Providence Basketball CampHead Coach Keno Davis
On
April 15, 2008, the Keno Davis era began at Providence College. The
36-year-old Davis became the 14th head coach of the College's storied
men's basketball program.
"It is an honor to now be a part of
Providence College basketball and it is a dream come true for me to be
in the BIG EAST," Davis said after being introduced as the new head
coach at the College. "I want to make Providence and the entire state
of Rhode Island excited about college basketball. I think it's at a
tipping point where we can do something special here!"
Davis
came to PC after spending the 2007-08 season as the head coach at Drake
University. Davis, a 1995 graduate of the University of Iowa, was named
the 2008 National Coach of the Year by six organizations, including the
Associated Press, the U.S. Basketball Writers Association and The
Sporting News.
In making the
appointment, Providence College President Reverend Brian Shanley, O.P.
said, "We are very excited to have Keno Davis leading our men's
basketball program. We were looking for someone who could inspire and I
believe he will. Keno talked to us about developing the right kind of
character in his players and as a priest
and a teacher, the thing I care about most with respect to athletics is
not winning, but it's building character. I believe that we have a
coach who will build the character of our student-athletes. And, oh
yes, he will win!"
In
his first season as a head coach, Davis led the Drake Bulldogs to a
28-5 mark, which included a 15-3 record in the Missouri Valley
Conference. His team captured its first MVC regular season title since
1971 and its first ever MVC Tournament title. Drake became the first
MVC school to win both the regular season and league tournament titles
since 2002. For his efforts, he was named the Missouri Valley
Conference Coach of the Year. The Bulldogs also made their first trip
to the NCAA Tournament since 1971. Drake was defeated in the First
Round of the NCAA Tournament by Western Kentucky, 101-99, in overtime.
During the 2008
season, Drake was nationally ranked for a school-record eight
consecutive weeks. The Bulldogs finished ranked 14th in the Associated
Press Poll and 23rd in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. Davis had all
this success in his first season after inheriting a team that was 17-15
in 2007 and lost four starters to graduation. His 2008 squad was picked
to finish ninth in the MVC.
"I believe Keno Davis has the knowledge, passion, commitment and ability to bring Providence College basketball to another
level," Providence College Athletics Director Bob Driscoll said.
"Throughout his career he has demonstrated that he is an excellent
leader and teacher. From the first moment I met Keno, I was impressed
with his competitive nature and his desire to return Friar basketball
to national prominence. His hiring is one of the many steps we have
taken to improve the Friar men's basketball program."
Prior
to being selected as the head coach at Drake, Davis served as an
assistant under his father, Dr. Tom Davis, at Drake from 2003-07. He
began his coaching career in 1995 as an assistant under Bruce Pearl at
Southern Indiana. He left Southern Indiana in 1997 and took an
assistant position under Gary Garner at Southeast Missouri State. He
was at Southeast Missouri State for six seasons.
Although
he never lived in Rhode Island prior to becoming the Friars' head
coach, Davis was no stranger to New England. In fact, he spent much of
his childhood just one hour from the Ocean State as he lived on
Commonwealth Avenue in Newton, Massachusetts adjacent to the Boston
College campus. Davis' father, Tom, served as the head coach of the
Eagles from 1977-82. While living in Massachusetts, Keno Davis grew to
love New England and appreciate college basketball. He also saw the
early days of the BIG EAST and has watched closely as the league has
become basketball powerhouse.
Keno
Davis was exposed to basketball at a very young age as he watched his
father as a head coach. Dr. Tom Davis is one of the winningest coaches
all-time in the NCAA. In 32 seasons as a head coach at Lafayette
(1971-77), Boston College (1977-82), Stanford (1982-86), Iowa (1986-99)
and Drake (2003-07), he registered a 598-355 mark (.628), which
included 18 post-season appearances and 16 20-win seasons. He also was
named the 1987 Associated Press National Coach of the Year. When Keno
earned the same honor in 2007, it marked the first time ever that a
father and son duo had captured the national coach of the year honor.
Keno
Davis has written two books on basketball, "Pressure Defense" which was
published in 1994 and "Camp Success" published in 2004.
Davis and wife, Krista, have one son, Brady, who was born on November 12, 2007.
Coaching
Experience: 2008 - Head Coach, Providence College 2007-08 Head Coach,
Drake University 2003-07 Assistant Coach, Drake University 1997-03
Assistant Coach, Southeast Missouri State 1995-97 Assistant Coach,
Southern Indiana
Coaching
Honors: 2008 - Associated Press National Coach of the Year 2008 - U.S.
Basketball Writers Coach of the Year 2008 - Sporting News Coach of the
Year 2008 - CollegeHoops.net Coach of the Year 2008 - Basketball Times
Coach of the Year 2008 - Hugh Durham Award - Mid Major Coach of the
Year 2008 - Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year
KENO DAVIS COACHING RECORD
YEAR
| SCHOOL | RECORD | PCT | CONF. | REC. | FINISH | TOUR. | POST SEASON |
| 2007-08 | Drake | 28-5 | .848 | 15-3 | 1st | 3-0 | NCAA | 0-1 |
| Career | 1 year | 28-5 | .848 | 15-3 | One Title | 3-0 | | 0-1 |
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING ABOUT KENO DAVIS --
``Keno
Davis is one of the top young up-and-coming coaches in the industry. He
has that combination that makes coaches successful at the highest level
- he gets the most of out his players, is a terrific at evaluating
talent and obviously he's proven - in just one season - that he can
coach. You look at what he did at Drake in recruiting many
of the players and then coaching them to the NCAA tournament in one of
the season's biggest surprises a year ago and it was extremely
impressive." -- FOXSports.com Senior Basketball Writer Jeff Goodman
"I
can't remember a coach who made as big an impact in his `rookie' year
as Keno Davis. But what gets lost in the fuss over how he did as
a first-year head coach is that he was very much a part of building the
Drake program to the point where it could enjoy that level of success.
He didn't just walk in and take over a ready-made team. He helped to
scout, recruit and coach the Drake players who came together in such a
magical season. That's why I voted for him for coach of the year." --
Sporting News' Mike DeCourcy
"He's a young man from a coaching
family who has earned his stripes based on dedication, hard work and
doing the little thing like working various camps. He was never one to
take short cuts. It's very rewarding to see that the net result of his
hard work is getting to coach one of the more storied programs in
college basketball.
By being around his father, Dr. Tom, he knows what it takes to be
successful at a program with great tradition and that has definitely
prepared him for the task ahead." - University of Wisconsin Head Coach
Bo Ryan
"To go in to Drake and be the national coach of the
year in his first year is a tremendous accomplishment. Keno is one of
the brightest young coaches in the country." -- University of Tennessee
Head Coach Bruce Pearl .
