Assistant coach resigns

Men's basketball coach Mike Davis announced assistant coach Ben McDonald's resignation in order to pursue other opportunities, Wednesday.\n"Ben has made some key contributions to the Indiana program over the last three seasons," Davis said. "We appreciate his efforts and wish him the best in the future."\nMcDonald, an eight-year professional basketball veteran, including three NBA seasons, worked with IU's "big men" and coordinated individual workout plans for each of the Hoosiers. \nHe is one of University of California-Irvine's all-time leading scorers, as he played 114 consecutive games at UC-Irvine and was elected to the school's hall of fame.\nAfter college, McDonald spent time in the NBA with Cleveland (1986) and Golden State (1986-89) and played competively overseas.\nMcDonald's resignation marks yet another recent shake-up among the IU coaching staff. Last season, Davis added assistant coach Thad Fitzpatrick to his staff. Fitzpatrick, the former high school coach of incoming freshman forward D.J. White, served as an assistant coach at Wyoming, Miami, Fla., and Alabama before becoming the assistant principal and head coach at Hillcrest High School in Tuscaloosa, Ala. \nFormer Hoosier Dane Fife returned to IU's bench following a short stint in the CBA last year, as Davis named the former Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year an administrative assistant on his staff.\nDavis' top assistant, John Treloar, has made his intentions of becoming a head coach known and interviewed with Southern Mississippi and Southern Methodist this past offseason. Treloar, a former head coach in the CBA, was passed over for both jobs and will be sitting alongside Davis during the 2004-2005 season in the staff's attempts to return the Hoosiers to the NCAA Tournament.