Larry Davis

Larry Davis, the dean of the University of Cincinnati men’s basketball staff, has compiled more than a quarter century’s worth of experience in the college coaching ranks, including serving as associate head coach for the Bearcats since 2006.

Davis temporarily served as head coach at Cincinnati for the final 25 games of the 2014-15 season while head coach Mick Cronin was sidelined with a health issue. The Bearcats registered a 16-9 mark under his tutelage, a 23-11 mark at season’s end, a tie for third place in the American Athletic Conference and the school’s fifth consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

For his efforts, Davis was named a finalist for national coach of the year by the Sporting News. He was the first interim coach at the NCAA tournament since Missouri’s Rich Daly and Michigan’s Steve Fisher in 1989. He also became the first non-head coach to lead a team through multiple games of a regular season and into the NCAA tournament since 1961 (Jake McCandless at Princeton).

As the associate head coach at Cincinnati, Davis is tasked with planning recruiting, practice and team preparation, while focusing a great deal of his time mentoring the guards.

A nine-year head coach at Furman University (1997-2006), Davis undertook a massive revitalization of the Paladins’ program, directing the school to a record of 124-139. A significant part of his rebuilding plan was to infuse new talent. He did so by recruiting the likes of two-time all-conference selection Guilherme Da Luz, the first player in Southern Conference history to top 1,000 points, 600 assists, 500 rebounds and 200 steals in a career, and 2,000-point scorer Karim Souchu. Furman posted three winning seasons after 2002 and achieved its first winning record in conference play in over a decade, under Davis’ guidance.

Davis was an assistant coach at Minnesota for three seasons (1994-97), helping the Golden Gophers compile a 69-29 record and make three postseason appearances. He was credited with the recruiting of All-Americans and future NBA Draft picks Bobby Jackson and Quincy Lewis.

Previous coaching stops included a year at Ball State (1993-94), four seasons at Wake Forest (1989-93), and four years at Delaware (1985-89). At Wake Forest, Davis helped the school rise from last place in the Atlantic Coast Conference to make three straight NCAA Tournament appearances (1991-93), coaching the likes of long-time NBA veteran Rodney Rogers.

Davis launched his career as a graduate assistant at East Tennessee State following his graduation from Asbury College in 1978. After three seasons, he became a head coach in the high school ranks, serving a year at Cloverport (Kentucky) and two at Oak Hill Academy in Virginia, where he compiled a 51-9 record.

Davis resides in Cincinnati. He has a son, Jordan, who resides in Cincinnati. His daughter, Morgan Sires, and her husband Robby lives in Charleston, South Carolina.