WCCO: A Former Gopher Basketball Star’s Long Journey Back To Minneapolis

BleedGopher

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per WCCO:

Tommy Davis loves to teach basketball, much the same way he loved to play it when he arrived in Minnesota from Baltimore in 1981.

He played here, left here, and now he’s back for a high school opportunity in the city.

Thirty-six years ago, he was making his name as a Gopher.

“That’s probably some of the best years of my life,” he said. “I met friends for life.”

One of those friends was the person he backed up as a freshman — a first-round pick named Trent Tucker.

“He played a lot of minutes for us, because back then Jim Dutcher would go to three guards,” Tucker said. “When he came in, we just knew that he was going to be a terrific player.”

It brings this story full circle — Trent moves on to become the Minneapolis Public Schools athletic director and helps Washburn athletic director Reggie Perkins land Davis as the boys’ basketball coach.

“We’re excited to have him as our coach,” Perkins said. “I know our kids really respond to him well, they love having him, so we’re excited.”

And that admiration on the team goes both ways.

“These kids work hard, they just need structure, just like a lot of the teens. They just need a lot of structure, a lot of discipline,” Davis said.

After 30 years in France as a player and coach, he came back to Minnesota at the urging of his son. He’s in his element — trying to build a basketball program in the city he left, though it never left him.

“I love it, I really do,” Davis said. “I don’t know if I’ll ever leave again. I knew that Minneapolis would be the place I’d come back to, and how can you not love Minneapolis?”

He’s been a professional coach, so this is a new level — or, as he sees it, a new challenge.

“I’m not here just for wins and losses, I’m here to try and help create men,” Davis said.

He’s back with a teammate who is still his role model.

“He’s the one that I always wanted to be like, because he was in my position,” Davis said. “Definitely my mentor.”

He’s here with a purpose beyond basketball.

“A good coach makes a difference in games, a great coach makes a difference in life, and that’s what I want to do,” Davis said. “I want them to win games, but after that I want them to go out into the world and say, “Coach Davis made a difference in our life.'”

He’s back coaching for an athletic director in Perkins that was a great player himself, and he’s back coaching for his mentor — Trent Tucker.

He’s even conjuring up images of his own silky-smooth jump shot, which leaves only one question: Who, of the three of them, still has the best game?

“For sure, me!” Tucker said.

http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2018/01/05/tommy-davis-washburn-basketball/

Go Gophers!!
 


Yes, one of my favorites as well. Great to have him back in the area. Looks like he can be a great mentor for those kids.

I recall a Gopher at Indiana game where I think he went 15-16 from the field. Bobby Knight told him after the game it was the best performance by an opponent at IU he'd seen. Wish the 3 pt. line would have been around for TD.
 

Tommy Davis and Marc Wilson were a really good backcourt when they played together.
 

Tommy Davis and Marc Wilson were a really good backcourt when they played together.

They really were and I was surprised they didn't win more (had to go back at look at the records).

Tommy looks to be about the same height as Trent Tucker which surprised me.
 


Jim Dutcher recruited some great players during his tenure.
 


Tommy Davis and Marc Wilson were a really good backcourt when they played together.

If there had been a three point line when Tommy played he would have averaged 40 a game. Great jump shot.
 

If there had been a three point line when Tommy played he would have averaged 40 a game. Great jump shot.

Yes he would have scored a lot with the three point line. But can you imagine what Trent Tucker would have done with the three point line?
 



Yes he would have scored a lot with the three point line. But can you imagine what Trent Tucker would have done with the three point line?

True.
 





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