People wanted Davis head like nothing I have ever seen. It was far worse than Crean.
A decline since Mike Davis
- Thread starter Rotonda Jim
- Start date
19-12 is terrible. there are 7 cupcake games iu would win if no one coached the game so they don't count. that leaves us at a .500 record. you were right the first time. trust your instincts, lukeOops, I meant to say his last three seasons were terrible, not the last two. 14-15, 15-14, 19-12. Yes, I realize 19-12 isn't terrible, but I'm doubling down anyway.
Amen. The kind of post I hoped to hear years ago and should have made myself. Mike Davis is a good man who was fighting a couple of big demons.
Did you miss all the posts over the last 15 years that pretty much spelled this out?
You know what? You're right.
Nevermind the first losing season at Indiana in over 30 years.
Nevermind the back-to-back seasons of no Tournament, capped off with the home loss to Vanderbilt in the first round of the NIT (the lowest attended game in the history of Assembly Hall, btw.)
Nevermind the atrocious offense he instilled because, according to him, he didn't understand "Motion". Orlando 1...!!!
Nevermind the haphazard roster building and team management.
Nevermind the lack of player development.
Nevermind the death of in-state recruiting.
Nevermind his inability to maintain employment at a Mid-Major in his own home state.
I can't believe that Indiana University could be so stupid as to let a gem like that slip away in the hopes of trying to improve the program.
No, Mike Davis wasn't a garbage coach at all...
There, does that make you feel better?
His last two years were not that bad and he graduated his kids and kept them out of trouble and he was a continuation of the Knight tree. Isn't that what a lot of folks want?
Not that bad....?
Graduated kids and kept them out of trouble...?
Really setting the bar high aren't you?
Shouldn't that be the minimum requirement of a college basketball coach?
Again, you are misremembering that era. Terribly so.
Mike Davis was an unmitigated disaster for Indiana.
If you feel that strongly about it, jump on over to the Detroit Mercy boards and state your case. Maybe you can start a petition to get him rehired here.
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Its 2019 and I am reading debates about mike davis' tenure at iu on the rivals indiana site.
Were many of you guys not here then? That's the only explanation I can think of for any sort of debate here.
Were many of you guys not here then? That's the only explanation I can think of for any sort of debate here.
The downfall started when the interim tag was taken off of Mike Davis, after his 1st year. Any real program would have gone out and hired a top level coach right then.
(I am saying this with past documented proof that I have no ill-will towards CMD, I thought he was a good man who was put into a no-win situation the moment the team declared mutiny when RMK was fired).
Anyone who thinks CMD was an 'extension of the Knight coaching tree' might want to see how RMK feels about that. CMD was brought in to beef up the recruiting efforts that had gone stale in the mid/latter 90s (which he did)...but he was not part of the RMK coaching tree.
Some real hard irony being an IU fan over the past 25 yrs. We've only seen one B1G championship game (2001) and one final 4 (2002) in this period. Both were in CMD's first 2 yrs. And yet I fully believe those accomplishments allowed the admin to keep him as head coach many yrs long than should have ever been the case. So ...two of the program's greatest accomplishments in the past 25 yrs, actually led us down this path of despair.
For those of us who have been watching the program for many decades...we all knew, deep down inside, that RMK's departure from IU might not be a pretty one (ala Woody Hayes). We all lived with that possibility for many yrs. And RMK's teams (and honestly...RMK personally) were not the same after circa 1994 season. But I don't think any of us saw these past 20 yrs coming. I see games on TV and see much of the upper section empty....still have a hard time believing what I am seeing.
Anyone who thinks CMD was an 'extension of the Knight coaching tree' might want to see how RMK feels about that. CMD was brought in to beef up the recruiting efforts that had gone stale in the mid/latter 90s (which he did)...but he was not part of the RMK coaching tree.
Some real hard irony being an IU fan over the past 25 yrs. We've only seen one B1G championship game (2001) and one final 4 (2002) in this period. Both were in CMD's first 2 yrs. And yet I fully believe those accomplishments allowed the admin to keep him as head coach many yrs long than should have ever been the case. So ...two of the program's greatest accomplishments in the past 25 yrs, actually led us down this path of despair.
For those of us who have been watching the program for many decades...we all knew, deep down inside, that RMK's departure from IU might not be a pretty one (ala Woody Hayes). We all lived with that possibility for many yrs. And RMK's teams (and honestly...RMK personally) were not the same after circa 1994 season. But I don't think any of us saw these past 20 yrs coming. I see games on TV and see much of the upper section empty....still have a hard time believing what I am seeing.
How could anyone ever forget about "We were the 4th Seed in the BTT" after being left out of the NCAA's in 2005? I liked Mike, but he was in over his head.
I believe "the curse" is that Bob Knight was not allowed to retire on his terms and then do a comprehensive coaching search. Myles Brand, and his ego along with the BOTs, FUBAR'd this big time.
The only way to get this back is to get people who understand the tradition that is Indiana Basketball. We are no longer relevant, and it is sad to this life-long Hoosier.
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MD's last team at IU would have been top 15, maybe top 10, had DJ not gone down early in the year, and shifted IU's starting lineup at 3 positions.
DJ was the indispensable guy that yr, and we lost him for virtually the whole season.
we still made the NCAA tourney and won a game in it, so i guess our standards of "turrible" have changed.
imagine how well MD could have done had IU nation not been all over him like stink on sht from day one.
that he could recruit anyone into the most toxic environment i've ever witnessed, with nothing else even close, was a miracle.
unfortunate that a black coach can't be successful at a B10 school, or most areas for that matter.
we've come a long way. but still have a long way to go.
many say he wasn't ready for IU.
neither IU nation nor the state of Indiana was ready for a black coach.
bad enough to not be Bob Knight. or black.
being black and not Bob Knight was insurmountable.
I appreciate the response. I have always thought that I was one of the few who thought that Davis was given a bum rap. He also related much better to the alums than Knight ever did and yes, he did take UAB to two tournaments and has taken Texas Southern many times as well. Your analysis is spot on.
In his own words, Mike Davis said he wasn't ready.
Unless you have some evidence showing mainstream -- not fringe -- sentiment indicating IU nation didn't want CMD because of his blackness, then you're just speculating. Why not also speculate that IU Nation wasn't ready for a Native American coach?
Mike Davis wasn't the problem. Bad athletic directors hired by IU however are the problem.Davis wasn't the best coach but he did things the right way. You can't say that about Pitino,Izzo,Sean Miller,Calapari,Roy Williams,Wade,Self and Coach K. All have cheated in one form or another to have winning teams. I respect Mike Davis as a coach and a man. I can't say that about the others I Just mentioned.
Wasn’t the team threatening to quit if he wasn’t made head coach? In that case, the opprobrium is on the administrators for caving to them. But then, again, we wouldn’t be able to look back and remember how we were leading with 10 minutes to go in the national championship game.
Naaaaaa . . . IU deserves its spot in the Big 10. Regardless of its record, IU draws huge crowds for basketball games, it draws huge TV audiences, it has the best soccer program in the Big 10 ( men’s), top ranked swimming and diving teams, and an up and coming women’s basketball team.
I am not saying that IU is one of the best overall athletic programs but is certainly not a bottom feeder. Football is knocking on the door of respectability and basketball will come back.
I am not saying that IU is one of the best overall athletic programs but is certainly not a bottom feeder. Football is knocking on the door of respectability and basketball will come back.
Archie's two are at the beginning of his tenure. Davis' two were in years 4 and 5 after making the NCAA 3 straight years. Not the same. If this year's team is worse than last year's, it is fair to take a hard look at Miller.
I can personally attest to Mike Davis’s character. He’s the best all around person we’ve had at head coach since Knight. Not even close.
I would agree with the OP, Mike Davis got death threats and racist shit against him if he didn't quit … who needs that? I was unhappy with his performance too, and wished we'd done better sooner, but in hindsight, I think if we had stuck with him, we'd still be considered elite … because he manned up and owned that pressure. Archie lives in 'we'll try better next year land", at least Davis did get talent and offer "help on the way". It's apples and oranges. Archie is making like 3.5 mill and we had better results under Davis making like 450 K, I know its 20 years later, but Archie's results suck in terms of ROI thus far or fan patience.
I can point you to 3 years videos of Bracey Wright jacking 3's with no other offense, Davis's disclaimer might be that it was the best option and his status every year made recruiting tough, and I'' bet that was true, he was never able to really capitalize on recruiting after NC run, not enough recruiting acumen do to recruits watching bad play as we were and burning bridges with HS coaches, which also did Crean in, and thank God for that.
That's fair but he did have a lot of talent this season.
He had some talent. And a ton of injuries. And they were still measurably better in year 2 than in year one. That just can't be the peak. Gotta keep building...
I don't know why I'm engaging with you, but here goes...
Take a hard look at whether there's an indication that year 4 will be different, either because of a good class coming in or injuries will heal. Take a hard look at what the buyout is and whether we can find the money to pay it. And, take a hard look at whether there are any sure fire coaches we could reasonably expect to sign.
I've taken great pains to not be insulting in this response. If all you want to do is troll, just leave me alone.
He took RMK's players his first year and finished 2nd in the Country. How in the hell do you fire a guy after that kind of season? Duh.
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