Will we ever know the truth?

By Mike Kaufmann

Recently I had the opportunity to sit down with University President Paul Locatelli, S.J., along with other members of this publication's editorial staff in a roundtable discussion.

We asked Locatelli about several different issues pertaining to the Santa Clara community, but as the sports editor, I felt it my duty to ask about the retirement of long-time basketball coach Dick Davey.

Locatelli responded to recent reports in the San Jose Mercury News and San Francisco Chronicle by telling us that much of what has been written on the issue, namely that Davey was forced into retirement, was erroneous.

"They don't have most of the facts right," said Locatelli. "Mark Purdy in the Mercury talked about the trustees getting involved, but the trustees have never even talked about this. This doesn't even come up on their radar screen."

Yet in the Feb. 28 issue of the Mercury News, Davey was quoted as saying that he didn't want to retire and that he still wanted to coach. This is in direct conflict with what the university has been telling the media in recent weeks.

I will admit that it is possible that Davey changed his mind about retiring after the recent surge of success his team has found. Maybe he decided he wasn't ready to put down his whistle and clipboard in exchange for the fishing rod that he uses every offseason.

But the Feb. 28 article in the Mercury News leads me to believe that Davey was in fact forced into retirement. Yes, his contract was up, but the university probably should have let Davey decide if he wanted another extension or not.

Ann Killion's column from Feb. 26 hypothesized that trustees at the Golden Circle, a prestigious fundraising party, went to Locatelli and expressed their desire for a newer, high-profile coach.

Locatelli denied such claims, but also said that Davey intended to retire at the end of the season, and that Davey just disagreed with the timing of the announcement.

"I thought we ought to recognize him and honor him at one of the last two games. That was the intention of the announcement, and that's what I told Dick," said Locatelli.

Nobody knows the real story except Davey, but my best guess is that he doesn't want to make the institution that's employed him for the past 30 years look bad.

If the reports are true that Davey really isn't ready to hang it up, then the university might as well cancel their coaching search -- the next coach is already here.

Contact Mike Kaufmann at (408) 551-1918 or mlkaufmann@scu.edu.