Thomas Robert Davis (born December 3, 1938) is an American former college men's basketball coach. He served as the head coach at

Lafayette College Lafayette College is a private liberal arts college in Easton, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1826 by James Madison Porter and other citizens in Easton, the college first held classes in 1832. The founders voted to name the college after General Laf ...

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

, the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...

, and

Drake University Drake University is a private university in Des Moines, Iowa. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs, including professional programs in business, law, and pharmacy. Drake's law school is among the 25 oldest in the United States. Hi ...

from 1971 to 2007.

Early life

A native of

Ridgeway, Wisconsin Ridgeway is a village in Iowa County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 624 at the 2020 census. The village is adjacent to the Town of Ridgeway. It is part of the Madison Metropolitan Statistical Area. Geography Ridgeway is located ...

, Davis attended the

University of Wisconsin–Platteville University of Wisconsin–Platteville (UW–Platteville) is a public university in Platteville, Wisconsin. Part of the University of Wisconsin System, it offers bachelor's and master's degrees. The university has three colleges that serve over ...

, where he played on the basketball team as a

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the five Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position. Point guards are expected to run t ...

. He was interested in politics, and between his junior and senior years of college, held a congressional internship for Wisconsin state senator

Alexander Wiley Alexander Wiley (May 26, 1884 – October 26, 1967) was an American politician who served four terms in the United States Senate for the state of Wisconsin from 1939 to 1963. When he left the Senate, he was its most senior Republican member. ...

Coaching career

After graduating from UW–Platteville, at the age of 21, Davis took over as head coach at Milledgeville High School in

Milledgeville, Illinois Milledgeville is a village in Carroll County, Illinois, United States. The population of the village was 1,026 at the 2020 census. The town was named for the mill at the edge of the village, which was torn down in 1908. Geography Milledgeville ...

for the 1960–61 school year. He attempted to mimic the martinet coaching style of his own college mentor, John Barth, but concluded that "You have to be yourself. What works for someone else isn't going to work for you just because it worked for him."Dr. Tom's magic elixir: Davis is a basketball coach with a system that works
''The Milwaukee Journal'', March 22, 1982. From 1961 to 1966, Davis was head coach at

Portage High School Portage High School is a public high school in Portage, Indiana that serves grades 9 through 12. The school has been in the area since the 1960s but can be dated back to the 1940s. The school serves the Portage, Indiana area as well as the South ...

Portage, Wisconsin Portage is a city in and the county seat of Columbia County, Wisconsin, Columbia County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 10,581 at the 2020 census making it the largest city in Columbia County. The city is part of the Madison, Wiscon ...

. While there, he faced a dilemma in allotting playing time to his players, most of whom he believed were good enough to warrant it. Davis awarded playing time to all deserving players, which gave rise to his philosophy of constantly pressing and rotating players in an effort to wear down the opposing team. Davis earned a master's degree from the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...

. In 1967, Frank Fellows took over as head coach at the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

, and hired Davis onto his staff.Boylan Recalls Where It All Began
Issue 142: October 2009. While serving as an assistant at

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, Davis earned his doctorate in history.

Lafayette College

Davis began his coaching career at

in 1971. During his six-year tenure at the school, he posted a 116–44 record, advancing to the NIT in 1972 and 1975. Future Maryland head coach

Gary Williams Gary Bruce Williams (born March 4, 1945) is an American university administrator and former college basketball coach. He served as the head coach at the University of Maryland, the Ohio State University, Boston College, and American University. I ...

, who had played as a point guard under Davis at Maryland, served as one of his assistants at Lafayette.

Boston College

In 1977, Davis became the head coach at

. The Eagles compiled a 100–47 record earning two trips to the NCAA Tournament and a trip to the NIT.

Stanford & Iowa

He would accept a position at

before taking over as the head coach at the

in 1986. While at Iowa, he led the Hawkeyes to nine NCAA Tournaments, including a pair of Sweet Sixteen appearances as well as an Elite Eight. The Hawkeyes also made two NIT appearances. He is the winningest coach in the

history. His team was ranked number one during the 1986–87 season. The Hawkeyes won a school record thirty games before eventually being beaten in the Regional Final of the NCAA Tournament by UNLV 84–81. On April 2, 1998, after Iowa lost in the first round of the NIT, Davis announced that he would resign after his contract would expire in the following season. Athletic director

Bob Bowlsby Robert Addison Bowlsby (born January 10, 1952) is an American college athletic administrator. Bowlsby most recently was the fourth commissioner of the Big 12 Conference a position he held from 2012 to 2022. Prior to that position, he served as th ...

notified Davis that he would not renew his contract. In Davis's final season, Iowa advanced to the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA tournament for the first time since

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

Drake University

Davis was named Drake University's 23rd head basketball coach on April 22, 2003. In four short seasons, Davis re-energized a Bulldog program that had not had a winning season since the 1985–86 season. He led Drake to a 17–15 record; including winning the Big Four Series, Drake Regency Challenge, and Sun Bowl Tournament.

Retirement

On March 21, 2007 Davis announced his retirement from college coaching. His son

Keno Davis Keno Emlen Davis (born March 10, 1972) an American basketball coach who is the head coach for the Flint United. He was most recently the men's basketball head coach at Central Michigan University. Davis was previously head coach at Drake Universi ...

took over as head basketball coach at

. Davis’ career included sixteen 20-win seasons, eighteen post season appearances, and he was named

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

National Coach of the Year in 1987. In 2008, he was inducted into the

University of Iowa Athletics Hall of Fame The University of Iowa Athletics Hall of Fame is a sports history museum located in the Roy G. Karro Building in Iowa City, Iowa, U.S. The museum pays tribute to the most legendary and influential Iowa Hawkeye sports heroes. Opened in October 2002 ...

for his success as a coach during his tenure there. He currently lives in the

Iowa City Iowa City, offically the City of Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States. It is the home of the University of Iowa and county seat of Johnson County, at the center of the Iowa City Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the time ...

area with his wife Shari.

Head coaching record

* Iowa's original 1995–96 record was 23–9 (11–7 Big Ten), but the NCAA awarded Iowa a win by forfeit for the January 3, 1996 game at Purdue, originally an 85–61 loss, due to NCAA violations by Purdue.

Notable players coached

* Michael Adams *

B. J. Armstrong Benjamin Roy "B. J." Armstrong Jr. (born September 9, 1967) is an American former professional basketball player. Armstrong won three NBA championships during his career as a point guard for the Chicago Bulls. Early life Armstrong was born in ...

* John Bagley *

Greg Butler Greg Butler may refer to: * Greg Butler (basketball), American basketball player * Greg Butler (swimmer), English swimmer * Greg Butler (visual effects supervisor), American visual effects supervisor See also * Gregg Butler, gridiron football p ...

Ryan Bowen Ryan Cleo Bowen (born November 20, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player who is currently an assistant coach for the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was a 6'9", power forward. College career ...

Matt Bullard Matthew Gordon Bullard (born June 5, 1967) is an American former professional basketball player in the NBA and former color analyst for the Houston Rockets on AT&T SportsNet Southwest. Bullard played 12 years professionally and 11 years in the ...

Ricky Davis Tyree Ricardo Davis (born September 23, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player who played twelve seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for University of Iowa. Biography Davis atten ...

Acie Earl Acie Boyd Earl (born June 23, 1970) is an American former professional basketball player, who appeared in four National Basketball Association (NBA) seasons, as a , center. He also played many seasons in Europe. High school/college Born in P ...

Kevin Gamble Kevin Douglas Gamble (born November 13, 1965) is a retired American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association and currently a scout with the Toronto Raptors. At 6'5" (1.96 m) he played as both a shooting guard and smal ...

Ed Horton Edward C. Horton (born December 17, 1967) is a retired American professional basketball player who was selected by the Washington Bullets in the second round (39th pick overall) of the 1989 NBA draft. He was a 6'8", 230 lb. forward. Horton ...

Les Jepsen Les Burnell Jepsen (born June 24, 1967) is a retired American professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) during the early 1990s.Todd Lichti Todd Samuel Lichti (born January 8, 1967) is an American former professional basketball player. At 6'4" (1.93 m) and 205 lb (93 kg) he played at guard. He was selected with 15th pick in the 1989 NBA draft by the Denver Nuggets where he ...

Brad Lohaus Bradley Allen Lohaus (born September 29, 1964) is an American former professional basketball player who was selected by the Boston Celtics in the second round (45th pick overall) of the 1987 NBA Draft. A 6'11" center-power forward from the Univer ...

Roy Marble Roy Lane Marble, Jr. (December 13, 1966 – September 11, 2015) was an American professional basketball player, 6'6" tall, who played as a swingman (shooting guard/small forward). After playing four seasons at the University of Iowa from 1985 t ...

Russ Millard Russ Dwayne Millard (born March 1, 1973 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa) is an American basketball player who was selected by the Phoenix Suns in the second round (39th pick overall) of the 1996 NBA draft. A 6'8" forward from University of Iowa, College ca ...

* Chris Street *

Adam Emmenecker Adam Cannata Emmenecker (born December 3, 1985) is an American basketball player who completed his college career as a point guard at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa in 2008. During the 2007–08 basketball season, Emmenecker, who had been ...

* Dean Oliver

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Tom 1938 births Living people American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Wisconsin Basketball players from Wisconsin Boston College Eagles men's basketball coaches College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Drake Bulldogs men's basketball coaches Guards (basketball) High school basketball coaches in Illinois High school basketball coaches in Indiana Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball coaches Maryland Terrapins men's basketball coaches Stanford Cardinal men's basketball coaches People from Ridgeway, Wisconsin University of Maryland, College Park alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Wisconsin–Platteville Pioneers men's basketball players