Davis Hired as Indiana's Interim Coach
B L O O M I N G T O N, Ind., Sept. 12, 2000 -- Indiana headed off a possible player
revolt over Bob Knight’s dismissal by hiring assistant Mike Davis
as interim basketball coach, a source told The Associated Press.
Davis was expected to be introduced as the new coach at anafternoon news conference, said the high-ranking university source,who spoke on condition of anonymity.
“I got the job,” Davis told ESPN.com.
The word that the university had chosen Davis came two daysafter Indiana fired Bob Knight for misconduct and a day afterplayers issued an ultimatum to athletic director Clarence Doningerthat Davis or John Treloar, another Knight assistant, be hired asinterim coach or members of the team would defect en masse.
The university source told The Associated Press that Treloaralso will remain with the program. The source said he did not knowthe status of Pat Knight, the son of the Hall of Fame coach andalso an assistant.
The university source said the hiring of Davis was expected tohave a “very positive” impact on the storied basketball program,which had appeared in disarray.
Several players had threatened to leave the program. Juniorguard Dane Fife said Monday he had decided to transfer, but theuniversity source said Fife’s departure was not yet certain.
Highly recruited freshman swingman A.J. Moye of Atlanta, Ga.,also had indicated Monday he likely would leave Bloomington.
Team Will Play for Davis
Athletic director Clarence Doninger had said Monday he had askedDavis and Treloar to remain. He also said he had received callsfrom “a number of people” interested in the interim post. Hewould not identify any of the others.
Despite Knight’s rigid discipline, uncompromising demand forperfection and infamous temper — which got him fired Sunday — hewas the main reason players have come to Indiana to play basketballover the past 29 years.
Doninger understood why the players were upset.
“You’ve got some quality people and they are stunned by all ofthis” he said. “There’s no question they came to IndianaUniversity to play for coach Bob Knight. We’d like to think theycame to Indiana University because of Indiana University, too, butI know the facts of life here, and they came to play for coachKnight.”
Knight was fired by university president Myles Brand forviolating a “zero tolerance” behavior policy imposed in May.
It’s not known what Knight’s next move will be, but IndianaPacers coach Isiah Thomas — who led Knight’s 1981 team to anational title — said he would welcome Knight as an assistant.
Isiah Thomas Welcomes Knight
“I would love for him to sit on the bench with me and more orless mentor me,” Thomas told Detroit radio station WDFN. “I don’tthink there’s a basketball player in the world who wouldn’t cravehis insight. That’s what, hopefully, he’ll be able to give me.”
The Mavericks’ owner, Indiana graduate Mark Cuban, told the FortWorth Star-Telegram he’d be happy to have Knight work for him.
“As a huge fan, Bobby has a standing offer to join the Mavs asa consultant,” Cuban was quoted as saying in Tuesday’s editions ofthe newspaper. “I would offer him a job in a heartbeat.”