Comments on: Must be a slow news day in Birmingham

By: b_side

b_side — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 02:48:46 +0000

Absolutely — blogs like this would be so dull if we didn't debate.

By: deedubbadoo

deedubbadoo — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 01:22:30 +0000

I agree with you that with more talent Davis' reputation would not be so tainted. I think a lot of people (unfortunately) had it out for him from the get go because of the color of his skin. The blue-haired alumni couldn't fathom life without RMK and that also put more pressure on him. I do not hate the man, I just think that his coaching was a little suspect. I really appreciate the conversation though, made my work day go by a lot faster!

By: b_side

b_side — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 01:16:56 +0000

I'll concede that Knight's teams making it to the NCAA tourny were not “mediocre.” But you also have to remember that those teams had legitimate talent (Andre Emmett and Jarius Jackson). If Davis had 2 more years of Jeffries to play alongside Bracey Wright, you think his reputation would be so tainted?

Your argument about Knight's success at Tech only validated what I was trying to point out initially: “Players play and coaches coach.”

By: Disco_Briscoe

Disco_Briscoe — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 22:52:52 +0000

Thanks

By: Alex

Alex — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 22:01:17 +0000

He's at Tennessee today and Memphis on Thursday. I would expect a decision shortly after his last visit.

By: Disco_Briscoe

Disco_Briscoe — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 21:36:43 +0000

Whats the latest on Emmanuel Negedu?

By: deedubbadoo

deedubbadoo — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 21:33:05 +0000

Okay I will agree with you on the Josh Smith thing but for you to say that Texas Tech was mediocre while RMK was there is out of line. He took over a team that had not had a winning season or even sniffed a tournament bid since 1996. He then only went on to 3 tourney appearances and 1 NIT in his first four seasons with the team. 2005-2006 season was his only losing season there, and the only season in which they did not win at least 21 games. He ended up 138-82 at TT. I would say that 4 tourney appearances and 1 NIT in 6 1/2 season does not qualify as mediocre.

Maybe we wouldn't have beat Maryland but I would have much rather had the “mediocre” RMK than Mike Davis.

By: b_side

b_side — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 21:15:00 +0000

Have you ever heard of the phrase, "players play and coaches coach"? If RMK is such a genius, why was Texas Tech mediocre in his tenure? His players ran a beautiful offense, but they couldn't put the ball in the bucket! His players rotated like hell on defense, but they didn't have the athleticism to get a stop. So yes, I mean to tell you that RMK may not have beaten Lonnie Baxter, Chris Wilcox, Steve Blake and Juan Dixon in the that title game. That team was simply physically overpowering in contrast to the stick figures of JJ and Newton.

I love RMK like everyone else, but you gotta keep it in perspective. His IU teams got murdered in the NCAA's in the mid-90's.

And you need a history lesson about Josh Smith -- his talent wasn't on the NBA radar until those AAU tournaments after his senior year. Hindsight is 20/20 and every other coach was chasing McDonald's All-Americans, so you can't fault him as the only foregone conclusion was Dwight Howard. Al Jefferson, Telfair, JR Smith and Robert Swift were all heading to school before announcing their draft intentions. It's just an unfortunate downfall of chasing talent prior to the rule change.

By: deedubbadoo

deedubbadoo — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 20:44:03 +0000

You were sad when JJ, Fife and Cov led our Hoosiers to the title game in 2002?

Your sentence summed it up right there, they led, not him. You mean to tell me that if RMK was still the coach that that team wouldn't have beat Maryland in championship game? I don't associate him with Bracey Wright, I associate him with chasing Josh Smith around when everyone knew that kid was going pro. I associate him with letting arguably two of the best prospects Indiana has ever seen in Oden and Conley go to Ohio State. I associate him with running an offense that provided us with frequent 5+ minute scoring droughts.

To say that his coaching skills were "average at best after the run" is ridiculous! What changed after "the run" that changed his skill set as a coach? Oh yeah it was the players you mentioned above that led the team to the championship. To say that he is anything but a mediocre coach with above average recruiting skill is crazy.

By: HoosierSmitty

HoosierSmitty — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 20:34:30 +0000

I think most IU fans really liked Mike Davis, but it was just a bad situation for him. To be honest, I root for him and try to follow UAB's season now. Is there anything wrong with that? I don't think so. To say that most fans can't “get over Davis” is ludicrous. We've got bigger issues than that by far. He's barely a blip on the radar that is IU basketball.