Blog.WBRU

WBRU spoke with PC’s new head basketball coach, Keno Davis, earlier this afternoon. It is the first Keno Davis interview available free online since he accepted the PC job.

He spoke of his love for New England, the similarities between PC and Drake, and he addressed concerns about his recruiting abilities.

Click here to listen to the full interview, or jump ahead to the “Read More” link to view the interview transcript.

So I’m joined by none other than PC’s new head basketball coach, Keno Davis, and first off, congratulations coach.

Well thanks obviously, it’s been a busy time. But it’s a great feeling to be busy like that and a lot of excitement obviously around PC right now and happy to be a part of it.

Of course, I mean, everyone here is so excited, and now first off, with the job, PC not the easiest job in the world and also a job that had been turned down a few times, but I read that you were immediately interested in the job, so why so much interest?

Well I think, I have to go back to growing up and my memories of growing up around the Boston area - when my father was at Boston College and just entering the Big East conference - so a lot of great memories of living in that area. So when that job opened up, that was one that kind of caught my attention, that if they had ever come calling, I definitely would have to take a look. So it’s a dream for it to be able to come true for me.

Now is it true that the Boston Red Sox are your favorite baseball team?

Oh, without a doubt, without a doubt. I’m one of the few Red Sox fans up here in the middle of Iowa, but I follow them every day.

Great, great. Now news came out recently that some of your former assistants at Drake will be joining you at Providence College. What’s the latest on that?

Yeah, I think we’re still working on some of the paper work and things like that, but I’m hopeful that I’m able to attract a couple of them, at least, to come with me. They were as much a part of the success we were able to have at Drake. And you talk about Providence not maybe the easiest job out there, but people were saying the same thing about Drake University 4 or 5 years ago when we came in as a staff. And the guys that I’ve been able to work with have worked incredibly hard to get the program here to where it is today and hopefully they’ll continue to work just as hard for me if things works out.

Now you talked about how you’ve been so busy, and I can’t even imagine how crazy it’s been for you the last month, month and a half, but with coaching being a year-long job, what’s next on your to-do list at Providence College?

Well, there’s probably about 30 or 40 things still on the list. But obviously, the transition of trying to get out there full time. There’s a lot that you can do working on phones and with the internet and things, but until you get out there full time, that’s what I’m looking forward to right now. And obviously, recruiting is a year-long process, as well as the coaching, so we’re working on that every day.

And now when you talk about the recruiting, I think fans here, so excited that you’re coming here, but I think maybe the only skeptical question that people have is that they’re worried that some of your recruiting ties in the Midwest won’t carry over to PC. What do you say to that?

Well I think that’s a valid comment. And I think when I look at finishing out my staff, that’s why I’m going to have to address a Northeast recruiting base and work on that. But I think that the question was, when we were here at Drake, is how are you going to recruit in the middle of Iowa when there just aren’t that many players in this area? We were able to recruit nationally. So even though we’re located in the Midwest doesn’t mean we just recruited in the Midwest. We recruited in Georgia, in California, in Alaska, and out in the prep schools in the Northeast, so we were able to be very effective here. That being said, I know that to finish out my staff, I need to make sure I’ve got somebody with even more ties and a recruiting base in the Northeast.

Looking at the current roster for PC now, from an outsider’s point of view, it seems like there are a lot of parallels to your team last year at Drake, with the upperclassmen, three-point shooters, and sort of low expectations for the team entering the season. Do you see it like that at all?

Yeah, I think there are a lot of parallels between the two programs and with the personnel. I think it’s nice to be able to be under the radar, even though I think people that know the program and know basketball know there’s some talent on that team. We just got to be able, as coaches, to see how we can motivate the young men in the program to get the most out of their ability, and that’s kind of an exciting thing in coaching to be able to try to do that. Knowing that with a lot of seniors, we’re going to have to hit the roads hard to recruit as well, to replace some very talented seniors.

And now there’s been rumors circulating about Dwain Williams possibly transferring for this upcoming season. Have you talked to him at all or do you know any more about that?

No, I really have not, I really don’t have any comment on that right now. Our focus is trying to go forward and the guys that are on the team, trying to push them as much as we can. Really haven’t had much comment about that.

And now coming back to New England, coming back to your roots. At BRU, we talked to Taylor Twellman of the New England Revolution last year and he said that he just wanted the Revolution to win the title so bad so they could finally get on the front page of the newspaper, with the Sox, Patriots, and Celtics here. So much sports attention here. Is it going to be weird going from a school like Drake, where it was kind of the center of attention, at least last year, where there’s not much else going on sports-wise, to PC, where there’s so much going on in New England?

Well, I think, there’s again a big parallel there. Until this past year, we didn’t get the attention, even though our state’s major newspaper is right here in Des Moines. The talk was always about the University of Iowa or Iowa State, or talking about the Cubs, or what they were talking about here, it wasn’t about the Drake Bulldogs. But when you win, they cover you, and you get as much attention as you possibly could ever want, and then some. So we’re really not too focused about the media attention and the articles and things like that. We know that if we take care of business and continue to improve the program, a lot of great things will follow.

Great, great. I’ll get you out of here on this last question. So Rhode Island is a state known for its Italian food. If you’re heading over to Federal Hill for an Italian dinner, what are you going to be ordering?

Boy, that’s a great question. I like all Italian food. So I’ll probably take a little bit of everything, and try it all. I’m sure I’ll be making many trips out there, so I’m pretty excited about the different options.

Sound good. Thanks a lot Coach Davis, and best of luck getting ready for the season.

Alright, thanks a lot. Anytime.