Mike Davis to UAB

Shoalzie · Post by **Shoalzie** » Fri Apr 07, 2006 8:51 pm

Good hire for the Blazers and this should be a good gig for Davis...win-win for both parties.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=2400866

The Assassin · Post by **The Assassin** » Sat Apr 08, 2006 9:31 pm

Nice to see him get a fresh start and get away from the bullshit he got at Indiana. He coulda won 2 Nat titles there and STILL would have been criticized by the Knight supporters.

Mustang · Post by **Mustang** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 3:03 pm

Oh dear, leave it to the uninformed to spout silliness. I was here when the Hoosiers played for all the marbles in '02. I saw all those "I LIKE MIKE" signs in yards all over town. Uh.....getting to national title game gets you support. And winning it? Twice? Are you nuts? Sure, there are Knight nad-lickers that bump around town with Tech gear on and will never accept another coach. But they're dinosaurs and are a tiny minority. The vast, vast majority of I.U. fans loved coach Knight but know he's gone. But the one thing Knight left here was a standard of excellence and a total respect for the state of Indiana. BOTH of those, Davis failed at. I wish him well at UAB but wouldn't be surprised to see them never excel.

Terry in Crapchester · Tue Apr 11, 2006 3:21 pm

Mustang wrote:I wish him well at UAB but wouldn't be surprised to see them never excel.

I suppose that turns on your definition of "excel." Certainly, the standards at UAB won't be as high as at Indiana, nor will the expectations be as high. At the same time, with the recent conference realigmnet, UAB is well-positioned to be at or near the top of C-USA for awhile to come. I'm not all that familiar with UAB's fan base, but it wouldn't surprise me if a more or less annual trip to the NCAA tourney combined with the occasional upset in said tourney would be considered "excelling" at UAB. If so, Davis is well positioned for that possibility.

Mustang · Post by **Mustang** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 4:01 pm

Fair enough. I just don't like hearing the uninformed say how poorly he was treated here. Be a legit Big 10 contender, occasionally challenge for NCAA title, have a team that looks like it gives a shit, have a team that has more than two options, respect the state of Indiana.....and they will love you here. Davis got wide support...till it was apparent he really wasn't a good coach and the standards dropped. Good point though....C-USA ain't the Big 10.

Cicero · Post by **Cicero** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 4:08 pm

Mustang wrote:Good point though....C-USA ain't the Big 10.

Which is why Calipari might bolt.

King Crimson · Post by **King Crimson** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 5:55 pm

UAB has won some games, and been in the tournament--beat Kentucky--so there's going to be some expectations. it's not like MD is just gonna get a freebie to just be Mike "I guess i can coach" Davis.

Terry in Crapchester · Tue Apr 11, 2006 7:07 pm

King Crimson wrote:UAB has won some games, and been in the tournament--beat Kentucky--so there's going to be some expectations. it's not like MD is just gonna get a freebie to just be Mike "I guess i can coach" Davis.

Didn't mean to state or imply that, sorry if you took it that way.

My point was that there won't be the expectations or pressures there were at IU. He won't be expected to contend for the national championship, or even necessarily reach the Final Four. If he can keep the program at the level it's at now, he'll be fine, maybe even parlay it into a bigger job.

If he takes the program up a notch or two, he definitely should be able to get a bigger job.