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 college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Easton, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1826 by James Madison Porter and other citizens in Easton, the college first held classes in 18 ...

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

, the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or 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 organized int ...

, and

Drake University Drake University is a private university in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. The University offers over 140 undergraduate and graduate programs, including professional programs in business, education, Legal education, law, and pharmacy. Drake U ...

from 1971 to 2007.

Early life

A native of

Ridgeway, Wisconsin Ridgeway is a village in Iowa County, Wisconsin, Iowa County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 624 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The village is adjacent to the Ridgeway (town), Wisconsin, Town of Ridgeway. It is part ...

, Davis attended the

University of Wisconsin–Platteville University of Wisconsin–Platteville (UW–Platteville or UW Platt) is a public university in Platteville, Wisconsin, United States. Part of the University of Wisconsin System, it offers bachelor's degree, bachelor's and Master's degree, master ...

, 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 Basketball positions, five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position and is usually the shortest player ...

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

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. History The town originated from a gristmill that was built in 1834, of which the town got its name. When the Chi ...

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 in

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

. 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 The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

. 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, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

, 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 U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, Davis earned his doctorate in history.

Lafayette College

Davis began his collegiate 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. ...

, 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 three Sweet Sixteen appearances as well as an Elite Eight. The Hawkeyes never lost a first round game in the NCAA tournament under Coach Davis. The Hawkeyes also made two NIT appearances. 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 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 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

. He left Iowa as the winningest basketball coach in

history.

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 worked last season as a college basketball color analyst, and as a college scouting consultant for the Indiana Pacers. He was most recently the men's basketball head coach at ...

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 not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

National Coach of the Year in 1987. In 2008, he was inducted into the University of Iowa Athletics Hall of Fame for his success as a coach during his tenure there. He currently lives in the

Iowa City Iowa City is the largest city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. At the time of the 2020 census the population was 74,828, making it the state's fifth-most populous city. The Iowa City metropolitan area, which enc ...

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 * John Bagley * Greg Butler *

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 caree ...

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 the Iowa Hawkeyes. Biography Davis atte ...

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 an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association and currently a scout with the Toronto Raptors. At , he played as both a shooting guard and small forward. ...

* Ed Horton * Les Jepsen *

Todd Lichti Todd Samuel Lichti (born January 8, 1967) is an American former professional basketball player. At and he played at guard (basketball), guard. He was selected with 15th pick in the 1989 NBA draft by the Denver Nuggets where he stayed for 4 yea ...

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 Univ ...

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. After playing four seasons at the University of Iowa from 1985 to 1989, Marble left the college ...

* Russ Millard * Chris Street * Adam Emmenecker * 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 20th-century American sportsmen