitation Tournament
The National Invitation Tournament is a men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association. There are two NIT events each season. The first, played in November and known as the Dick's Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off , was founded in 1985...
. 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 ConferenceBig Ten ConferenceThe Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...
and successfully competing in the NCAA tournament."
Indiana again failed to meet expectations during the 2005–2006 season. By late January 2006, the Hoosiers were at risk of missing the tournament for the third straight year and the calls for Davis' job grew louder. On February 11, 2006, Davis missed a home game against Iowa. Four days later, he resigned effective at the end of the 2006 season. Davis said that he decided to make the announcement before the end of the season to end the distraction that his position's uncertainty had created around the team. The Hoosiers performed better after this announcement and reached the second-round of the NCAA Tournament. Indiana lost 90–80 to Gonzaga
Gonzaga University
Gonzaga University is a private Roman Catholic university located in Spokane, Washington, United States. Founded in 1887 by the Society of Jesus, it is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities and is named after the young Jesuit saint, Aloysius Gonzaga...
in the NCAA Tournament on March 18, 2006, ending Mike Davis' tenure as Indiana's head coach.
UAB
On April 7, 2006, Mike Davis was hired as the new head coach of the UAB BlazersUAB Blazers
The UAB Blazers are the forest green and old gold-swathed athletic teams at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. The school is one of the twelve member institutions of Conference USA and participates in Division I of the NCAA...
. Davis replaced Mike Anderson
Mike Anderson (basketball coach)
Mike Anderson is the current head basketball coach for the University of Arkansas Razorbacks. He is a former assistant coach under Nolan Richardson at Arkansas and is best known for using his up tempo "The Fastest 40 Minutes in Basketball" to rebuild the basketball programs at both the UAB and the...
, who left UAB after a successful stint to become the head coach at Missouri
University of Missouri
The University of Missouri System is a state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, five research and technology parks, and a publishing press. More than 64,000 students are currently enrolled at its four campuses...
. The Blazers finished 15–16 in Davis' first season at the helm, earning a 9th seed in the Conference USA tournament and losing to 8th seed Marshall 53–52 in the first round. UAB subsequently failed to qualify for the NCAA men's basketball tournament, ending the Blazers' three-year streak of appearances in the NCAA post-season and causing some to question whether Davis was the right man for the job.
Despite several injuries and academic casualties in Davis' second year at UAB, Davis led the Blazers to a 22–9 regular season record and a 2nd place finish in Conference USA. The Blazers narrowly missed making the NCAA men's basketball tournament and instead were rewarded with an appearance in the NIT.
On April 24, 2007; the University Board of Trustees rewarded Coach Davis with a 2 year contract extension. The contract which now runs through the 2012–2013 season features a base salary that was increased to $625,000 from $600,000 annually. He is also eligible for increased incentives, including $35,000 for taking UAB to the NCAA Tournament, $75,000 each for a Sweet 16 appearance and a Final Four appearance and $100,000 for appearing in the national championship game. The buyout clause in the contract was increased from $500,000 to $625,000. This contract is fully guaranteed.
Head coaching record
Personal
Davis is married to Tamilya Davis (née Floyd). The couple has a son, Antoine. Davis is also the father of Mike Davis, Jr., who was a member of the UAB men's basketball team, and has a daughter, Lateesha. His cousin is Ronnie McCollumRonnie McCollum
Ronnie Allen McCollum II is an American professional basketball player for various teams in different countries, most recently with Intercollege ETHA in Cyprus Basketball Division 1...
, the 2001 NCAA Division I men's basketball scoring champion and professional expatriate basketball player.