Wednesday, February 15, 2006
It's That Time Of Year Again...
Middle of February, March madness in the offing, and once again the once storied and even fabled basketball program at Indiana University finds itself fading into the oblivion of the NIT. Losing 5 of their last 6 games, sitting right at .500 in the conference, once again they appear to be full of promise and very short on delivery.
Which means it is time for the sports staff at the Indianapolis Star to print yet another story about poor Mike Davis. You see, the problem is not that a program that made the NCAA tounament for 20 straight years has not seen it in two and looking like a third is in the offing. You see, the problem is not that despite continued "great" recruiting years, the team keeps turning in mediocre performances.
No the problem is that Mike Davis is a really nice guy and the IU fans just don't seem to understand that.
I have never met Mike Davis, but I have no reason to think he is other than a really nice guy. So am I, but that is not a qualification as the head coach of one of the top five college basketball programs in history. For the sports reporter constantly belaguered and vilified by Bob Knight, it might even be refreshing, but to defend him as a basketball coach is just ridiculous.
It has become clear that there is something at play in Davis' continued employment as IU's head coach that has nothing to do with basketball. I have no idea what it is, but his continued employment cannot be justified on the basis of team performance. This is his best year since his first, when he was really coaching Knight's team, but it still does not stack up against where an Indiana team should be.
Meanwhile the team that now most personifies all that is good and pure and enjoyable about the game in Indiana - Butler University (my alma mater) finds themselves in second place in the mid-major Horizon League with a shot at the big dance.
GO 'DOGS! Please Davis - go!
Related Tags: IU, Indiana University basketball, Big Ten, college basketball, Mike Davis, Butler University
Which means it is time for the sports staff at the Indianapolis Star to print yet another story about poor Mike Davis. You see, the problem is not that a program that made the NCAA tounament for 20 straight years has not seen it in two and looking like a third is in the offing. You see, the problem is not that despite continued "great" recruiting years, the team keeps turning in mediocre performances.
No the problem is that Mike Davis is a really nice guy and the IU fans just don't seem to understand that.
I have never met Mike Davis, but I have no reason to think he is other than a really nice guy. So am I, but that is not a qualification as the head coach of one of the top five college basketball programs in history. For the sports reporter constantly belaguered and vilified by Bob Knight, it might even be refreshing, but to defend him as a basketball coach is just ridiculous.
It has become clear that there is something at play in Davis' continued employment as IU's head coach that has nothing to do with basketball. I have no idea what it is, but his continued employment cannot be justified on the basis of team performance. This is his best year since his first, when he was really coaching Knight's team, but it still does not stack up against where an Indiana team should be.
Meanwhile the team that now most personifies all that is good and pure and enjoyable about the game in Indiana - Butler University (my alma mater) finds themselves in second place in the mid-major Horizon League with a shot at the big dance.
GO 'DOGS! Please Davis - go!
Related Tags: IU, Indiana University basketball, Big Ten, college basketball, Mike Davis, Butler University
