Davis' words stir controversy

When Christmas break began, the Hoosiers sat at 6-2 and were coming off of two consecutive wins in their first two home games of the season. IU was headed to Miami to take on the Hurricanes and escape the cold of the Midwest.\nThings change, and they did for the Hoosiers over the last three weeks. What IU men's basketball coach Mike Davis was doing in the courtroom began to receive more attention than wins and losses.\nA blowout loss to Kentucky at the RCA Dome Dec. 22 followed a disappointing loss to the undefeated Miami Hurricanes. Finally, after beating Eastern Washington, IU lost to Butler in the finals of the Ameritech Hoosier Classic at Conseco Fieldhouse Dec. 29.\nBy the time the Hoosiers opened the Big Ten season with a win at Northwestern Jan. 2, the games were taking a backseat to Davis' words.\nAfter the 66-64 loss to Butler, Davis criticized the officiating, bringing a $10,000 fine from the Big Ten. In the final minutes of the game, Davis was called for a technical foul. During the press conference following the game, Davis claimed, "we get hosed down everywhere we freaking go in clutch situations, you'll see."\nPrior to the Butler loss, the Hoosiers' coach drew heat after he said on his weekly radio show before the Wildcat loss that he hates Kentucky. Davis said the comment was misinterpreted, but this would be the least of his problems.\nA deposition he gave in a case involving former assistant coach Ron Felling and former IU coach Bob Knight was released last week.\nDavis was present when Knight fired Felling. Felling is suing Knight for wrongful termination which came a day after the Hoosiers beat Notre Dame in December of 1999. The deposition was given Oct. 23, 2001 at the Monroe County Courthouse in Bloomington. The following information is from the deposition obtained by WTHR-13 in Indianapolis.\nFelling's lawyer, William C. Potter, did most of the questioning. Knight's lawyer, Russell Yates, was also present. University Attorney Ellen Boshkoff represented IU.\nPotter asked Davis about a number of things. Davis said he has not talked to Knight since the day before Davis accepted the interim job at IU in Sept. 2000.\nDavis was also asked about Knight's reputation for "violent outbursts."\n"I mean, if we were sitting here now, and if you said something that he didn't like, he would go off, scream and yell and curse at you," Davis said in the deposition. "I mean all the coaches and people, I mean it didn't matter who it was."\nWhen Potter asked Davis if he would describe Knight as a bully, Davis said "yes."\nAlso, Davis questioned how helpful Knight had been when Davis was pursuing a head coaching job at Tulane a few years ago. Davis wanted to coach in the South, but Knight thought otherwise.\n"I said I wanted it because I'm from the South," Davis said. He recalled that Knight responded with an expletive, dismissing Davis' interest and claiming that "it's a bad job." \nAs far as the incident with Felling was concerned, Davis said he was present with assistant coach John Treloar, assistant coach Pat Knight and Knight. Felling had been on the phone with former IU player and assistant coach as well as current Bowling Green coach Dan Dakich.\n"Coach immediately told us 'you guys won't believe what I heard (Felling) say over the phone to Dan Dakich," Davis recalled. "He told us what he heard, and he said, 'Mike, he was talking about you too.' Then when he said that, I just kind of dropped my head and really didn't pay attention after that part of it.\n"They went back and forth. (Knight) was saying what he overheard (Felling) say, and (Felling) would say, well, 'I didn't say that.' And then (Knight) would say yes, (Felling) did and that's when Coach Felling went up against the TV, and the tapes flew everywhere."\nFinally, Davis said Knight has tried to undermine the IU basketball program since he was fired.\n"It's all hearsay," Davis said. "People I've recruited, he's called people around them for them not to come and play for me. I've also heard he convinced Kirk Haston to come out early."\nIn the end, Davis and the Hoosiers seem focused on basketball. Since the fine and the release of the deposition, IU has beaten Northwestern and Penn State. Junior guard Tom Coverdale said the issues surrounding the team haven't been a problem.\n"We don't worry about that stuff," Coverdale said.