TSU hires former Indiana, UAB basketball coach Davis

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Texas Southern athletic director Charles McClelland said he would explore all possible options for an interim men's basketball coach when Tony Harvey resigned for personal reasons on July 3.

Few observers, if any, expected those options would include a coach with a Final Four on his résumé.

But that's what TSU ended up with Thursday when Mike Davis, who led Indiana to the 2002 national championship game one season after replacing legendary coach Bobby Knight and guided UAB to four consecutive postseason appearances from 2007-11, accepted an offer to become the Tigers' interim coach.

Davis, 51, will be formally introduced at a news conference Friday at the Sheraton Suites near the Galleria.

"I'm still pinching myself," McClelland said. "The reality of being able to bring that level of (coaching) talent to Texas Southern is still overwhelming to me as an athletic director."

Davis could not be immediately reached for comment Thursday night.

UAB coach Mike Davis talks to Aaron Johnson #1 during the game. UAB coach Mike Davis talks to Aaron Johnson #1 during the game. Photo: Gregory Shamus, Getty Images Photo: Gregory Shamus, Getty Images Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close TSU hires former Indiana, UAB basketball coach Davis 1 / 5 Back to Gallery

Davis, who is 237-152 in 12 seasons as a head coach, was at UAB the last six years before being fired in March on the heels of a 15-16 finish that saw the Blazers miss the postseason for the first time since 20007. UAB advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2011, exiting in the first round, after three straight trips to the National Invitation Tournament.

Followed Knight

Before arriving at UAB in 2006, Davis spent nine years at Indiana, including the last six as head coach. He started as an assistant under Knight in 1997 and was elevated to the top spot under a cloud of controversy when his boss was terminated in September 2000.

Davis led the Hoosiers to four NCAA Tournament appearances in six seasons, including a loss to Maryland in the 2002 national championship game. After lackluster campaigns in 2003-04 and 2004-05, he announced in February 2006 that he would resign at the end of that season, finishing with a 115-79 record at Indiana.

McClelland said Davis was one of several candidates he reached out to shortly after Harvey resigned and that Davis agreed to come on board Thursday.

Wanted permanently

Davis will remain interim coach for the moment because McClelland said "the process called for an interim coach," considering the timing of Harvey's abrupt resignation.

McClelland said the school will try to retain Davis for the long term.

"We know that we got a steal when we got coach Davis, and we plan on keeping him," McClelland said.

Davis inherits a program that is on solid footing. Harvey went 58-72 in four years, leading the Tigers to winning seasons in two of the last three years. His best campaign came in 2010-11, when TSU went 19-13, won the Southwestern Athletic Conference regular-season title and earned a spot in the NIT.

McClelland said the addition of Davis coupled with the program's previous success should make it easier for TSU to attract more recruits.

"How many teams ... can boast that they have a Final Four coach who coached in the national championship game?" McClelland said. "When you go out and talk to recruits, you tell them that you have someone who has been there and who has coached their way to the highest point in collegiate basketball."

ronnie.turner@chron.com