Without A Doubt, Davis Has Earned His Second Chance

Kermit Davis makes an easy target. Something about that scarlet letter with which the NCAA branded him.

So all of us who decry cheaters and curse the trail of slime they’ve left across collegiate athletics could launch our laptops at Idaho administrators for hiring him Saturday as the new Vandals basketball coach.

But there’s that nagging notion of cheek-turning and, more practically, the realization that in all but the most extreme cases, everyone deserves at least one mulligan.

That is, as long as society and the NCAA are delivered the requisite pound of flesh.

Consider Davis’ debt repaid.

Which makes his hiring not only acceptable at this point, but logical, as Idaho could not hope to land a more qualified and talented coach.

The Cliff Notes on Davis’ story go like this:

Hired as head coach by Idaho at age 28, Davis charms boosters and takes the Vandals to two conference championships and 50 wins in two seasons.

Texas A&M waves mucho dinero in his face, but in his first season at College Station (1990-91), dirty deeds are alleged and a skittish administration turns him over to the feds.

Resigning under a cloud of accusations, Davis is left to seek absolution as a J.C. coach and later as an assistant at Utah State.

Wash-and-spin cycle completed, Davis returns to take over for Joe Cravens, who has been dubiously dismissed despite a winning record over three seasons.

Now, Davis is understandably reluctant to disinter the specifics of the violations at A&M - none of which was on the order of express-mail packages bulging with cash.

The important thing he wants to note is that “no violations directly involved a student-athlete.”

This, however, does not warrant the presentation of a merit badge.

“I made some bad judgments and I paid a penalty for them,” said Davis, who in one report was credited with actually cleaning up a program that had previously funneled cash to players out of a slush fund, although he remains shadowed by the fact that he initially misled investigators.

It was a time of deep introspection, and the realization surfaced that his life’s work had been placed in serious jeopardy.

“When it all happened at A&M, I had aspirations of taking teams to the Final Four,” the 36-year-old Davis said. “I’m not saying that my goals have changed, but you go through something like that and you get more of an understanding of the importance of the quality of life for your family.

“Those situations are not only adverse for you, but it’s a huge hardship for the coach’s wife and children.”

Initially, the feelings were of self pity and then disbelief.

“And then you realize that, hey, I’m accountable for what happened, and I have to just continue on and be as positive as possible and work my way back.”

To that end, Davis followed the unwritten coaching by-laws: He obediently went down with the ship and, as he should, accepted full responsibility, although outside observers might believe it was an assistant who originally steered into the iceberg.

Davis explained his worthiness for hiring now by revealing that Roy Kramer, who was a member of the NCAA Infractions Committee that investigated Davis, offered to be the top reference on Davis’ resume.

Given that history, Davis will probably run a program that will pass the white-glove test.

“There’s nobody who is going to jeopardize the integrity of this university,” Davis said Sunday morning in a Moscow coffee shop.

Davis is convincing. In fact, he declared for the record - in a statement that will surely surface if he gets the itch to beat feet in a season or two - that he sees this as being a “long-term situation.

“I’d like to stay at Idaho,” he said. “Idaho has been very special in my career. These people gave me a chance when I was 28. Then, years later, they give me another chance, so you better believe I have a ton of loyalty to the Vandal Boosters, the town of Moscow and the administration.”

My only real misgiving with Kermit Davis, Part Deux, is that somewhere in the row of dominoes that coaching openings become at this time of year, the recycling of a former coach might mean that some worthy young assistant could get passed over for his rightful opportunity.

Perhaps Davis’ trials are analogous to a physical trauma. For instance, a bone under pressure will break, revealing a point of unknown weakness. But frequently, that break will heal over to such an extent that it becomes the very strongest part of that bone.

Yes, Idaho’s fans and other watchdogs should put the high beams on every Davis recruit, and scrutinize every game for a while.

Davis deserves to spend this time under the microscope.

But he also deserves this second chance to prove himself.

You can contact Dave Boling by voice mail at 459-5577, extension 5504.

, DataTimes