Feb. 15, 2006

The soap opera in Hoosier Country goes on and on. As my buddy Pat Forde of ESPN.com reports, an agreement already has been determined for Mike Davis to step down at the end of the season. Forde works so hard behind the scenes.

I guess you don't have to go to Harvard and be a genius to have figured out that the Indiana situation would reach this inevitable resolution by season's end.

Think about the whole scene involving Indiana basketball. First of all, understand that the Hoosier State is a very proud province when dealing with college basketball. It's had such a glorious history and rich tradition from the days of Branch McCracken to those of the General, Robert Montgomery Knight. I have said it time and time again -- the Knight era at Indiana never should have ended. Knight is synonymous with Indiana basketball, and no matter what he has done at Texas Tech, he will always be connected with the Hoosiers.

It would have been beautiful if he and the chancellor at the time, Myles Brand, could have worked out their problems and Knight could have remained the leader of the Indiana program. Think about the most magnificent Hoosier squads -- including the 1976 national championship team that posted a perfect season (the last one in Division I). That team featured All-Americans Kent Benson and Scott May and the brilliant leadership skills of Quinn Buckner.

Then there was the 1981 team that also cut down the nets, led by super soph Isiah Thomas. Then, in 1987, Mr. Basketball from New Castle, Ind., Steve Alford, thrilled the faithful by leading the Hoosiers to the their third national championship under Knight.

What does this all mean? Following Bobby Knight was simply impossible, as has been the case with other legendary coaches. Think about Vince Lombardi, Casey Stengel, John Wooden, Bear Bryant. There is so much to live up to, and it's even tougher when you are not a popular choice.

Think of three of the most prestigious programs -- UCLA, Indiana and North Carolina. In recent years they all have had situations in which coaches were asked to lead these respective programs with limited head coaching experience. Only one of the three among Matt Doherty, Steve Lavin and Mike Davis had any head coaching experience on his résumé. Doherty served at Notre Dame, where he rejuvenated the program. Every game for these three became a final exam; they hoped to prove they could get to the next game in a positive manner.

The only way a head coach has a chance at a highly visible program with a rich winning tradition is for him to have an outstanding résumé. Just look at the Tar Heels bringing in Roy Williams, a proven winner and a future Hall of Famer.

Doherty, Lavin and Davis, no matter how hard they battled, were always facing the dilemma whereby many of their own faithful had doubts as to whether they were the right choice for the job. It was sad when you think that Doherty had UNC No. 1 in the nation. Lavin led the Bruins to a run of Sweet 16 appearances, and Davis got Indiana to the Final Four in Atlanta in his first season (that squad had many kids recruited by Knight).

However, none of the trio was ever good enough because they simply didn't have that experienced background that is necessary in jobs of this magnitude. They were successful and did a good job, but criticism was always there.

You can make the same case for Notre Dame football when Lou Holtz stepped down and Bob Davie took over. Whatever Davie did, it was not good enough, because he didn't have that proven track record as a head coach.

I think you get the picture. You can't be shocked with what has taken place in Bloomington, Ind. Mike Davis will move on and use this experience, as Doherty did. I feel that Davis will get an opportunity to be his own man and just coach without facing the constant turmoil that has existed at Indiana.

One almost could read between the lines when Davis stated that the Hoosier program belongs to one of their own. I wonder who he could be talking about? Could it be Steve Alford, the former All-American and leader of a nationally ranked team (Iowa) in the same conference as the Hoosiers?

I'll let you wonder about that.

Dick Vitale coached the Pistons and the University of Detroit before broadcasting ESPN's first college basketball game in 1979. Send a question for Vitale for possible use on ESPNEWS.