Tom Davis

Thomas Robert Davis (born December 3, 1938) is an American former college men's basketball coach. He served as the head coach at Lafayette College, Boston College, Stanford University, the University of Iowa, and Drake University from 1971 to 2007. He attempted to mimic the martinet coaching style of his own college mentor, John Barth, but concluded that "You have to be yourself. What works for someone else isn't going to work for you just because it worked for him."

From 1961 to 1966, Davis was head coach at Portage High School in Portage, Wisconsin. In 1967, Frank Fellows took over as head coach at the University of Maryland, and hired Davis onto his staff. While serving as an assistant at Maryland, Davis earned his doctorate in history.

Stanford & Iowa He would accept a position at Stanford University before taking over as the head coach at the University of Iowa in 1986. While at Iowa, he led the Hawkeyes to nine NCAA Tournaments, including three Sweet Sixteen appearances as well as an Elite Eight. The Hawkeyes never lost a first round game in the NCAA tournament under Coach Davis. The Hawkeyes also made two NIT appearances.

His team was ranked number one during the 1986–87 season. The Hawkeyes won a school record thirty games before eventually being beaten in the Regional Final of the NCAA Tournament by UNLV 84–81.

On April 2, 1998, after Iowa lost in the first round of the NIT, Davis announced that he would resign after his contract would expire in the following season. Athletic director Bob Bowlsby notified Davis that he would not renew his contract. In Davis's final season, Iowa advanced to the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1988. He left Iowa as the winningest basketball coach in University of Iowa history.

Drake University Davis was named Drake University's 23rd head basketball coach on April 22, 2003. In four short seasons, Davis re-energized a Bulldog program that had not had a winning season since the 1985–86 season. He led Drake to a 17–15 record; including winning the Big Four Series, Drake Regency Challenge, and Sun Bowl Tournament.

Retirement On March 21, 2007 Davis announced his retirement from college coaching. His son Keno Davis took over as head basketball coach at Drake University.

Notable players coached Michael Adams B. J. Armstrong John Bagley Greg Butler Ryan Bowen Matt Bullard Ricky Davis Acie Earl Kevin Gamble Ed Horton Les Jepsen Todd Lichti Brad Lohaus Roy Marble Russ Millard Chris Street Adam Emmenecker Dean Oliver