In the interest of full disclosure, I covered the Delaware State University men’s and women’s basketball teams for four years as sports editor of the student newspaper, The Hornet, so I may be a little biased in my praise of Lady Hornets head coach Ed Davis.
As a sports journalist, it is often tough to get words out of coaches and players – they may be shy, reticent to deal with the media, but I never had that problem with Coach Davis. He was and is forthcoming, always willing to give you a moment when needed and he’s never pulled any punches. If he felt his girls were playing great, he’d say it, if they weren’t, he would let you know why and what changes would be necessary to improve the program.
That said, I challenge anyone reading this post to name a coach in black college hoops that is doing a better job with less than Ed Davis. With their 68-66 victory over Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference leader North Carolina A&T Monday night, the Lady Hornets handed the Lady Aggies their first conference loss of the season and gives A&T and Coppin State something to think about when the MEAC tournament begins in about three weeks.
Gone are the big three of Rocky Collier, Katreem Palmer and Ashlee Burbage. The team’s leading scorer, 5′10 guard/forward Sonia Johnson, is a freshman. Johnson and senior guard Keyhana Wakefield are the only two players scoring 10 points per game. So how can a team with limited offensive options and limited game experience give quality schools like A&T, Coppin and Hampton a run for their money? Easy – defense, defense, defense.
DSU is currently allowing just 53.1 points per game overall, 51.8 in conference contests, including holding two teams (Howard and Florida A&M) to under 40 points.
Davis has often preached defense in recent years because he hasn’t had the scoring weapons in his early DSU days with Terrelle Waller and Mandy Clark. In the 2004-05 season, Davis’ Lady Hornets because the first D-I team in women’s hoops history to hold opponents under 50 points per game for an entire season, and they also led the conference in points allowed when they broke through two years ago and earned a trip the NCAA tournament.
When I spoke to Coach Davis at homecoming, he couldn’t believe that his team had been picked to finish second by conference coaches and SIDs, NOT because he felt it was a slight – He wasn’t sure he had the firepower to stand up to a loaded A&T squad (with a great coach and master recruiter in Patricia Cage-Bibbs) and an always tough Coppin State team.
Yet and still, with five games left in the regular season, DSU stands at 14-11 overall and 11-2 in MEAC play, with an outside shot at the top seed in the conference tournament and a chance to repeat their unexpected run to the MEAC title of 2007.
He may not have the facilities or the star power that other coaches in the MEAC or college hoops as a whole enjoy, but Ed Davis certainly has been able to work magic in his nine-year run in Dover. A team can say that they outplayed DSU but they will never out-coach the Hornets as long as Ed Davis is patrolling the sidelines.
If the Lady Hornets are able to win the conference tournament this year, no one will be more surprised than Ed Davis, although he shouldn’t be. His motivational skills and tremendous coaching abilities will be the reason they pack their bags for an NCAA first round game.
