2008 Woodie Awards
Providence Basketball Gambles on Keno
Dan Ollquist '10 and Ryan Holt '09
Issue date: 4/17/08 Section: Sports
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The past few weeks have been riddled with heartbreak for Friar fans. First, alum Jim Larranaga turned down the opportunity to coach PC and just a week later, UMass head coach Travis Ford also said no to Providence Athletic Director Bob Driscoll. Although both candidates would have been excellent additions, Davis seems right for the job.
After inheriting a struggling Drake program, he led the Bulldogs to a 28-5 record, a Missouri Valley Conference regular season and tournament championship, several weeks in the Top 25, and a five-seed in the NCAA Tournament, and as an added bonus he was named the AP national coach of the year. For a school that had been rejected by numerous coaches, it was quite an accomplishment for Driscoll and the athletic department to reel in the national coach of the year.
"To get the national coach of the year is a tremendous feat for PC," said Providence College President, Fr. Brian Shanley. "When we talked to him, we [Shanley and Driscoll] knew we had the right hire."
Davis' Cinderella season at Drake was unfortunately cut short by a miraculous overtime shot in the first round of the tournament but that doesn't diminish the tremendous work of Davis in his first year at the helm. The Bulldogs rattled off 21 straight wins, reached their first NCAA tournament since 1971, and received incredible national media attention- something that no Drake team has ever had.
Davis is already known around the country as a great motivator. With two walk-ons in the starting lineup, Drake was picked by most experts to finish ninth in the MVC this season. Yet with the emergence of MVC player of the year Arron Emmenecker, Davis and the Bulldogs ran away with the MVC title.
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