The unofficial online home for fans of the UAB Blazers. Part of Collegiate Sports Nation (CSN).

I don't think Davis is a bad coach necessarily, but it doesn't seem like he's a coach who is capable of building a team that he will ever be able to take any further than he's already taken us. If he were to stay I think there would be more instances similar to last year when he overachieves with certain teams but there will also be instances where he underachieves with more talented teams, i.e. the final year with Vaden and Delaney. I guess to sum it up, I think a year like last year and a year like this year would be considered the outliers of a Davis coached UAB team. The norm would be more like an NIT bid at the end of the season. Some fans may be ok with an NIT caliber team pretty much every season with an outside shot of making the NCAA Tournament. If so, you probably like Davis. Other fans believe that we should be in the NCAA Tournament at least once out of every 3-4 years and occasionally have a run of tournament appearances. Personally, I fall into the latter category so I believe it's time we move on.

Honestly, I don't know how any of us can say what UAB should be achieving in basketball right now. Ever since we finally had to move on from Murry, our experience with the NCAA tourney has been fighting to get just on the right side of the bubble (yes, even in the very few Anderson years for you youngsters and those with short memories). Meanwhile, the power brokers and media have been on a successful crusade to expand the BCS into college basketball by marginalizing non-Big6 conferences and drilling terms like "mid-major" into the heads of spots fans everywhere.

Point being that if you are going to insist that we not settle for less than making the postseason every year and comfortably making the NCAA 3 out of 4, I suggest you step back and ask if that's even possible in today's world. If so, who at our level has done it? Teams like Memphis and Gonzaga followed a unique model of being so completely dominate that fans, analysts, and the selection committee no longer really consider them at our level. Face it, we have never been THAT dominant in basketball (no shame in that, really, as the teams who have been since 1978 can be counted on one hand...and no program has achieved that level every year since then).

There are plenty of reasons Mike Davis could lose his job, and plenty that argue he probably won't this year. But none of us knows if there even is a middle ground between what Cincy did in CUSA up to 2006 and what Memphis has (mostly) done since. I mean, 22 wins last year plus the regular season title and the nation howled when we barely got invited. To achieve what some of you are demanding as the standard would be, what, 25 wins at least? Every year? It's just a different reality now.

But at least we're not in the Sunbelt...

Oh, and I personally think Davis' downfall is that he wears his emotions on his sleeve and he takes the "father figure" philosophy too far. When I first got married someone told me you can't be a husband and a therapist...the two roles are incompatible. Similarly, I think Davis gets so close to his players that he struggles to be the "coach" when it's called for. The team takes on Davis' personal mental block regarding Memphis and during the postseason because he can't hide it.

(02-19-2012 05:42 PM)UAB Band Dad Wrote:  It's going to go one of two ways, and none of us know which yet. Either he is let go for cause, and there is stuff I have heard that if accurate would support that if the administration chooses to go that route, or he coaches one more year so we don't have to pay a buyout. The wild card is a big booster coughing up his severance in that case.

I think we have him one more season, but that's just my best guess.

Agree with this.

That said I don't think it's appropriate to air that laundry publicly at this time. This is why rebounder i doubt you will get any of us to say it. That said if you are as well connected as I think you are you know what we are referring to.

In the beginning, coach Davis problem was he saw the potential of UAB, he went for the quick fix, overstepped, and recruited bad students and citizens.

So, coach Davis problem was of his own making, but at some point, Davis problem became one of institutional control.
Our sophmore and freshmen class have good basketball players, but right now there isn't one player you can point at and say, that players is going to be hard to handle he will dominate his position in his class.

We recruit good basketball players, the coach have shown the ability to developed the talent, for examples look no further then this years team, see Quincy, KC, and Jekore as players who most here were indifferent about their potential at best.

But, Lately Quincy, KC, and Jekore are playing winninig basketball, they are under control, and showing more poise.

The individual players and the team improved play is due to the talent and team being coached up, The team has won 5 out of the last 6 games.

This team needs 2 big men to dominate the post next season, the players that qualifiys and the players who we want may be different, but until the administration (not the coach ) relax some admission standards we will continue to have to depend on the coach to coach the players up to 4 star levels, more then recruiting 4 star level players.

To coach a player up take times, a player should be playing his best ball in his junior year, and should be in the rotation. I see a very good sophmore and junior class next year. I see a team with experience, with shooters everywhere but little post players.

This isn't a wait until next year post, but in reality preparation for next year is being played out during every game, this is a we will be better even with our self imposed restrictions.

Whether Davis or someother coach is here when that happens doesn't matter, the one constances is UAB and UAB athletics.

(02-19-2012 01:34 PM)UABFRENCHY Wrote:  good win
the goal at this point is to get a bye in cusa tournament and we still can do it

I think rebounder covered it.

I see Mike Davis being successful at UAB if he'll do two things he doesn't do:

1. Quit reinventing the wheel every year. (I'm encouraged on this front, as this is a pretty young team).

2. Play relaxed, confident and focused in the conference tourney. Stop playing scared. This is a vibe Davis gives off that sinks into the team.

(02-20-2012 07:12 AM)ATTALLABLAZE Wrote:  

(02-19-2012 05:42 PM)UAB Band Dad Wrote:  It's going to go one of two ways, and none of us know which yet. Either he is let go for cause, and there is stuff I have heard that if accurate would support that if the administration chooses to go that route, or he coaches one more year so we don't have to pay a buyout. The wild card is a big booster coughing up his severance in that case.

I think we have him one more season, but that's just my best guess.

Agree with this.

That said I don't think it's appropriate to air that laundry publicly at this time. This is why rebounder i doubt you will get any of us to say it. That said if you are as well connected as I think you are you know what we are referring to.

....

Well, he did warn everyone that he had to sacrifice the little kitty to make up for the Cousins fiasco, so I think that he should be given a break.

(02-20-2012 11:02 AM)demiveeman Wrote:  

(02-20-2012 07:12 AM)ATTALLABLAZE Wrote:  

(02-19-2012 05:42 PM)UAB Band Dad Wrote:  It's going to go one of two ways, and none of us know which yet. Either he is let go for cause, and there is stuff I have heard that if accurate would support that if the administration chooses to go that route, or he coaches one more year so we don't have to pay a buyout. The wild card is a big booster coughing up his severance in that case.

I think we have him one more season, but that's just my best guess.

Agree with this.

That said I don't think it's appropriate to air that laundry publicly at this time. This is why rebounder i doubt you will get any of us to say it. That said if you are as well connected as I think you are you know what we are referring to.

....

You can all the hell you want and it does not change anything or make anything less true. Don't get all high and mighty on us now.

Just my observation, but next year will be "sink or swim" for Davis, circumstances apparent, this season was a difficult one for him with his the loss of two family members, many have given him a pass on how this season's gone, and understandibly so, plus it's not like they haven't competed this year, the team lost a lot of games that could have gone either way, not many blowouts against them.

But what concerns me other than Davis is what the Blazers are going to do about establishing an inside presence at both ends of the court now that Cam is graduating. Who's going to fill that void and can Davis recruit some people that are going to make the team more prolific inside?

Stay tuned for the next episode of "As The Dragon Turns."

...I want the "Fastest 40" offense back!!! **** this half-court "Hoosiers" crap!!!

How easy is it to predict 5th year seniors?
Is there a list out there that ranks 5th year seniors?

Just wondering if there are any out there that Davis will go after.

At the beginning of the year, when I saw how the year was going after the horrible start, I set up personal parameters on what I thought should happen.

If UAB won less than 10 games, he should be gone at the end of the season. Period.
If UAB won less than 15 games, he probably should be gone, but I was not going to be upset if he was given one more year. However, next year was going to have to be an NCAA tournament team.
If UAB won 15-20 games, good job, but no extension.
If UAB won 20+ games, extension, name a building after him. We've witnessed a miracle.

That is what I have based my opinions on for this year.

(02-20-2012 02:27 PM)ATTALLABLAZE Wrote:  

(02-20-2012 11:02 AM)demiveeman Wrote:  

(02-20-2012 07:12 AM)ATTALLABLAZE Wrote:  

(02-19-2012 05:42 PM)UAB Band Dad Wrote:  It's going to go one of two ways, and none of us know which yet. Either he is let go for cause, and there is stuff I have heard that if accurate would support that if the administration chooses to go that route, or he coaches one more year so we don't have to pay a buyout. The wild card is a big booster coughing up his severance in that case.

I think we have him one more season, but that's just my best guess.

Agree with this.

That said I don't think it's appropriate to air that laundry publicly at this time. This is why rebounder i doubt you will get any of us to say it. That said if you are as well connected as I think you are you know what we are referring to.

....

You can all the hell you want and it does not change anything or make anything less true. Don't get all high and mighty on us now.

No high and mighty here.

Just stating that it's highly uncommon for Division 1 programs to wait and fire head coaches at the end of the season because of an incident they deem is "for cause". Usually those firings happen soon after said incident.

I'm not commenting on rumors and speculation, but rather the fact of how incredible it would be that something that supposedly took place months ago would be used as cause to fire a coach after the completion of the season.

He hasn't been banging a player's girlfriend at a golf course has he?

No but if something was to have happened it is possible to use as leverage to get a coach to actively hunt another job and resign. Not saying that will happen but all I will say is UAB does not officially fire coaches.

Did we fire Larry Giangrosso, or was he strongly encouraged to resign?

Or did we just let his contract expire?

I could be wrong but I thought we did not resign.

Spin it however, but XHCNC was fired. We said resigned, but he claimed on air that wasnt the case.

But I doubt we will fire Mike Davis