February 4, 2001

By Steve Richardson

Davis wants Indiana post to become permanent

Indiana's interim coach Mike Davis believes he's the man for the permanent job with the Hoosiers. That's despite a proclamation after a disappointing 88-74 loss to Kentucky in December when he said that he wasn't.

"I want this job," Davis said last week. "I can do this job. I know I can." And what about those statements following the loss to the Wildcats?

"It got them (the players) to thinking, and they responded," Davis said. "I was disappointed and upset. And I was telling the truth we were not playing hard. I was not telling the truth that I wasn't the guy. I had to get their attention."

The Hoosiers, 13-9 overall and 4-4 in Big Ten play going into a game at Penn State on Feb. 3, are coming off their first league road victory under Davis.

That was a hard-fought 70-67 victory this past week over Ohio State in Columbus. And, after the Penn State game, Indiana finishes with five of its last seven at home.

"If you watch our team, we have made great improvement since that Kentucky game," Davis notes. "People walk up to me and say this is the best defense we have played in 10 years. That means a lot."

Davis, Knight's assistant coach for tthree seasons, hasn't kept much intact in the Hoosier program since the legendary Knight was fired before practice started last fall He has changed the motion offense to more sets and he will play zone defense. He has allowed forward Kirk Haston the ability to roam the floor and shoot three-pointers, one which sent Michigan State to its first loss of the season, 59-58, in Bloomington. "Mike is more into matchups," said Ohio State coach Jim O'Brien. "He has tried to create matchups in their favor. They are playing a little bit of zone now. Bob rarely played zone. Guys want to put their own fingerprints on it "Haston is looking for jump shots. They are looking for him at the end of games off fade screens. He is even shooting threes. There is not the continual motion. There are more set plays."

Davis admits there are some people who still "can't let go" of the Knight days. But he is going to do it his way. "I know a lot of people are not happy with me changing things," Davis said. "But I wouldn't have known what was going on."

OSU tragedy

In the aftermath of the tragic Oklahoma State plane crash which killed 10 people, including two Cowboy players, several coaches were reliving their plane-flying days.....

Said Arkansas coach Nolan Richardson: "There is no question, there isn't any one more terrified (of flying) than Nolan Richardson. I do it because it is my job. I have been on those little planes when the motor has fallen out. It is terrifying.".....Said Kentucky coach Tubby Smith: "Every time you go up in a plane you pray. Every time I go up I say a prayer. We are in God's hands. But there is nothing you can do. You are as safe there as anywhere."....

Illinois coach Bill Self, a former Oklahoma State assistant coach and player, talked to Oklahoma State coach Eddie Sutton shortly after the tragedy as did Richardson, who succeeded Sutton at Arkansas. Said Self: : "It is a real close knit family (at Oklahoma State). That's the one thing they take pride in the athletic department it is family. And it is immediate family for Coach Sutton. He will be an immediate source of strength for everybody. I can't imagine having to make the calls he has had to make."

Tip-ins

Maryland's Gary Williams had to endure of the more difficult losses of any season when his Terrapins blew a 10-point lead in the final 54 seconds and dropped a 98-96 overtime decision to Duke in College Park, Md., but that Duke comeback set up the battle of unbeaten ACC teams, Duke and North Carolina, the following Thursday. Nevertheless Williams didn't go for all the media buildup for the Duke-North Carolina game: "We need to get more than three teams in the NCAA Tournament. It is important people realize there are more good teams than North Carolina and Duke.".....

Georgia's Jim Harrick is trying to match Oklahoma State coach Eddie Sutton as the only coach to take four different teams to the NCAA Division I Men's basketball tournament. And he has his team playing well going into February. Harrick has taken Pepperdine, UCLA and Rhode Island to the tournament in three previous coaching stops...

North Carolina coach Matt Doherty has injected new enthusiasm into the North Carolina program, simply by his actions on the sidelines. Previous North Carolina coaches Dean Smith and Bill Guthridge were much more sedate than the excitable Doherty, who was on North Carolina's 1982 NCAA title team. Doherty is like a jumping jack on the sidelines. "That's just me.," Doherty said. "I like to think they have responded. We have played fairly well. Knock on wood. We are playing hard.

It is not like I am getting in their faces all the time. It is more positive, energy. There are different ways to skin a cat. That's me for now. Maybe in 20 years when I am 58, I will be sitting on the bench more."

Coaching milestones

Fresno State coach Jerry Tarkanian posted his 750th career victory on Jan. 25 when the Bulldogs defeated Texas-El Paso, 108-56. He was the eighth Division I coach to reach the milestone. And he was joined two days later in the 750 club by Georgia State coach Lefty Driesell, whose Panthers beat Mercer, 86-77....

Ohio coach Larry Hunter won his 500th game on Jan. 23 when the Bobcats defeated Northern Illinois, 91-63....

Purdue coach Gene Keady will coach his 650th game with the Boilermakers on Feb. 7....

Norm and Louie remembered

They re-named the University of Missouri court at the Hearnes Center, Norm Stewart Court, before the Tigers defeated Kansas on Jan. 29th. Stewart, who retired following the 1998-99 season, has either played or coached in more than half of the games in the history of the school....