Davis becomes 1st black coach in IU history

Mike Davis sat in a folding chair Wednesday on the floor of Assembly Hall during his first day as head coach of the men's basketball team. \nHe is the 184th head coach in IU athletics history, and among that group he is unique.\nIt's not that he takes over the school's most visible program. It's not that he wore an "interim" tag before being promoted. It's not that he wears a suit instead of a red sweater. \nIt's race -- the other 183 Hoosier coaches weren't black. Davis is.\nSome knew of the history Davis' hiring was making. Others had no clue. Many were asking the new IU head basketball coach about his background, his roots and his race. But Davis approached making history with the ho-hum, laid-back mentality that reflects his personality. \n"That never crossed my mind," Davis said of his race. "I want to be able to inspire people in every race."\nDavis' background lends itself to inspiration. The 40-year-old has seen his share of problems. \nBorn in Fayette, Ala. -- a town of about 5,000 -- Davis' father died when Davis was 17 years old. Seventeen years later, Davis' 2-year old daughter, Nichole, died. Mix a minority status, a poor upbringing and a speech impediment, and the ingredients for a rough-and-tumble life are obvious. \nDavis can't replace his father or daughter, but his hiring eliminates any question of money, and he said he has continued to work on curing his stuttering problem. Davis said stuttering, and not any other factors hindering him, is his highest hurdle to clear.\n"I'd do anything not to speak in front of people," he said. "I'd run 100 miles. I didn't realize until I got older I can improve, and I can work on it. I feel like I can do it. I've worked hard before in other areas of my life."\nDavis' determination led to his history-making day Wednesday. But he had help, he said. He climbed his way to the top of the IU basketball program with the help of his pastor and God, he said. \n"Mike Davis is a good man. He's a Christian man, and a man of his word," Eastern Star Church Pastor Jeffrey Johnson said. "He can handle pressure. He can handle adversity. He's a man you have to respect."\nThe seven-member committee in charge of hiring IU's next full-time coach did. \nBut while many focused on the future of IU basketball and Davis' plans, many others streamed toward Johnson, Davis'family and the Hoosiersplayers -- the people closest to Davis -- to grasp the emotions involving Davis' hiring.\nFreshman guard A.J. Moye called the hiring "a step in the right direction." He said he thought Davis might open doors for more black coaches to coach at IU.\nMembers of the committee, including Vice President for Administration Terry Clapacs and incoming athletics director Michael McNeely, said Davis' race had nothing to do with whether he would be hired as IU's full-time coach. But they said they were pleased with the decision.\n"It's sad it took so long (for IU to hire a black coach)," Clapacs said. "On the other hand, it's a happy day at Indiana University now that is has occurred."\nDavis' wife, Tamilya, agreed. She said that when Davis was named interim head coach in September, she wasn't aware he could become the only black head coach at IU. She said neither she nor Mike feared race would play a part in the committee's selection. \n"I'm pretty proud," she said. "I thought (race) would be the last thing they would look at."\nDavis' son, Mike Davis Jr., said his dad being the first black coach crossed his mind, and he heard about it at Perry Meridian High School in Indianapolis. Like his mother, he said he didn't think race would affect his father's future.\nJunior center Kirk Haston agreed with Tamilya and Mike Jr., and said he wasn't aware of IU's lack of a black head coach until someone mentioned it yesterday. Other players said they were surprised and excited about the history being made. \n"I never thought Indiana would ever have a black coach," freshman center George Leach said. \nDavis recruited Leach, Moye and freshman forward Jared Jeffries as an assistant coach under former coach Bob Knight and was largely responsible for bringing Jeffries, a McDonald's All-American and Indiana Mr. Basketball, to IU. \n"(IU is) a very good university, but it had never broken that barrier, so for him to do that, it's great," Jeffries said. \nJeffries usually attracts reporters, but after he, Leach and Moye answered their share of questions and left the Assembly Hall floor, reporters still strolled toward Johnson, inquiring to know even more about the history behind IU's new basketball coach. And Johnson kept answering, praising Davis and the University.\n"It says a lot for the University," Johnson said. "For IU to say, 'You know what, we don't care what color somebody is. We don't care what background they have. If they're the right person for the job, we want to choose them."