Davis gets praise for success

SACRAMENTO - IU coach Mike Davis saw the highlights from IU\'s win Thursday night on Sportscenter, brief as they might have been. And he also heard what the anchor had to say.\n\"She said that my critics can leave me alone now because I\'ve won a game in the NCAA (Tournament),\" Davis said, smiling.\nSeveral people are saying that same thing in Sacramento this weekend, and that might include some Hoosier fans who still might not believe Davis is the best man to coach IU. With two regular seasons gone and one first round tournament loss, Davis said he felt the pressure Thursday night, probably the same pressure he has felt everyday since he was given the job at an interim level in September 2000.\nNow, with a chance to take the Hoosiers to the Sweet Sixteen in front of him tonight when IU takes on UNC-Wilmington, Davis might be feeling some of the pressure relent. Either way, he will just keep doing what he has been doing.\n\"There\'s pressure all the time. Sometimes it\'s fair, sometimes it\'s not,\" Davis said Friday afternoon. \"I never thought that Indiana would really hire me if we didn\'t have a great year (in 2000-2001).\"\nDavis was hired, and with sophomore Jared Jeffries leading the way, the expectations began to rise, which is normal at a school that has five national title banners hanging at Assembly Hall.\nUNC-W coach Jerry Wainwright said he doesn\'t know Davis very well, but he can only imagine what Davis must go through in order to replace Bob Knight.\n\"A lot of pressure is self-induced. I heard Coach Davis say that he feels himself try to hard to prove certain things,\" Wainwright said. \"What Coach Davis has to do and is doing right now is one of the most difficult things to do in our profession. His is a unique situation.\"\nDavis has responded by lending his personality to his team. A four-time winner of the Hustle award in his four years as a player at Alabama, Davis prefers defense to scoring. He doesn\'t mind a whole lot of hustle either.\nIn trying to get through his first season, he taught his players what he knows best.\n\"As a player I was a defender. The thing I wanted to do was instill my attitude and personality into the team,\" Davis said. \"I know I may not look like or sound like a very aggressive guy, but I am on the basketball court.\"\nAt the same time, Davis has kept the pressure off his team. \"Our team that goes out and plays everyday is a reflection of him. I think that\'s why he puts so much pride in us playing hard and competing every game,\" Jeffries said. \"People expect that if you\'re going to bring in another coach he has to do the same (as Knight). \n\"I think Coach Davis did a great job of accepting that role and pushing us to be the best players that we can be. The pressure that he feels, he does a really job of trying to defer it off the team.\" It is impossible to have won three national titles in two years. Davis isn\'t too worried about history, but he does want to win now and with his teams playing his game. The Hoosiers are doing that, IU is winning and opposing coaches, perhaps the best critics of basketball coaches, are impressed.\n\"I know one thing- his team is very well coached and his team seems to play together and that\'s a tribute to whatever he\'s doing,\" Wainwright said.\nA new Newton\nDavis has been very pleased with the play of junior Jeff Newton since the middle of the season. Before the win at Penn State Jan. 23, Davis challenged Newton to forget about points and just play with energy. Newton has done just that.\n\"He\'s playing with a lot of energy. He\'s improved his work habits over the past month and a half,\" Davis said. \"He\'s the type of player that he\'s a quiet kid so you tend to overlook him. I don\'t think Utah had an answer for him.\"\nDavis can only wonder where the Hoosiers would be if Newton had played so well all year. Davis thinks he will find out next year. \"I think next year he\'s going to be one of the best players in the Big Ten,\" Davis said. \"He\'s going to stay in Bloomington this summer and he\'s ready to be a good basketball player.\"\nRandom numbers\nUNCW has won five straight and 11 of its last 13. Thursday night was the Seahawks first win against a ranked opponent ever. UNCW is now 1-21 all-time against ranked teams. Of the Hoosiers\'current players, Jeff Newton is the all-time leading scorer in the NCAA Tournament with 35 points. He also leads them with 16 career rebounds and five career blocks. This will be the second meeting between the two teams. IU beat UNC-W 73-72 in the Indiana Classic in 1986. The Hoosiers are holding teams to just 61.8 points per game, their best such number since 1983-1984, when IU held teams to 59.1 points per game. Senior Jarrad Odle has scored the Hoosiers\'first basket in 11 of the 18 games he has started this season.