Warriors Hire Davis As Basketball Coach
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
SYRACUSE - Jerry Davis spent four years learning under Bob Knight.
He was a basketball manager when Indiana University was the NCAA champion in 1981, and he was a staff member on the 1984 basketball team that won the gold medal at the Olympics.
He has coached at South Garland High School in Dallas, a school that continually produces one of the top basketball teams in the country. No wonder the Wawasee Warriors think they have found the man to lead their team into the future.
The Wawasee School Board approved the hiring of Davis as math teacher and varsity boys' basketball coach at Tuesday's board meeting. His coaching contract is for two years.
Davis, 34, has a career 32-31 record at the varsity level. All of his varsity coaching came at Triton Central High School (506 students), located south of Indianapolis. His teams improved each season - 6-14 in 1993-1994, 11-10 in 1994-1995 and 15-7 in 1995-1996.
The opportunity to go to a bigger school and to a team in the strong Northern Lakes Conference helped sell Davis on taking the job.
"My first reaction was Wawasee has had a strong program in the past," he said. "My goal is to take the program to the highest level and build the program from the elementary up.
"The tradition at Wawasee ... they play a very good schedule, teams who are state contenders. You need to play those people throughout the season. The facilities are outstanding."
(Warrior fans, get the neck braces ready.) Davis promised one thing: Wawasee fans won't see a boring team. He favors the up-tempo, full-court, run-and-gun offense.
"All of my teams have usually been exciting to watch," he said. "I like to play a full-court game offensively, getting up and down the court. We'll mix in half-court and full-court defenses."
Wawasee athletic director Mary Hurley said 17 applied for the opening. She interviewed eight, had several back for second interviews and then named Davis the man.
"Coach Jerry Davis brings to Wawasee a varied background including collegiate exposure, large high school and small high school experience," she said. "He is a native of Indiana and shares a Hoosier love for the game of basketball. We look forward to his input to the overall athletic and academic arena at Wawasee High School."
Davis said he is spending his time meeting with his assistant coaches, discussing philosophies. He and his staff will meet twice a week up until the time practice starts. He plans to keep the same assistants that Wawasee had last year, which included Kem Zolman and Ed Waltz.
You get the idea it will be hard for Davis to wait for the start of the season. He's ready to get started now.
"I looked at the conference, the school and where I thought it could go," he said. He talked about teams like Concord and Warsaw, then he continued. "To put it bluntly, if you want to run with the big dogs, you have to get in the race," he said. "That opportunity was here."
Davis wasn't a college coach, but he had the opportunity to learn under one of the winningest active college coaches - Bob Knight. He was a manager for Knight from 1981 through 1984, so he was a part of a national championship team (1981). He was also on the support staff for the 1984 men's olympic basketball team that won the gold.
Before he coached at Triton Central, Davis was an assistant coach at nationally renown South Garland High School in Dallas. South Garland annually has one of the strongest high school basketball teams in the country and faces the best high school teams in the United States. Davis coached junior varsity basketball there and guided his teams to a 103-39 record.
Davis earned his bachelor and masters degrees at Indiana University and his second secondary math certification at East Texas State University. He graduated from Hagerstown High School in Hagerstown, Ind., in 1980.
He is married to the former Elicia Johnson, who has a bachelor's degree in elementary education. He also as a son, Brice, 7, and a daughter, Bailey, 3.
Davis replaces Gary Goshert, who was named the head basketball coach at Manchester. Goshert had a 124-88 record at Wawasee. [[In-content Ad]]
SYRACUSE - Jerry Davis spent four years learning under Bob Knight.
He was a basketball manager when Indiana University was the NCAA champion in 1981, and he was a staff member on the 1984 basketball team that won the gold medal at the Olympics.
He has coached at South Garland High School in Dallas, a school that continually produces one of the top basketball teams in the country. No wonder the Wawasee Warriors think they have found the man to lead their team into the future.
The Wawasee School Board approved the hiring of Davis as math teacher and varsity boys' basketball coach at Tuesday's board meeting. His coaching contract is for two years.
Davis, 34, has a career 32-31 record at the varsity level. All of his varsity coaching came at Triton Central High School (506 students), located south of Indianapolis. His teams improved each season - 6-14 in 1993-1994, 11-10 in 1994-1995 and 15-7 in 1995-1996.
The opportunity to go to a bigger school and to a team in the strong Northern Lakes Conference helped sell Davis on taking the job.
"My first reaction was Wawasee has had a strong program in the past," he said. "My goal is to take the program to the highest level and build the program from the elementary up.
"The tradition at Wawasee ... they play a very good schedule, teams who are state contenders. You need to play those people throughout the season. The facilities are outstanding."
(Warrior fans, get the neck braces ready.) Davis promised one thing: Wawasee fans won't see a boring team. He favors the up-tempo, full-court, run-and-gun offense.
"All of my teams have usually been exciting to watch," he said. "I like to play a full-court game offensively, getting up and down the court. We'll mix in half-court and full-court defenses."
Wawasee athletic director Mary Hurley said 17 applied for the opening. She interviewed eight, had several back for second interviews and then named Davis the man.
"Coach Jerry Davis brings to Wawasee a varied background including collegiate exposure, large high school and small high school experience," she said. "He is a native of Indiana and shares a Hoosier love for the game of basketball. We look forward to his input to the overall athletic and academic arena at Wawasee High School."
Davis said he is spending his time meeting with his assistant coaches, discussing philosophies. He and his staff will meet twice a week up until the time practice starts. He plans to keep the same assistants that Wawasee had last year, which included Kem Zolman and Ed Waltz.
You get the idea it will be hard for Davis to wait for the start of the season. He's ready to get started now.
"I looked at the conference, the school and where I thought it could go," he said. He talked about teams like Concord and Warsaw, then he continued. "To put it bluntly, if you want to run with the big dogs, you have to get in the race," he said. "That opportunity was here."
Davis wasn't a college coach, but he had the opportunity to learn under one of the winningest active college coaches - Bob Knight. He was a manager for Knight from 1981 through 1984, so he was a part of a national championship team (1981). He was also on the support staff for the 1984 men's olympic basketball team that won the gold.
Before he coached at Triton Central, Davis was an assistant coach at nationally renown South Garland High School in Dallas. South Garland annually has one of the strongest high school basketball teams in the country and faces the best high school teams in the United States. Davis coached junior varsity basketball there and guided his teams to a 103-39 record.
Davis earned his bachelor and masters degrees at Indiana University and his second secondary math certification at East Texas State University. He graduated from Hagerstown High School in Hagerstown, Ind., in 1980.
He is married to the former Elicia Johnson, who has a bachelor's degree in elementary education. He also as a son, Brice, 7, and a daughter, Bailey, 3.
Davis replaces Gary Goshert, who was named the head basketball coach at Manchester. Goshert had a 124-88 record at Wawasee. [[In-content Ad]]