Quick Facts
SagittariusBiography
Thomas "Dr. Tom" Davis (born December 3, 1938) is an American former college men's basketball coach. He served as the head coach at Lafayette College, Boston College, Stanford University, the University of Iowa, and Drake University from 1971 to 2007.
Early life
A native of Ridgeway, Wisconsin, Davis attended the University of Wisconsin–Platteville, where he played on the basketball team as a point guard. He was interested in politics, and between his junior and senior years of college, held a congressional internship for Wisconsin state senator Alexander Wiley.
Coaching career
After graduating from UW–Platteville, at the age of 21, Davis took over as head coach in Milledgeville, Illinois. He attempted to mimic the martinet coaching style of his own college mentor, John Barth, but concluded that "You have to be yourself. What works for someone else isn't going to work for you just because it worked for him."
Davis then became head coach at Portage High School in Portage, Wisconsin. While there, he faced a dilemma in allotting playing time to his players, most of whom he believed were good enough to warrant it. Davis awarded playing time to all deserving players, which gave rise to his philosophy of constantly pressing and rotating players in an effort to wear down the opposing team.
Davis earned a master's degree from University of Wisconsin. In 1967, Frank Fellows took over as head coach at the University of Maryland, and hired Davis onto his staff. While serving as an assistant at Maryland, Davis earned his doctorate in history.
Lafayette College
Davis began his coaching career at Lafayette College in 1971. During his six-year tenure at the school, he posted a 116-44 record, advancing to the NIT in 1972 and 1975. Future Maryland head coach Gary Williams, who had played as a point guard under Davis at Maryland, served as one of his assistants at Lafayette.
Boston College
In 1977, Davis became the head coach at Boston College. The Eagles compiled a 100-47 record earning two trips to the NCAA Tournament and a trip to the NIT.
Stanford & Iowa
He would accept a position at Stanford University before taking over as the head coach at the University of Iowa in 1986. While at Iowa, he led the Hawkeyes to nine NCAA Tournaments, including a pair of Sweet Sixteen appearances as well as an Elite Eight. The Hawkeyes also made two NIT appearances. He is the winningest coach in the University of Iowa history.
His team was ranked number one during the 1986-87 season. The Hawkeyes won a school record thirty games before eventually being beaten in the Regional Final of the NCAA Tournament by UNLV 84-81. Following the 1998-99 season, Iowa chose not to renew Davis’ contract and he temporarily retired from coaching.
Drake University
Davis was named Drake University's 23rd head basketball coach on April 22, 2003. In four short seasons, Davis re-energized a Bulldog program that had not had a winning season since the 1985-86 season. He led Drake to a 17-15 record; including winning the Big Four Series, Drake Regency Challenge, and Sun Bowl Tournament.
Retirement
On March 21, 2007 Davis announced his retirement from college coaching. His son Keno Davis took over as head basketball coach at Drake University. Davis’ career included sixteen 20-win seasons, eighteen post season appearances, and he was named Associated Press National Coach of the Year in 1987. In 2008 he was inducted into the University of Iowa Athletics Hall of Fame for his success as a coach during his tenure there. He currently lives in the Iowa City area with his wife Shari.
Head coaching record
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lafayette Leopards (Middle Atlantic/East Coast) (1971–1977) | |||||||||
| 1971–72 | Lafayette | 21–6 | 7–3 | T–2nd (Western) | NIT 2nd Round | ||||
| 1972–73 | Lafayette | 16–10 | 7–3 | 1st (Western) | |||||
| 1973–74 | Lafayette | 17–9 | 7–3 | T–2nd (Western) | |||||
| 1974–75 | Lafayette | 22–6 | 7–1 | 1st (Western) | NIT 1st Round | ||||
| 1975–76 | Lafayette | 19–7 | 9–1 | 1st (Western) | |||||
| 1976–77 | Lafayette | 21–6 | 9–1 | 1st (West) | |||||
| Lafayette: | 116–44 | 46–12 | |||||||
| Boston College Eagles (Independent/Big East) (1977–1982) | |||||||||
| 1977–78 | Boston College | 15–11 | |||||||
| 1978–79 | Boston College | 21–9 | |||||||
| 1979–80 | Boston College | 19–10 | 2–4 | 5th | NIT 2nd Round | ||||
| 1980–81 | Boston College | 23–7 | 10–4 | 1st | NCAA Sweet 16 | ||||
| 1981–82 | Boston College | 22–10 | 8–6 | 4th | NCAA Elite Eight | ||||
| Boston College: | 100–47 | 20–14 | |||||||
| Stanford Cardinal (Pacific-10 Conference) (1982–1986) | |||||||||
| 1982–83 | Stanford | 14–14 | 6–12 | 8th | |||||
| 1983–84 | Stanford | 19–12 | 8–10 | T-5th | |||||
| 1984–85 | Stanford | 11–17 | 3–15 | 10th | |||||
| 1985–86 | Stanford | 14–16 | 8–10 | T-8th | |||||
| Stanford: | 58–59 | 25–47 | |||||||
| Iowa Hawkeyes (Big Ten Conference) (1986–1999) | |||||||||
| 1986–87 | Iowa | 30–5 | 14–4 | 3rd | NCAA Elite Eight | ||||
| 1987–88 | Iowa | 24–10 | 12–6 | 3rd | NCAA Sweet 16 | ||||
| 1988–89 | Iowa | 23–10 | 10–8 | 4th | NCAA 2nd Round | ||||
| 1989–90 | Iowa | 12–16 | 4–14 | T-8th | |||||
| 1990–91 | Iowa | 21–11 | 9–9 | T-5th | NCAA 2nd Round | ||||
| 1991–92 | Iowa | 19–11 | 10–8 | 5th | NCAA 2nd Round | ||||
| 1992–93 | Iowa | 23–9 | 11–7 | T-3rd | NCAA 2nd Round | ||||
| 1993–94 | Iowa | 11–16 | 5–13 | T-9th | |||||
| 1994–95 | Iowa | 21–12 | 9–9 | T-7th | NIT 3rd Round | ||||
| 1995–96 | Iowa | 23–9 | 11–7 | 4th | NCAA 2nd Round | ||||
| 1996–97 | Iowa | 22–10 | 12–6 | T-2nd | NCAA 2nd Round | ||||
| 1997–98 | Iowa | 20–11 | 9–7 | T-5th | NIT 1st Round | ||||
| 1998–99 | Iowa | 20–10 | 9–7 | T-3rd | NCAA Sweet 16 | ||||
| Iowa: | 269–140 | 125–105 | |||||||
| Drake Bulldogs (Missouri Valley Conference) (2003–2007) | |||||||||
| 2003–04 | Drake | 12–16 | 7–11 | T–6th | |||||
| 2004–05 | Drake | 13–16 | 7–11 | 7th | |||||
| 2005–06 | Drake | 12–19 | 5–13 | T–7th | |||||
| 2006–07 | Drake | 17–15 | 6–12 | T–7th | |||||
| Drake: | 54–66 | 25–47 | |||||||
| Total: | 598-355 | ||||||||
National champion Postseason invitational champion | |||||||||
Notable players coached
- Michael Adams
- B. J. Armstrong
- John Bagley
- Greg Butler
- Ryan Bowen
- Matt Bullard
- Ricky Davis
- Acie Earl
- Kevin Gamble
- Ed Horton
- Jacob Jaacks
- Les Jepsen
- Todd Lichti
- Brad Lohaus
- Roy Marble
- Russ Millard
- Chris Street
- Adam Emmenecker
- Dean Oliver