Mike Davis Plans To Wipe The Slate Clean At Detroit Mercy

Photo credit Detroit Mercy Athletics

College Basketball

Mike Davis Plans to Wipe the Slate Clean at Detroit Mercy

Some of us are uncomfortable with the thought of change in our lives, while others embrace it more willingly. There is an ancient proverb that says, ‘When the wind of change blows, some people build walls while others build windmills.’ Mike Davis is the new men’s head coach of the University of Detroit Mercy Titans. The 58-year-old Alabama native has had to embrace change often over the course of his mystifying coaching career.

Davis takes over a Detroit program that was dead last in the Horizon League during the 2017-18 season, with an 8-24 record and a combined 60-99 record over the past five seasons. Davis’ exit from his previous post at Texas Southern (TSU) in Houston, Texas came as somewhat of a surprise. This is considering his impressive 115-89 record over the past six years, including four Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) titles and four appearances in the NCAA Tournament.

The former Indiana head coach led the Hoosiers to the 2002 National title game, as well as three other appearances in the NCAA Tournament during his six-year run in Bloomington, Indiana. Shortly after, college basketball saw Davis head to Alabama-Birmingham (UAB) for another six-year stint. While there, Davis led the Blazers to the 2011 NCAA Tournament with a record of 122-73.

Like Father Like Son

Davis seems to brush aside the peculiarity of his decision to leave Texas Southern for Detroit, just days after his son Antoine was planning to transfer from Houston to play for his father at TSU. His son has since announced he will follow his father and instead transfer to Detroit.

Davis’ Fresh Start

“It was just another good opportunity and chance to compete in another conference,” said Davis.

Not only is Davis wiping the slate clean with a fresh start in the city of Detroit, but he is having to do so with a Titans’ roster that only has three returning players. He has already added four freshmen and two senior transfers. Although Davis has been recruiting for the past 30 years, he admits not having much experience in Michigan.

However, he doesn’t see that as an obstacle moving forward. Davis appears to be more focused on simply getting the best out of the players he has brought in, and preparing them for the upcoming season.

He said, “My focus is really on whenever the conference tournament starts in March.” Davis added, “We have a whole new team so there really is nothing else to focus on other than to get better every day.”

The good news for Davis and his new Detroit squad is that there is nowhere to go but up.

Cue the intro for Eminem’s Lose Yourself…… 

Not Rebuilding

Davis, however, doesn’t see his new job as a program looking to rebuild. On the surface, he looks calm and ready for the Titans to achieve immediate success. When asked what a realistic timeframe was for a successful turnaround in Detroit, he was confident in his response and said, “This year.”

On paper, the task of turning Detroit Mercy into a winner looks to be a few years in the making. Davis’ coaching background, though, gives him the benefit of the doubt. The Titans could a be team to watch out for in the Horizon League during the 2018-19 season. 

 

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Photo credit to Detriot Mercy men’s basketball via Twitter