Yearning for Mike Davis...

Editor's Note: This article is brought to us by Hoosierfan...

By all means, I was never a huge Mike Davis fan. I saw him for what he was - a good recruiter, a coach that didn't make very great game decisions, a coach whose teams underperformed. His teams had difficulties in-bounding the ball. They ran an 'NBA-style' offense where everyone would stand around and wait for Bracey Wright (who wasn't all that good) to shoot. Notably, Sampsons' teams would later have the same offensive ineptitude. Davis didn't get along with the media, he always had a scowl on his face, he wasn't a good public speaker, and he was often the victim of rural-folk Indiana prejudices.

By the 2005-06 season, Davis was on the hot seat. The Hoosiers had missed the tournament in 2004 and in 2005 for the first times since 1995. This was also the first year he'd have all of "his guys". His 2004-05 star recruiting class (DJ White, AJ Ratliff, & Robert Vaden were no longer freshmen (Josh Smith, who bypassed college and went to the Hawks, and James Hardy, who left to focus on football and will be drafted this May, were also part of the class). We had Marco Killingsworth - a hired hand to help us advance far into the tournament. When the Hoosiers lost 5 games in a row, Davis had lost all respect with the fans. I was disappointed - I felt that decisions of the program's future should at least wait until the end of the season. Davis was bought out of his contract, effective at the end of the season. Meanwhile, despite missing an injured DJ White - the players, fiercely loyal to Davis, rallied around him, finishing the season strongly. They advanced to the 2nd round of the NCAA tournament, losing to Gonzaga. I, among others, wondered if the best candidate to replace Mike Davis, was Mike Davis.

Meanwhile, Vaden transferred to UAB with Davis, and a variety of other Davis recruits eventually transferred out. Joey Shaw is headed to Nevada, AJ Ratliff eventually dropped off the team, and who knows what happened to the seven-foot sweet-shooting Ben Allen?! (further research shows he has signed with Saint Mary's).

In comes Kelvin Sampson, the savior of Indiana basketball, who received a slightly warmer than tepid reception. People were wary of his cheating resume, the possibility of bringing sanctions with him, and his reliance on JC transfers. But, he brought Eric Gordon. No more be said. Eric Gordon - the future savior of Indiana Basketball. Yada yada yada - we all know what happened.

I have since heard the yearning for Mike Davis. He was clean. He could recruit, and he brought no sanctions. Look at that 2004-05 recruiting class - if only we had Robert Vaden now (22 ppg) - he could hit shots in the clutch. If only Ratliff had continued to follow the projection of his career. If only Josh Smith hadn't spurned Indiana for the NBA and James Hardy hadn't been so good at football. Mike Davis wasn't a great coach, and he needed serious PR help, but he was also unlucky. DJ White was injured that last year (as well as the year before) - yet we advanced to the 2nd round of the tournament without him. With DJ White healthy that year, who knows what we could have achieved... Mike Davis, who brought the UAB team to a 22-9 record this year, who came within 1 point of defeating Memphis, and placed 2nd in Conference USA, could have led IU to greatness this year. Or maybe not. But certainly better than (not) having Sampson.