Davis, Stevens ahead of coaching curve

Some coaches wait a lifetime for this. They spend years paying their dues and learning the… Some coaches wait a lifetime for this. They spend years paying their dues and learning the ropes, dreaming of making the NCAA Tournament.

For some, that dream never comes true. For Butler’s Brad Stevens and Drake’s Keno Davis, it has.

At 31, Stevens is among the youngest coaches in college basketball. Davis, 36, makes the list, as well. But despite being two of the youngest, they’ve also been two of the most successful.

In its first year with Stevens as the head coach, Butler compiled a 29-3 record, a Horizon League title and a birth as a seven seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Stevens said that he had his eye on a job as a head coach for as long as he could remember.

“I always wanted to be a head coach,” Stevens said. “I didn’t always know where or how long it would take, but I knew I wanted to do it.”

Despite his team’s dubbing as a “mid-major” because of conference affiliation, Stevens said his team never felt intimidated by an opponent from a major conference. He also said that, despite his young age, he never felt overmatched by a coach older or more experienced than him.

Proof for that came early in Butler’s season when Stevens and his Butler Bulldogs came face to face with the legendary Bob Knight and his Texas Tech Red Raiders.

At that time, Knight, who began coaching 11 years before Stevens was even born, was looking for his 895th win in his storied career. Stevens was looking for his sixth.

Before Stevens turned 5, Knight had won two NCAA championships as a coach and one as a player. He was also named Big Ten coach of the year five times and national coach of the year twice.

But that didn’t matter. Despite the difference in age, accomplishments and basically every statistical category on the coaching end, Stevens and his Bulldogs pulled out the win, 81-71.

“I’ve never been intimidated [by another coach],” Stevens said. “Maybe in a chess match with Bob Knight I’d be in trouble, but I always like our chances on the court.”

Aside from Texas Tech, Butler defeated four other schools from what have traditionally been the nation’s most powerful conferences – conferences that produce teams that Butler will likely face in the tournament.

Butler took down Michigan and Ohio State from the Big Ten and Virginia Tech and Florida State from the ACC in the regular season. The regular-season wins against Michigan, Florida State and Texas Tech were all by double-digits.

Stevens credited much of his success to Iowa’s coach Todd Likliter and Ohio State’s Thad Matta, both of whom he worked under at Butler as an assistant.

“I was fortunate to learn from them,” Stevens said. “They’ve had an enormous impact on me.”

Like Stevens, Drake’s Davis is a young coach who has seen a great deal of success early in his career. His mentor had a lot to do with his young success, too.

Davis learned how to coach the game by watching his father, Tom Davis, who retired from coaching after last season and handed the keys to Drake hoops down to his son. Davis said when the opportunity to be a head coach came about, he knew he was ready. And, like Stevens, Davis said he’s never felt intimidated by another coach’s age or experience.

“I’m not worried about going against [more experienced coaches] in the Tournament,” Davis said. “I want to enjoy it.”

On Feb. 23, the two met head to head when then-No. 8 Butler hosted then-No. 18 Drake. Davis and Drake came away with the win, 71-64, on national television.

In his first year as head coach, Davis led Drake to its first NCAA Tournament bid since 1971. Drake finished the season 25-4, then won all three games in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament to earn an automatic bid and a five seed in the NCAA tournament. Some question whether a young Davis can truly bring an impressive Drake squad very far in the Tournament. To Davis, youth is a good thing.

“There are a lot of advantages to being a younger coach,” he said. “You might not have the experience as the other guys, but you have the energy.”

Davis said he’s proud of what his team did this year, and is excited for his first trip to the tournament, especially because Drake was picked by many to finish ninth in the conference and ended up finishing first.

“I didn’t know how good this team would be [in the preseason],” Davis said. “I actually picked us to finish sixth in our conference.”

Despite picking his own team to finish sixth, Davis knew Drake could do something special this year. He also said his team would feel less pressure than other teams because it has already done more than expected.

Still, he’s looking forward to a few more wins.

“I like our team,” Daivs said. “And I’ve always liked our chances.”