First African-American men’s basketball coach at Indiana University
When former Alabama player Mike Davis joined Bob Knight’s coaching staff at IU in 1997, he was as new to Hoosier basketball fans as Assembly Hall was to him. That changed three years later when Knight was fired as IU’s coach and Davis was chosen to succeed him. That made Mike Davis IU’s first African American head basketball coach. The Hoosiers ended Davis’ first season with a 21-13 record, which was followed the next year by a run to the national championship game. The Hoosiers in the 2002 NCAA tournament stunned the college basketball world with a 74-73 upset of No. 1 Duke in the Sweet Sixteen. Two more wins put the team in the national championship game, where Maryland prevailed, 64-52. After recording 69 wins and 54 losses during the next three years, Davis was fired at IU’s head coach. He remained in coaching at Alabama Birmingham, then Texas Southern and the University of Detroit Mercy.