Michael Davis (born September 15, 1960) is an American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

coach at the

University of Memphis The University of Memphis (Memphis) is a public university, public research university in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1912, the university has an enrollment of more than 20,000 students. The university maintains the Herff Col ...

. Prior to that he was most recently the head men's basketball coach at the

University of Detroit Mercy The University of Detroit Mercy is a private Catholic university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is sponsored by both the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) and the Sisters of Mercy. The university was founded in 1877 and is the largest Cath ...

, a position he held from 2018 to 2024. Davis also served as the head men's basketball coach at

Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, IUB, or Indiana) is a public university, public research university in Bloomington, Indiana, United States. It is the flagship university, flagship campus of Indiana Univer ...

from 2000 to 2006, the

University of Alabama at Birmingham The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is a public research university in Birmingham, Alabama, United States. Founded in 1969 and part of the University of Alabama System, UAB has grown to be the state's largest employer, with more than ...

(UAB) from 2006 to 2012, and

Texas Southern University Texas Southern University (Texas Southern or TSU) is a Public university, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically Black university in Houston. The university is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund an ...

from 2012 to 2018.UAB Blazers fire men's basketball coach Mike Davis – ESPN
/ref>

Playing career

Davis, an Alabama native, spent his collegiate playing career with the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, the Capstone, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of ...

Crimson Tide after earning the state's Mr. Basketball honor in 1979. In his first season, he played for the legendary C. M. Newton and then spent his final three years playing under another coaching legend, Wimp Sanderson. He ended his career with a 10.1 points per game average. His 165 steals ranks third all-time at the school. Davis won the team's Hustle Award all four seasons and was named to the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

's All-Defensive team his senior year. Following his playing career at Alabama, Davis was a second-round selection of the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

in the 1983 draft, but never played in the league. He would spend the next two seasons playing in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, where he and teammate Ron Burns were named to the league's all-star team, and in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. He played the 1988–89 season with the Topeka Sizzlers of the

Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA), originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association, was a men's professional basketball m ...

(CBA).

Coaching career

Davis began his coaching career as an assistant at Miles College in

Fairfield, Alabama Fairfield is a city in western Jefferson County, Alabama, United States. It is part of the Birmingham metropolitan area and is located southeast of Pleasant Grove. The population was 10,000 at the 2020 census. Fairfield is home to Miles C ...

. After one season at Miles College, Davis relocated to

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

, directing both professional teams and the country's national team.Mike Davis Named UAB Men's Basketball Coach – CONFERENCEUSA.COM – The Official Athletic site of The Conference USA
/ref> In 1990, Davis returned to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and took a position with the

Wichita Falls Texans The Wichita Falls Texans were a minor league basketball team in the Continental Basketball Association from 1988 to 1994. The team was located in Wichita Falls, Texas, and played their games at D.L. Ligon Coliseum, located on the campus of Midwe ...

of the

(CBA). He made brief appearances as a player from 1990 to 1992, totalling 63 minutes in 5 games. Davis played in 18 games during the 1993–94 season and averaged 5.0 points per game. In 1994, the Wichita Falls franchise relocated to

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, and became the Chicago Rockers. Davis played in 56 games for the Rockers during the 1994–95 season and averaged 8.3 points per game.

Alabama

Davis returned to his alma mater

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

and served as an assistant coach from 1995 to 1997 under head coach David Hobbs.

Indiana

Assistant coach

In 1997, Davis joined the coaching staff of legendary coach

Bob Knight Robert Montgomery Knight (October 25, 1940 – November 1, 2023) was an American men's college basketball coach (basketball), coach. Nicknamed "the General", he won 902 NCAA Division I men's basketball games, a record at the time of his retire ...

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

. In his three seasons as an IU assistant, the Hoosiers compiled a 63–32 overall record and advanced to the NCAA Tournament three times.

Head coach

Indiana University president

Myles Brand Myles Neal Brand (May 17, 1942 – September 16, 2009) was a philosopher and university administrator who served as the 14th president of the University of Oregon, the 16th president of Indiana University, and the fourth president of the Nation ...

dismissed Bob Knight in September 2000, finding him in violation of a "zero tolerance" policy Brand had previously instituted. Students and alumni protested the Knight firing, and several players threatened to transfer unless assistants John Treloar and Mike Davis were promoted to replace Knight. Brand offered the assistants jobs as 'co coaches' but Treloar declined, deferring to Davis. As such, Davis was named as interim coach on September 12, 2000. Treloar accepted the title of 'Associate Head Coach.' In his first season, Davis led a team featuring

NBA draft The NBA draft is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) annual event, dating back to 1947 BAA draft, 1947, in which the teams in the league can Draft (sports), draft players who declare for the draft and that are Eligibility for the NBA dr ...

picks Kirk Haston and Jared Jeffries to a 21–13 record. On March 21, 2001, Davis was formally named as Indiana's 22nd full-time head coach and the Hoosiers' first African–American head coach. In 2002, the Davis-led Hoosiers followed a 19–11 regular season with a surprise run to the

NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, branded as March Madness, or The Big Dance, is a single-elimination tournament played in the United States to determine the men's college basketball national champion of the NCAA Division I, Di ...

title game. One month later, Indiana rewarded Davis with a contract extension through the 2007–08 season. Coach Davis was unable to maintain similar success in the following years. In a game on December 21, 2002, 6th ranked Indiana took on 16th ranked Kentucky. Prior to the game Davis stated publicly that he "hated Kentucky with a passion" and wanted to win the game "in the worst way." During the game Davis, enraged by a foul not being called, ran onto the court with 2.6 seconds remaining. Davis was subsequently ejected. Indiana trailed only 65–64 when Davis exploded, but Kentucky's Keith Bogans made five of the six ensuing free throws to put the game out of reach and Kentucky went on to win the game 70–64. In a press conference following the game, Mike Davis said, "There's no way I should've acted like that. I can't explain it. I've done something to embarrass my team. ... I cost us the game. I was so emotional. I need to learn and grow from this." The following season, in 2003–04, Indiana's 14–15 record was the school's first losing season in over 35 years. In 2004 'Associate Head Coach' John Treloar left Indiana for a position as an assistant coach at

LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

. The following season, Indiana went 15–14, including a first round home loss in the NIT. In the spring of 2005, Athletic Director Rick Greenspan warned,

While we share this common goal and are both confident that it will be reached, we also know that our record the last two years is not up to the standards to which Indiana is accustomed and to which we aspire. This is why we have set ambitious and achievable goals for next season of competing at a very high level in the
Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...
and successfully competing in the NCAA tournament.

Indiana again failed to meet expectations during the 2005–06 season. By late January 2006, the Hoosiers were at risk of missing the tournament for the third straight year and the calls for Davis' job grew louder. On February 11, 2006, Davis missed a home game against Iowa. Four days later, he resigned effective at the end of the 2006 season. Davis said that he decided to make the announcement before the end of the season to end the distraction that his position's uncertainty had created around the team. The Hoosiers performed better after this announcement and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Indiana lost 90–80 to Gonzaga in the NCAA Tournament on March 18, 2006, ending Mike Davis' tenure as Indiana's head coach. In 2018 Davis admitted that he was not ready to be a head coach at such a large school when he took over for Knight. Speaking on the Big Ten Network's 'A Taste of Coaching,' Davis said, "I wasn't prepared, I knew I wasn't prepared, but I tried to walk out like I was prepared." Davis also said in 2018 that he was now '100 times better' as a coach than he was at Indiana due to his increased coaching experience.

UAB

On April 7, 2006, Davis was hired as the new head coach of the

UAB Blazers The UAB Blazers are the varsity intercollegiate athletic programs that represent the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). The school is one of the fourteen member institutions of the American Athletic Conference and participates in Divisi ...

. Davis replaced Mike Anderson, who left UAB after a successful stint to become the head coach at

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

. The Blazers finished 15–16 in Davis' first season at the helm, earning a 9th seed in the Conference USA tournament and losing to 8th seed Marshall 53–52 in the first round. UAB subsequently failed to qualify for the NCAA men's basketball tournament, ending the Blazers' three-year streak of appearances in the NCAA post-season and causing some to question whether Davis was the right man for the job. Despite several injuries and academic casualties in Davis's second year at UAB, Davis led the Blazers to a 22–9 regular season record and a 2nd-place finish in Conference USA. The Blazers narrowly missed making the NCAA men's basketball tournament and instead were rewarded with an appearance in the NIT. On April 24, 2007, the University Board of Trustees rewarded Davis with a 2-year contract extension. The extended contract ran through and the 2012–13 season featured a base salary that was increased to $625,000 from $600,000 annually. He was also eligible for increased incentives, including $35,000 for taking UAB to the NCAA Tournament, $75,000 each for a Sweet 16 appearance and a Final Four appearance and $100,000 for appearing in the national championship game. The buyout clause in the contract was increased from $500,000 to $625,000. This contract is fully guaranteed. On March 16, 2012, after a 15–16 record (9–7 in Conference USA) Davis was fired as the head basketball coach at UAB due to "poor ticket sales and attendance" as well as waning fan support and a history of disappointing performances in postseason action.

Texas Southern

On August 2, 2012, Davis was named interim head coach of Texas Southern University after the abrupt resignation of Tony Harvey. On October 26, 2012, Davis signed a four-year contract to become the full-time coach at Texas Southern. He was named 2014–2015 SWAC coach of the year. In six seasons, Davis made the NCAA Tournament four times. He left for Detroit Mercy after the end of the 2017–18 season.

Detroit Mercy

On June 13, 2018, Davis was named head coach of Detroit Mercy. On March 7, 2024, Davis and the team parted ways following a 1–31 season.

Head coaching record

Personal

Davis is married to Tamilya Davis (née Floyd). The couple has a son,

Antoine Antoine is a French language, French given name (from the Latin ''Antonius'' meaning 'highly praise-worthy') that is a variant of Danton (name), Danton, Titouan, D'Anton and Antonin. The name is most common in France, Switzerland, Belgium, Canada ...

, who played for his father at Detroit Mercy. Davis is also the father of Mike Davis Jr., who was a member of the UAB men's basketball team, and a daughter, Lateesha. His cousin is

Ronnie McCollum Ronnie Allen McCollum II (born December 28, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. McCollum has had a successful international career, but it was his collegiate career playing for the Centenary Gentlemen basketball, ...

, the 2001 NCAA Division I men's basketball scoring champion and expatriate professional basketball player. Davis is also a devout Christian.

References