Mike Davis And Leonard Perry Hired As Head Basketball Coaches At Indiana And Idaho

Jet, April 9, 2001

Mike Davis of Indiana University and Leonard Perry of the University of Idaho are the two newest Black head coaches hired in men's college basketball.

Davis recently received a four-year contract as the permanent head basketball coach for Indiana.

Davis, who was named the Hoosiers' interim coach last September after Bob Knight was fired (JET, Oct. 2, 2000), will earn at least $400,000 per year--more than twice what the former Hall of Fame coach earned.

The 40-year-old Davis went 21-13 in his first season and took the Hoosiers to the NCAA tournament, where the team lost in the first round to Kent State.

Perry, 32, who played for the Idaho Vandals from 1989-91, was an assistant at Iowa State for the past three years, in which the Cyclones advanced to the NCAA tournament's final eight teams each year.

"It's special to be able to come back to Idaho," Perry said. "I know it will take some time to get the program back where we want it, but I'm excited about the opportunity."

Perry earned his bachelor's degree from Idaho in 1995.