Davis faces critical campaign as IU seeks return to NCAAs - Indystar.com
Since the Star will pull this article Friday, I'm going to copy it all below and make my comments within. Enjoy!
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Financial contributions have increased, national television exposure is up and home attendance has remained steady in the five years since Indiana fired Bob Knight as head basketball coach. Graduation rates also are similar, and the Hoosiers have had more academic all-Big Ten players in Mike Davis' first five years than they had during Knight's final decade.
Wow! I guess you really can manipulate statistics to say whatever you want. I'll address each as Terry does further down in the article.
So why is there an underlying current that IU -- Davis in particular -- faces a make-or-break season in 2005-06?
The record on the court, of course.
This is exactly why I can't handle what is going on in the Hoosier Nation right now. It is not about the record!!! IU Basketball has always been so much more. UGH!!!!!
In Davis' first five seasons, the Hoosiers went a combined 96-67 -- not far off their mark of 104-55 in Knight's final five years. But one big difference is the postseason.
Why try to compare? Those last 5 Knight years were used against Coach Knight as a time when the Game had passed him by. Now Davis' record which is WORSE than that is being used as an example that things aren't that bad???
All of those Knight teams made the NCAA Tournament. Davis' first three teams did, but in his fourth year, IU had a losing record and didn't qualify for postseason play. Last year's team went 15-13 in the regular season and wasn't invited to the NCAAs, settling for a bid in the far less prestigious National Invitation Tournament. It marked the first time since the 1970-71 and '71-72 seasons that IU didn't go to the NCAAs for two straight years.
Yup and lets not forget the embarrassing loss at home to Vanderbilt in the NIT. And why did they have those losing seasons? Lack of coaching? Lack of Talent? If you say the latter, who's fault is that? If you say the former... well I agree!
"What we've had is two years where the competitive level of our basketball program has been well below our expectations," said IU athletic director Rick Greenspan. "And that needs to get fixed."
And how does it get fixed? Getting rid of Davis last year could have done that. Keeping him this year is just a band aid. But hey Davis has a nice box of 1 year band aids in Killingsworth, Monroe, Allen and Dinc. So slap them on, have a good year and then IU fans will feel the pain when those band aid are RIPPED off and we still have the gaping wound that is Mike Davis's coaching ability.
Greenspan has done much to further the notion that this is a crucial year for Davis. After last season, the two had a meeting, after which it was announced that Davis would keep his job. But Greenspan set "ambitious and achievable goals for next season," including "successfully competing in the NCAA Tournament."
Done Much??? They had a meeting... woo hoo! They set "ambitious and achievable goals"... double woo hoo!!! That sure is doing much!!!
Davis, hired two days after Knight was fired on Sept. 10, 2000, accepts that winning is what he'll be graded on most.
That is exactly the problem. It is not all about winning and losing. If that was the case, I'd just become a Kentucky fan.
"I learned a lot from coach Knight," Davis said. "I have grown personally and professionally in the last five years. Two of the most important things I've learned are to keep things in perspective and to be accountable for my actions."
Excuse me??? What did you learn from Coach Knight? You admitted you didn't learn the motion offense. And in turn you instituted "Orlando" and "Rocket" offenses. Keep things in perspective huh? What perspective is that? Lower expectations? That is one perspective.
Dan Csizmadia, an IU fan who lives in Henryville, said: "It all comes down to winning. (Davis) took skeptics and Knight fans alike and started moving them over with his championship run.
"Then the wheels fell off. The new recruits didn't help. We lost games we should have won. We now lose recruits that perhaps we should be getting."
Again all about winning. Not to me.
Some IU fans, still loyal to Knight, think the program has suffered beyond the win-loss recordsince he was fired.
Well duh!!!!
The numbers show otherwise:
This is going to be good!!!!!
• IU has had 89 games nationally televised since Knight left, 71 in his final five years.
Great stat Terry! Let's see, could it be that ESPN bought out the local coverage leaving games to fall either on National ESPN, or not be televised at all? Oh that's right, ESPN expanded their College Basketball program to include ESPN 2. Of course nationally televised games increased. They did for every school in america. I seem to recall 3 games last year that weren't even televised. Did that happen under Knight's years?
• Both coaches graduate players. In Knight's final five years, 11 of 13 four-year scholarship players earned degrees. Under Davis, nine of 11 have graduated.
But the real question is why did Davis graduate 2 less players? Oh that's right Davis has had more transfers than Knight had. And that was one of the reasons used to state that the Game and kids today had passed Knight by.
• Average attendance has slipped over a five-year period, but by only 130. Under Knight, IU averaged 16,091 per game. Under Davis, it's 15,961. The waiting list for season tickets when Knight was coach still exists.
ABSOLUTE B.S.!! The number of empty seats in the balcony the last 2 years numbered in the thousands. And according to fans on Peegs that called for tickets immediately got season tickets last year. Doesn't sound like they spent a lot of time on the waiting list. Oh well... if there is a list of 2 people, it is their lucky year... cause my seats are available.
• Fewer people are contributing money, but more money is coming into the athletic department. In the past five years, contributions have increased to $5.57 million annually from $4.03 million.
So fewer people are contributing money... like me!!! Yet contributions have increased. I wonder if the Varsity Club doubling the donor amounts for each level played into that? Of course it did. But if everyone kept their same donor level, annual contributions would be $8.06 million.
"There's no question that the coaching change brought out a lot of passion and a lot of emotion, but we were lucky because we had a real loyal donor base," said Scott Dolson, IU's associate athletic director for development and director of the Varsity Club, and a basketball manager under Knight from 1985 to 1988. "And everyone basically wants the same thing: They want our programs to be successful."
Now Scott, how would you know that? It seems you only talk to the Elephants. You wouldn't talk to me. But then again, why focus on the 30 year old donors when you can focus on those about to kick the bucket and leave millions to you. You'll be long gone when those of us in our 30s today are in our 60s and won't give the program a DIME.
Most IU donors interviewed for this story said their level of giving had not diminished since Knight's firing. Csizmadia said the school has his support.
I only see quotes from 2 different donors? Does that mean 1 didn't lower his/her level of giving and 1 did?
"The loss of coach Knight did not change our support of the university or the team," Csizmadia said. "It is Indiana basketball, not coach Knight -- nor coach Davis -- basketball."
A true statement, unfortunately Indiana Basketball under Davis isn't the Indiana Basketball I grew to love and support.
One of the best quotes I've heard yet. Unfortunately I don't see Mike Davis as the answer to restore the program.Some IU fans say the healing process has to take its natural course.
"While I think the majority of the IU populace has gotten over most aspects of (Knight's) firing, true healing, so to speak, won't occur until the program is restored to one of consistent quality and national prominence," said Mark Swearingen, an Indianapolis attorney who was a drummer in the IU basketball pep band for the 1994-95 season. "I don't think most people are still angry or sad about Knight's firing, but I do think that the poor results of the past few years has kept his firing in our minds to some degree."
All I can say is thank GOD I didn't renew my tickets or give to the Varsity Club this year. If things are so bad down there that they have to write crap like this to try to convince me that all is grand in B'Town, I don't want any part of it. I can only imagine the future articles out of the Indy Star.
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