IU's Davis a man of integrity -- and a heck of a coach

	Mike Davis led storied Indiana to its first Final Four in 10 years in 2002. Andy Lyons/Getty Images
	MAILBAG Seth Davis will periodically answer questions from SI.com users in his Hoop Thoughts column. Your name: Your e-mail address: Your home town: Enter your question:

Just this once, I am going to set aside my journalist's impartiality and issue a confession: I root for Mike Davis.

This is not to say I pull for Indiana, though I recognize it is better for college basketball when the Hoosiers are doing well. And I certainly have nothing against teams like Illinois, which I watched lose to Indiana on Tuesday night in Bloomington. It's just that it's hard to imagine anyone coaching in a more challenging environment than Davis does. Yet for the most part, he has gone about his work with admirable grace and skill. Simply put, I root for Mike Davis because I believe he is a good man doing a good job under some very tough circumstances.

Davis may never be truly beloved in Bloomington. Some people will never forgive him for not being Bob Knight or someone who played for him, but a lot of IU fans are at least starting to understand that Davis is actually a pretty darn good coach. This Indiana team does not have anything resembling a playmaking point guard, and its best player, sophomore forward D.J. White, is out for the season with a broken foot. Yet the Hoosiers (11-3, 3-1 in the Big Ten) lead the nation in field goal percentage (.531) and 3-point percentage (.474), largely because of the way they execute the pro-style sets that Davis is constantly diagramming.

The biggest risk in using such a structured offense is that it requires the players to have total belief in their coach. This team, unlike his first five at Indiana, is comprised wholly of talented players whom Davis recruited. So it's no coincidence that it is also the best of the six he has had in Bloomington.

As great a program as Indiana is, it's not easy for Davis to recruit because of the constant speculation about his job security. Sometimes he is undermined by the very people who are supposed to support him, like the turncoat trustee who flew former IU player Scott May and his son Sean to visit Knight at Texas Tech a few days before Sean committed to North Carolina. More recently, Davis caught heat for his failure to land Indianapolis high school stars Greg Oden and Mike Conley, Jr. But Conley told me last summer that the perceived instability of Davis' situation was a major factor in their decision to go to Ohio State.

I spent several hours with Davis on Tuesday as the Illinois tipoff approached, and I was struck by how little bitterness he expressed towards his critics, even when we were speaking off the record. Both IU athletic director Rick Greenspan and university president Dr. Adam Herbert have declined to give Davis a long-term endorsement, offering up the standard response that they evaluate each coach after each season. But I was sitting in the coaches' locker room shortly before tipoff when Herbert walked in to wish Davis luck. "I need to take off my coat first so I can give my man some love," Herbert said, and the two embraced like old friends. I think it's safe to say Davis has a strong ally sitting in the president's chair.

Davis and I talked for a while about his situation, his life, our respective families, the state of college hoops -- anything to help take his mind off the game. On the one hand, he wondered aloud whether the fans in Bloomington deserved a coach they could feel really passionate about. On the other, he expressed full confidence in his abilities. He also spoke of his immense gratitude for the chance to coach at such a storied program and provide financially for his wife and two sons. You can say what you want about Davis as a coach, but you can tell he's a good dad because his older son, Mike Jr., is a sophomore walk-on for the Hoosiers and wants to get into coaching.

But perhaps the most telling moment about Davis' values came after the game, when he was sitting in the coaches' lounge and talking to an NBA scout about  White. Davis lavishly praised White's abilities and hinted that White may enter the NBA draft next spring, if only so he can benefit from competing in the NBA's predraft camp next summer in Orlando. Davis fully expects White to be back at Indiana next season, but the scout warned him that if White goes to the camp and plays well, he could conceivably improve his prospects and stay in the draft. "That's okay," Davis replied. "I want what's best for him."

This is probably the longest stretch that Davis has enjoyed at Indiana without enduring a lot of speculation about his future. I have no idea how long he'll be the coach at IU, but as long as he is in Bloomington, I'm going to keep rooting for him. To be honest, it's not that hard to do. It's not even that hard to admit.