Setting Low Expectations=Low Performance

Mike Davis has said some pretty inane things in his career, but the thing he says in this article bothers me. No, it pisses me off. Here is what he is quoted as saying in regard to making it into the NCAA tournament:

"I think if you get 10 victories in any conference, that speaks volumes," Davis said. "Just look around the country. Who has 10 victories? I don't have any idea how people look at it, but when you get to 10 wins in a good conference like ours, I think you should be in."

Right now IU is 9-5 with two games remaining--Wisconsin (tonight) and Northwestern (at home). Davis’s quote tells me he is conceding a loss to Wisconsin and predicting a win against Northwestern. He has put into his mind that IU will finish 10-6. And if he believes that, then so do the players.

Davis is giving the impression that all he is interested in is padding his resume. For him, all that matters is making the NCAA tournament. It doesn’t matter how. What counts is that the team he coaches makes the tournament.

Here’s why I think this way. During the early part of the season, as Indiana was losing seven games in a row and Davis was under fire, he continuously pointed out three things: The schedule was too hard and not his fault; the team was young and just not getting what he is teaching; and he had already made it to the championship game.

All of those excuses tell me that Davis is insecure. He so badly wants to succeed that he will say anything to prove to others, and especially himself, that he is a good coach. For him, the definition of a good coach is taking teams to the NCAA Tournament—especially a young one that has to overcome circumstances beyond their control.

This is a must win game. So is the game against Northwestern. So is making a deep run in the Big Ten tournament. It’s a must for Coach Davis to show everybody that he actually can coach, that the team he leads is making improvements and can win on the road. It’s a must-win game because he must prove to us in Hoosier Nation that he deserves to be back next year.

It’s not enough to win 10 Big Ten games and then whine to anybody who will listen about how the last 27 of 28 teams that won 10 league games reached the NCAA Tournament. Backing into the tournament is not the hallmark of a well-coached team.

This is a must-win game because everybody—the fans, the selection committee, and especially the players—needs to believe that this team is growing up and getting better. And that Davis is a good coach. If that doesn’t happen, I don’t care how good the incoming group of players is, it won’t matter if the guy can’t coach.

And 11-5 looks way better than 10-6 on any resume.