ESPN Men's Basketball

Editor's Note: ESPN Insider has teamed with Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook to provide a comprehensive look at all 326 Division I teams. To order the complete 2006-07 edition of Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook, visit www.blueribbonyearbook.com or call 1-866-805-BALL (2255).

(Information in this team report is as of October 1.)

The difference was obvious the first time the UAB Blazers stepped on the court with their new coach.

Mike Anderson was gone, replaced by Mike Davis in more ways than one. For starters, the non-stop running and scrimmaging was replaced by non-stop teaching and drilling.

"It was real different than coach Anderson's practices," sophomore forward Lawrence Kinnard said. "We're not used to any practice without scrimmaging and that's something we did today. Coach Anderson taught mostly in the morning and we had to come back later on and play. With coach Davis he teaches and wants perfection out of you. He's detail oriented."

While the practice plan may have been familiar for Davis, everything else is different. Instead of Indiana red and white, he wears Blazer green and gold. Instead of trying to outrun the ominous shadow of Bob Knight, he can settle down and re-establish roots in his home state, at a place where he is wanted and -- so far -- appreciated.

"Everything's been good," Davis said. "It's been easy for me to lock in on recruiting and make the adjustment to living here because this is really my home. This has been wonderful for me."

While there may be a profound sense of relief that comes with escaping the Indiana job he left behind in March after six mostly successful seasons, Davis has no desire to look back when he believes he has so much to look forward to at UAB.

"I will always be appreciative of what they've done for me," Davis said of his former employer. "To be the head coach there taught me so much and it showed me how to lead a program so it prepared me for this new situation. I'm excited about a new start, but I'm still very appreciative of what Indiana did for me."

One thing the Indiana experience gave Davis was a national name and credibility that Anderson lacked when he came to UAB in 2002. Anderson took a program on the decline and turned it around quickly, taking the Blazers to three consecutive NCAA Tournaments in his second, third and fourth years on the job.

When Anderson left for Missouri and Davis resigned at Indiana, the Blazers were able to hire a coach with a wealth of experience earned at one of the nation's top basketball programs.

"My experience at Indiana has allowed me to go out and recruit the top players in the country and hopefully that's something that will just be a normal thing from here on out," Davis said. "The perception of UAB is that it shouldn't go after the top players, but it should go after the top players. My vision is the same vision Coach K brought to Duke and the same vision John Thompson had at Georgetown. It's something that's definitely attainable."

To continue reading this article you must be an Insider