An unworthy ending for a great coach

By Editorial

For 30 years, Dick Davey has served the Santa Clara community with class, dignity and grace. His teams are successful, his players graduate and some of the big wins his teams have compiled over the years have given new meaning to the idea of the "Cinderella team."

And this is how we repay him.

According to anonymous athletic department sources quoted in recent stories in both the San Francisco Chronicle and San Jose Mercury News, Davey is being forced out by administrators and donors going over Athletic Director Dan Coonan's head.

These donors, excited by the idea of bringing a fresh face and more funding to the men's basketball program, seem to have lost sight of what Davey has meant to this community during his tenure as head coach.

From reigning NBA MVP Steve Nash to current senior guard Danny Pariseau, Davey has a history of taking a chance and seeing talent where nobody else does. Nash was just a Canadian kid that nobody seemed to have much interest in. And Pariseau, a transfer from Eastern Washington University, was looking at Division II schools before deciding to come to Santa Clara.

Davey's past successes speak for themselves. Three NCAA tournament runs, three WCC tournament regular season titles, one WCC tournament title and five wins over top 25 teams.

Early in his tenure, back when nobody outside of the state of Washington had even heard of Gonzaga, Davey was earning a reputation for knocking off big teams. In the first round of the 1993 NCAA tournament, Davey's Broncos beat second-seeded Arizona. And the following season, the Broncos upset a Cal team led by future NBA players Jason Kidd and Lamond Murray.

Just two years ago, the Broncos upset North Carolina -- the same North Carolina that went on to win the national championship later that year.

And let's not forget this season. Following a Gonzaga loss to Loyola Marymount, the Broncos are tied for first place in the WCC, and Davey could be a leading candidate for Coach of the Year.

Again, Davey is bringing success to Santa Clara basketball, and it's not because this team has a Steve Nash, Adam Morrison or even a Derek Ravio.

It's because Davey's teams play with an undeniable intensity on both sides of the court. They rebound, play hard-nosed defense and refuse to back down from any opponent.

Perhaps even more importantly, Davey recruits, coaches and graduates student-athletes that this community can be proud of. In today's world of men's college basketball where players only spend one year at a school before leaving for the NBA -- or drop out before getting degrees -- Davey takes his role as a mentor off the court as seriously as he does on it.

All good things must come to an end, and it's true that Davey couldn't have coached forever. But after all he's given to Santa Clara, he should have been allowed to make and announce this decision on his own terms. Plus, bringing in a big-name coach isn't always a slam dunk recipe for success. Take a look at Paul Westphal's dismal tenure at Pepperdine for evidence.

We can only hope that the rest of this season will bring success for Davey and his players. And since the university can't seem to find a classy way to say it, allow us.

Thanks for everything you've done, Coach. We'll miss the sweaters.