Thursday, March 28, 2002
With Indiana in Final Four, is team Davis' or Knight's
Players are General's, but system all new
By Michael Pointer
The Indianapolis Star
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — It's the subject of much saloon conversation and coffee-room debate these days.
Who's really responsible for the Indiana Hoosiers' stunning run to the NCAA Final Four — Mike Davis or Bob Knight?
As the Hoosiers prepare for Saturday's national semifinal game against Oklahoma in Atlanta, fans continue to be divided on the hot-button issue of who should receive credit for putting this team together.
“They belong to Indiana,” Davis, who has been IU's head coach for two seasons, said about the players. “If they're Coach Knight's players, that's fine, as long as they play hard for Indiana. I have no problem with whoever they want to give credit to.”
Knight, it would seem, disagrees. Fired by Indiana in September 2000, Knight just completed his first season as coach at Texas Tech. He couldn't be reached for comment for this story, but he told the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal Tuesday that he thought all along this crop of Hoosiers would become a strong unit.
“That was a major reason, maybe the major reason, why I stayed or tried to stay at Indiana and certainly stayed as long as I did,” Knight said. “It's because we were in the process, I well knew, of putting a team together that last year, and this year was going to be a very, very good team.”
On Page 11 of Knight's new book, which he was promoting Tuesday in New York, the former IU coach said the recruitment of four 6-foot-10 prospects — Jeff Newton, George Leach, Jared Jeffries and Kirk Haston (who left for the NBA after the 2000-01 season) — could help IU “win more than 60 games over the next two years with a real shot at the 2002 national championship.”
“That was written a year ago,” Knight told the Avalanche-Journal on Tuesday. “It kind of looks like I was right, doesn't it? That's exactly how I felt.”
IU's players refuse to criticize Knight. The Hoosiers say they appreciate the chance he gave them to play at IU.
But they dispute any assertion that Davis is winning simply because he's coaching players recruited by Knight. They are the ones who accepted the change and Davis' teaching, they say.
“We hear stuff like that everywhere we go, but it doesn't bother us because all of us know that this is Coach Davis' team,” guard Tom Coverdale said. “It's his players.”
Because of this weekend's Final Four appearance, it's easy for the IU players and their fans to engage in a game of what-ifs.
What if Knight was still in Bloomington?
“That's a tough, tough question,” said junior guard Kyle Hornsby, stopping to rub his chin as he gave it some thought.
“If you're asking me if Coach Knight was still capable of coaching us and taking us to the Final Four, I would say yes.
“With Coach Davis, we are in this position,” Hornsby added.
That's reality. And that's why Hornsby and his teammates — many of whom spoke out publicly for Knight when he left — believe some good came from the change.
“I think the most important thing is that (Davis) is doing it his way and he is getting the most out of us by doing what he wants,” senior Jarrad Odle said.
Last season, the Hoosiers used the motion offense Knight implemented at IU. Davis believed he didn't have much choice. He was named interim coach one month before preseason practice.
This season, Davis changed to an offense with more set plays that he hoped would make better use of Jeffries' talents and the Hoosiers' cadre of good outside shooters.
It wasn't always smooth, as the 7-5 season start indicates. But the players say they have grown to love it.
“It's a learning process,” Odle said. “With Coach Knight, you basically just had to read the game. With Coach Davis, you do some reading, but you also have set plays where you're supposed to do certain things.”
Coverdale had some self-doubt after he played just 41 minutes as a freshman in his only season under Knight.
One of Davis' first moves as coach was to make Coverdale the starting point guard, where he has become one of the team leaders.
“He's fun to play for,” Coverdale said. “You can come to him and ask him questions. If there is something you think we can do better, you can give him suggestions.”
Senior guard Dane Fife said Davis is every bit as tough as Knight was during practice. He said he has been thrown out of practice more by Davis than Knight. Davis, smiling, disputes that.
Fife hinted the players have found Davis to be less volatile than Knight, which is a relief.
“Where the difference was, was in the game,” Fife said. “You can't imagine the level of intensity and fire Coach Knight had. Coach Davis, he has the same fire on a continual basis.”
Odle was among those disappointed when Knight left. But many of the players realized their No.1 priority was to play at IU, not for Knight.
“People forget that when we commit to the university, we commit to that university and not necessarily to the coach,” he said. “I committed here to play for Coach Knight, but when he left two years into my career, I had to make a decision. My decision was to play in Indiana.”
Davis said he thought a turning point came when he convinced the players they would be treated fairly. For instance, he suspected that some IU players thought he would start African-American players because he is black.
“I established that who was playing well and playing hard, I was going to play them,” said Davis, whose interim tag was removed after last season. “I want to win. I'm going to put the guys on the court that I feel like give me the best chance of winning. I think Coverdale was a prime example.”
Things haven't been easy. The Hoosiers' 11 losses are seven more than any other team in the Final Four. Few expected the fifth-seeded Hoosiers to make the Final Four.
Knight, whose Texas Tech team lost in the NCAA tourney's first round, said he isn't surprised with IU's success.
“That's the major reason why I went against basic instincts that told me I needed to get out of there (and leave IU before his firing),” Knight said. “It's no surprise.”
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With Indiana in Final Four, is team Davis' or Knight's
