VMI Head Basketball Coach Andrew Wilson announced Tuesday that VMI Associate Head Coach Dave Davis has decided to retire from coaching for personal reasons.
Davis was hired by VMI in May 2022 and was with the program for nearly two full seasons.
“Coach Davis is a special person and was a valued member of our basketball program and the VMI community,” Wilson said. “He will be greatly missed by our coaching staff, players and administration. It was a difficult decision for him to retire, but ultimately the best decision for him and his family.”
“He played an integral role in helping to lay the foundation for our program and helping me navigate through my first couple seasons as a head coach. Most importantly, Coach Davis is a person of high character and set a great example every day for our players and coaches. I am forever grateful to him for his unwavering support and loyalty to the program.”
Working with the youngest team in the country during the 2022-23 season, the Keydets ranked first in the SoCon in free throw percentage at 76.6 percent and topped the league in offensive rebounding average at 10.9 per game. VMI also shot well from beyond the arc, ranking second in the conference in three-pointers made (309) and fourth in three-point field goal percentage (.351).
Davis came to the Institute after serving the 2021-22 season as the associate head coach at the College of Charleston, coaching John Meeks and Dimitrius Underwood to second team honors, while freshmen Reyne Smith and Ben Burnham were named to the All-Rookie Team.
Prior to the College of Charleston, Davis served as the associate head coach for two seasons at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, South Carolina. During his time at Winthrop, Davis helped the Eagles claim back-to-back Big South Conference Titles in 2020 and 2021.
With 28 years of experience as a head coach, Davis spent nine seasons at the helm of Newberry College and 14 years as the head coach of Pfeiffer prior to his time at Winthrop.
In his tenure at Newberry, Davis posted five of the top six win totals in program history, which included seven consecutive winning seasons from 2011-12 until 2017-18. In addition, Davis’ teams ranked in the Top 10 nationally in scoring all nine seasons, coaching 17 players to All-South Atlantic Conference honors, including three SAC Freshmen of the Year, four SAC Scholar-Athletes of the Year for Men’s Basketball and an Academic All-American.
At Pfeiffer University, Davis accumulated a record of 284-124 (.696), which included two NCAA Division II Sweet Sixteen appearances in 2000 and 2004 and an NCAA Elite Eight appearance in 2004. Davis’ Pfeiffer teams averaged over 20 wins per season and rank in the top five in wins since 1990 in all of NCAA Division II basketball. Davis was named the Carolinas-Virginia Athletic Conference (CVAC) Coach of the Year in 1998, 1999 and 2004. He was also named the NCAA East Regional Coach of the Year in 2004.
Over Davis’ career, he has coached 19 All-Americans and has had 64 former players sign professional contracts, including Danny Huffor, Dondray Walker, Aegir Steinarsson, Tony Davis and Mitch Riggs from Newberry.
Davis has an impressive list of former assistant coaches and players who have excelled at the college and professional levels, headlined by: Buffalo Bills General Manager Brandon Beane, Purdue Head Coach Matt Painter, Sacramento Kings Assistant Coach Michael Longabardi, former University of Washington and UConn Associate Head Coach Raphael Chellious and former N.C. State Assistant Rob Moxley. He also mentored five Division I head coaches, 16 Division I assistant coaches, nine Division II head coaches, five junior college head coaches, two collegiate athletic directors and five professional general managers, coaches or scouts.
VMI Associate Head Basketball Coach Dave Davis retires
