|
On April 15, 2008, the Keno Davis era began at Providence College. The 36-year-old Davis became the 14th head coach of the College's storied men's basketball program. "It is an honor to now be a part of Providence College basketball and it is a dream come true for me to be in the BIG EAST," Davis said after being introduced as the new head coach at the College. "I want to make Providence and the entire state of Rhode Island excited about college basketball. I think it's at a tipping point where we can do something special here!" Davis came to PC after spending the 2007-08 season as the head coach at Drake University. Davis, a 1995 graduate of the University of Iowa, was named the 2008 National Coach of the Year by six organizations, including the Associated Press, the U.S. Basketball Writers Association and The Sporting News. In making the appointment, Providence College President Reverend Brian Shanley, O.P. said, "We are very excited to have Keno Davis leading our men's basketball program. We were looking for someone who could inspire and I believe he will. Keno talked to us about developing the right kind of character in his players and as a priest and a teacher, the thing I care about most with respect to athletics is not winning, but it's building character. I believe that we have a coach who will build the character of our student-athletes. And, oh yes, he will win!" In his first season as a head coach, Davis led the Drake Bulldogs to a 28-5 mark, which included a 15-3 record in the Missouri Valley Conference. His team captured its first MVC regular season title since 1971 and its first ever MVC Tournament title. Drake became the first MVC school to win both the regular season and league tournament titles since 2002. For his efforts, he was named the Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year. The Bulldogs also made their first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 1971. Drake was defeated in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament by Western Kentucky, 101-99, in overtime. During the 2008 season, Drake was nationally ranked for a school-record eight consecutive weeks. The Bulldogs finished ranked 14th in the Associated Press Poll and 23rd in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. Davis had all this success in his first season after inheriting a team that was 17-15 in 2007 and lost four starters to graduation. His 2008 squad was picked to finish ninth in the MVC. "I believe Keno Davis has the knowledge, passion, commitment and ability to bring Providence College basketball to another level," Providence College Athletics Director Bob Driscoll said. "Throughout his career he has demonstrated that he is an excellent leader and teacher. From the first moment I met Keno, I was impressed with his competitive nature and his desire to return Friar basketball to national prominence. His hiring is one of the many steps we have taken to improve the Friar men's basketball program." Prior to being selected as the head coach at Drake, Davis served as an assistant under his father, Dr. Tom Davis, at Drake from 2003-07. He began his coaching career in 1995 as an assistant under Bruce Pearl at Southern Indiana. He left Southern Indiana in 1997 and took an assistant position under Gary Garner at Southeast Missouri State. He was at Southeast Missouri State for six seasons. Although he never lived in Rhode Island prior to becoming the Friars' head coach, Davis was no stranger to New England. In fact, he spent much of his childhood just one hour from the Ocean State as he lived on Commonwealth Avenue in Newton, Massachusetts adjacent to the Boston College campus. Davis' father, Tom, served as the head coach of the Eagles from 1977-82. While living in Massachusetts, Keno Davis grew to love New England and appreciate college basketball. He also saw the early days of the BIG EAST and has watched closely as the league has become basketball powerhouse. Keno Davis was exposed to basketball at a very young age as he watched his father as a head coach. Dr. Tom Davis is one of the winningest coaches all-time in the NCAA. In 32 seasons as a head coach at Lafayette (1971-77), Boston College (1977-82), Stanford (1982-86), Iowa (1986-99) and Drake (2003-07), he registered a 598-355 mark (.628), which included 18 post-season appearances and 16 20-win seasons. He also was named the 1987 Associated Press National Coach of the Year. When, Keno, earned the same honor in 2007, it marked the first time ever that a father and son duo had captured the national coach of the year honor. Keno Davis has written two books on basketball, "Pressure Defense" which was published in 1994 and "Camp Success" published in 2004. Davis and wife, Krista, have one son, Brady, who was born on November 12, 2007. Coaching Experience 2008 - Head Coach, Providence College 2007-08 Head Coach, Drake University 2003-07 Assistant Coach, Drake University 1997-03 Assistant Coach, Southeast Missouri State 1995-97 Assistant Coach, Southern Indiana Coaching Honors 2008 - Associated Press National Coach of the Year 2008 - U.S. Basketball Writers Coach of the Year 2008 - Sporting News Coach of the Year 2008 - CollegeHoops.net Coach of the Year 2008 - Basketball Times Coach of the Year 2008 - Hugh Durham Award - Mid Major Coach of the Year 2008 - Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year
KENO DAVIS COACHING RECORD YEAR SCHOOL RECORD PCT CONF. REC. FINISH TOUR. POST SEASON 2007-08 Drake 28-5 .848 15-3 1st 3-0 NCAA 0-1 Career 1 year 28-5 .848 15-3 One Title 3-0 0-1
DAVIS VS. OPPONENTS (28-5, .848) Team W L Bradley 1 1 Butler 1 0 Chicago State 1 0 Creighton 3 0 Cornell 1 0 Duquesne 1 0 Evansville 2 0 Illinois State 3 0 Indiana State 3 0 Iowa 1 0 Iowa State 1 0 Milwaukee 1 0 Missouri State 1 1 NC Central 1 0 Northern Iowa 2 0 Saint Mary's 0 1 San Diego 1 0 Southern Ill. 1 1 Texas Pan Am. 1 0 Western Kent. 0 1 Wichita State 2 0 TOTAL 28 5
First Year at PC: 0-0/0-0 Overall at PC: 0-0/0-0 Overall at Drake: 28-5 1-Year CAREER: 28-5 BIG EAST TOURNAMENT: 0-0
The Davis Facts File Full Name Keno Davis
2007-08 (28-5/15-3)...Earned six National Coach of the Year honors, including, Associated Press, U.S. Basketball Writers Association and The Sporting News... Led Drake to a 28-5 mark and its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1971... His team captured its first MVC regular season title since 1971 and its first ever MVC Tournament title... Drake became the first MVC school to win both the regular season and league tournament titles since 2002. ... Was named MVC Coach of the Year... Registered a 15-3 mark in MVC action.... Drake was nationally ranked for a school-record eight consecutive weeks and finished 14th in the Associated Press Final Poll and 23rd in the ESPN/USA Today Final Poll...
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING ABOUT KENO DAVIS -- ``Keno Davis is one of the top young up-and-coming coaches in the industry. He has that combination that makes coaches successful at the highest level - he gets the most of out his players, is a terrific at evaluating talent and obviously he's proven - in just one season - that he can coach. You look at what he did at Drake in recruiting many of the players and then coaching them to the NCAA tournament in one of the season's biggest surprises a year ago and it was extremely impressive." -- FOXSports.com Senior Basketball Writer Jeff Goodman "I can't remember a coach who made as big an impact in his `rookie' year as Keno Davis. But what gets lost in the fuss over how he did as a first-year head coach is that he was very much a part of building the Drake program to the point where it could enjoy that level of success. He didn't just walk in and take over a ready-made team. He helped to scout, recruit and coach the Drake players who came together in such a magical season. That's why I voted for him for coach of the year." -- Sporting News' Mike DeCourcy "He's a young man from a coaching family who has earned his stripes based on dedication, hard work and doing the little thing like working various camps. He was never one to take short cuts. It's very rewarding to see that the net result of his hard work is getting to coach one of the more storied programs in college basketball. By being around his father, Dr. Tom, he knows what it takes to be successful at a program with great tradition and that has definitely prepared him for the task ahead." - University of Wisconsin Head Coach Bo Ryan "To go in to Drake and be the national coach of the year in his first year is a tremendous accomplishment. Keno is one of the brightest young coaches in the country." -- University of Tennessee Head Coach Bruce Pearl
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||
