Oct. 29, 2008

Providence, R.I. - Rodell Davis didn't have to think twice when he got an important phone call this spring from a longtime friend. The friend at the other end of the line happened to be new Providence College Men's Basketball Head Coach Keno Davis, and he had an offer that Rodell couldn't turn down.

"Once he made it final that he was going to come to Providence, he didn't have to give me a huge sell job," Rodell Davis said. "I was going to come with him because he's one of the guys in the coaching field that I really trust."

Rodell's trust and respect is a testament to Keno Davis' character and his ability as a teacher of the game, traits that his assistant coaches and others around him cite as being the keys to his success as a coach. Last season, Keno Davis guided the Drake Bulldogs - picked to finish last in the Missouri Valley Conference - to a 28-5 record, a conference championship and a berth in the NCAA Tournament. The tournament appearance was Drake's first since 1971, and Davis' performance earned him national coach of the year honors.

An assistant on the 2007-08 Drake team, Rodell Davis said that Keno excelled last season by effectively managing his players, helping them recognize their roles on the team and understanding how to balance academics with the demands of being a Division I athlete.

"He's a guy that's a player's coach," Rodell Davis said. "He understands what it takes because he grew up around the game. He took a lot of things that he learned over the course of his life and tied it all up into that season."

Keno spent much of his early life as an apprentice of the game, watching his father teach the fundamentals of basketball at the college level. Dr. Tom Davis coached for 37 seasons in a career than included stops at Boston College, Stanford, Iowa and Drake. From his father, Keno Davis learned how to develop players' abilities on the court and how to mentor them to become better people off of it.

This ability to connect with all of his players is something Rodell Davis, who played under Dr. Davis at Iowa, admires about the Friars' new head coach.

"Keno treats everyone with respect," he said. "He's a great person from that standpoint. No one is treated any differently on the team. It's definitely a first-class organization when he's at the helm because he always makes sure that guys are doing things the right way."

Assistant coach Chris Davis, who spent eight years as an assistant at Drake, admits that a coaching transition is never easy. However, the new Friar assistant says Keno's handling of the situation has already led to a community feeling in the Friar locker room.

"He creates a family atmosphere not only for the coaching staff, but the players and support staff as well," Chris Davis said. "Everyone feels comfortable around him and feels a part of what we're doing."

For Keno Davis to have the kind of success at Providence that he had at Drake, he must also get his new players to buy into the system that guided the Bulldogs to the NCAA Tournament. This system includes focusing heavily on the three-point shot, creating more fast breaks and executing an aggressive man-to-man defense.

Adapting to a completely different style is definitely a challenge for the Friar players this season, but Chris Davis believes this group of players can be successful in transition.

"Every time we bring out a new term, it's something the players haven't heard before," Davis said. "They're learning on the fly and what we're encouraging them to do is get better everyday and try to win while they're learning."

Much of Keno Davis' success as a head coach comes from his skill as a teacher of the game. Assistant coach Pat Skerry, who joins the staff after three seasons as an assistant at URI, trusts that Davis' ability to teach his system and interact with the players will make the change much easier.

"He's a very good communicator and a good teacher," Skerry said. "He has a great vision of how he wants to play here at Providence, and I think when players see that it's easy to convey it. He's very positive and he talks to the players, not at them."

Skerry says there is a great freedom in Keno Davis' system that will fit very well with the team's current roster. A player like junior Brian McKenzie, for example, who is known for his three-point shooting but also has the ability to cut to the basket will be encouraged to utilize his versatility. Senior Geoff McDermott will be able to handle the ball and run the fast break as a point forward. He will also play with his back to the basket and develop his post game as well.

This offensive freedom, coupled with the tenacious man-to-man defense, will be different from many of the other styles utilized by BIG EAST teams, something that could cause serious problems when opposing squads try to matchup with the Friars this year.

"With the way we want to play, I think we're going to be real tough to play against," Skerry said.

Keno Davis will certainly have his hands full in the daunting BIG EAST this season, but the people around him are confident this season will be one to remember at Providence College. Keno Davis hopes success in 2008-09 is just a sign of things to come in Friartown.

"I want to make Providence and the entire state of Rhode Island excited about college basketball," Keno Davis said. "I think it's at a tipping point where we can do something special here."