| | By Andy Katz
ESPN.com
Pat Knight got a job as an assistant at Akron, Bob Knight is no longer the lead story on sports pages, and the General's loyal secretary Mary Ann Davis has departed the Indiana basketball office.
Finally, for the first time since Knight was fired Sept. 10, interim coach Mike Davis is completely in charge of the Indiana program.
And Davis is determined to make a lasting impression, no matter how long his tenure lasts.
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“ |
My
point to the families was that you're playing for
Indiana, one of the top-five programs in
basketball, so why wouldn't you come here,
regardless of who is coaching here. ” |
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— Mike Davis,
Indiana interim coach |
In the past few weeks, Davis filled the Hoosiers' recruiting needs, securing three recruits even though he cannot give a guarantee that he will be the head coach when they matriculate next fall.
Davis shored up a commitment from Huntington North High (Ind.) forward Sean Kline, who committed under Knight's watch in June.
Then, on his own, Davis used his southern roots to get a commitment from point guard Donald Perry of McCall High in Tallulah, La.
Meanwhile, Iowa Western Junior College forward Kei Madison committed to Davis, though not necessarily Indiana. Unlike Kline and Perry, Madison won't sign in November, but rather wait to see where Davis lands next spring.
"My point to the families was that you're playing for Indiana, one of the top-five programs in basketball, so why wouldn't you come here, regardless of who is coaching here," Davis said. "We had great visits with the families."
If Davis gets the IU job full-time next season, then Madison said he would go to Indiana. If Davis gets a head coaching job or an assistant's job at another high-profile school, Madison said he'll follow Davis out of Bloomington.
As for Perry, he on the summer team New Orleans Jazz, but was overshadowed by higher-profile point Maurice Williams (Murrah High/Jackson, Miss.). Perry canceled a visit to Saint Louis to commit to Indiana. Finding Perry on Williams' team was akin to Davis' catch of Jeffrey Newton two years ago when he was the understudy to Donnell Harvey on the summer traveling team Atlanta Celtics.
Technically, the Hoosiers are out of scholarships with the commitments of Kline and Perry. But Madison is better than both and would get a scholarship through some form of attrition on the present squad.
"The team we put on the floor next year could beat anyone," Davis said. "We can matchup with anyone at any position."
If McDonald's all-American Jared Jeffries stays for his sophomore season, rather than declaring for the NBA draft, the Hoosiers would potentially have a frontline of Jeffries, junior Kirk Haston, Madison, Kline, Newton and sophomore George Leach for the 2001-02 season. The backcourt would likely consist of Perry, sophomore Andre Owens, freshman A.J. Moye, sophomore Kyle Hornsby and junior Dane Fife. The only loss so far with Davis in charge came last week when former walk-on Tom Geyer quit the program.
While Davis is securing commitments for 2001-02, he's also close to nailing down one for two years down the road from Chadd Moore, a junior point guard at Lee High in Huntsville, Ala. Moore and Perry could play together in two years, or spell each other on a team that would be hard to press.
"There's no question that Indiana can be really good if everyone stays," Davis said. "Jared said he would stay in the right situation. But he wants to wait and see what they (the Hoosier administration) do."
Jeffries will like what Davis is doing next week. He'll open practice by unveiling a new offense, scrapping Knight's motion system for one focusing on a 1-4 set to get the ball the Hoosiers' best scorers inside -- Jeffries and, or, Haston. And, Davis will actually play some zone, a break from Knight's policy of almost always playing man-to-man.
"I coached in the CBA for five years and the one thing that they do a lot in professional ball is take advantage of mismatches," said Davis, who along with associate interim coach John Treloar spent a few days last week observing the Miami Heat's practice.
"We want to get the ball to people who can do something with it, and force them to help out on the other guys," Davis said. "That means a guy like Fife only has to worry about shooting the ball and not cutting and handling it as much. Kyle Hornsby is (another) catch-and-shoot guy, and that's what we'll have him do. Newton can be a slasher and rebounder."
The onus will be on Jeffries and Haston to be better passers out of the post. If they get double-teamed, they can't open up shots for Fife and Hornsby if they don't get them the ball in position to shoot.
With A.J. Guyton and Michael Lewis gone, ballhandling is also a concern. Someone has to get the ball up court to start the offense and get the ball into Jeffries and/or Haston. That responsibility falls on Moye and Owens, a pair of freshmen who simply have to get the ball across court, avoid traps and jump start the offense.
Scoring isn't a necessity for these two. Fife, who was a big-time scorer in high school, should in theory flourish in his return of being simply a shooter, instead of a screener and defender in his first two years in Bloomington.
Davis focused the preseason conditioning on defensive work to get the Hoosiers to be tougher defensively than they were a year ago. He said he hasn't spoken to Knight since he accepted the job Sept. 12 with Knight's blessing. But he said he knows he'll hear from him soon.
Davis doesn't need to worry. Knight shouldn't worry yet. The program seems to be in good hands with Davis grabbing everyone's attention, the returnees at Indiana and the ones who are coming in the next few years.
Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com. | |
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