When Indiana head coach Mike Davis announced his intentions to resign effective at the end of the season February 17, his team was 13-10 and had lost four straight and six of seven games. His announcement, however, seemed to relieve pressure from the program and allowed the Hoosiers to concentrate more on simply playing basketball.

Indiana rallied in the final couple of weeks of the season, winning four straight to close the Big Ten schedule and beat Wisconsin in the first round of the conference tournament. The team's late-season success set up an odd situation — the Hoosiers were likely to earn a bid in the NCAA Tournament with a lame-duck coach. Playing in the postseason means every team is one loss away from being eliminated, which meant that Davis would always be 40 minutes away from being unemployed. What follows is a look at Davis' final days (Saturday March 11 – Saturday March 18) as head coach at Indiana.

Mike Davis doesn't know it, but he has just begun his final week as Indiana's head basketball coach.

Oh, he knows it's a possibility, but he isn't certain when his tenure at IU will come to an end. Then again, certainties have been tough to come by in Davis' six seasons at the helm of the Hoosiers, six years that have been filled with rumors and innuendo, hurrahs and heartaches. From the time he took over the job in the wake of the firing of Bob Knight in September of 2000 to the mid-February afternoon he announced he would resign at the end of the season, Davis has had to deal with uncertainties. His announcement was supposed to finally put the ball in his court, put him in control. Unfortunately, not everything is under his control.

For instance, Davis couldn't control the Roderick Wilmont jumper with scant seconds left on the clock that rattled out and cost the Hoosiers a win over Ohio State in the Big Ten Tournament. On the bright side, Davis knows with a pretty good degree of certainty that his ballclub will live to fight another day. After starting the season 13-10, Indiana's five-game winning streak to close the season and open the conference tourney has put the Hoosiers in a position to return to the NCAA Tournament after a two-year absence.

For a team that once looked ready to implode, the rally has been impressive. But as Davis faces the media just minutes after losing to the Buckeyes, he's not thinking about his own feelings or the NCAA Tournament. He's only thinking about his players.

"There are no special emotions," says Davis when asked about coaching his final Big Ten game at Indiana. "Just disappointment in losing the game. I felt like we had an opportunity, but they came up with the big play. The only emotion I have is disappointment for my players."

Still, the tough final stretch of the regular season and the Big Ten Tournament should have his ballclub ready to make a showing in the Dance, and Davis knows it.

"Hopefully, we'll have all our jitters out," Davis says. "We played in spurts in this tournament. We played well. We had some moments when we struggled to score, and hopefully, we'll be able to play loose and carefree on the offensive end. Defensively, I think we played pretty well. We held both teams (in the Big Ten Tournament) under 30 percent shooting. I think it's an opportunity for us next week to get better. I'm excited about it. I really am. I'm really proud of our guys to be able to play next week."

Davis may have resigned back in February, but he's still working harder than ever as head coach. He hosted a players and media party at his house to watch the selection show, and he spent the minutes prior to the announcement of the brackets doing television interviews. He continues to downplay the impact his resignation has had on the team over the past couple of weeks, preferring to put the spotlight on his players. He says it's not about him, it's about how his players are having fun again — enough fun to go Dancing.

Indiana draws a No. 6 seed, setting them up in Salt Lake City, Utah in a matchup with former Michigan head coach Steve Fisher, who now is the head coach at San Diego State. Considering that Indiana was considered a heavy bubble team just a few weeks earlier, walking away with a ranking that basically puts IU in the top 24 in the country is quite a statement. Davis is mildly surprised with the seeding.

"It is good to get a six seed," Davis says. "I really thought anywhere from a No. 7 seed to a No. 9 seed, but a six seed is definitely good. In a tournament like this, it doesn't matter about the seeds, just getting in is what is important. You want to draw an opponent that suits you. It is exciting for our players and for me."

The good news is Davis already is familiar with San Diego State, which drew the 11-seed in the Oakland region. Davis' good friend, Mark Hughes, is an assistant coach with the Aztecs, and Davis says he has watched SDSU play the past two nights. The bad news is he already knows how dangerous the team could be. San Diego State's Marcus Slaughter is singled out as a player who could present some challenges, but Davis believes his team will be up to the task.

"We are definitely a dangerous team, but so are the other teams in the tournament," Davis says. "It is one and done. It is your mindset going into the game that allows you to either play free or play tight. We are excited about it. We just need to come out and play our style of play."

Monday and Tuesday will be used for travel and preparation to take on San Diego State. Even Sunday evening will bring about some work for Davis and his coaching staff. At this point, the staff's main job is not only winning, but also holding on to their jobs for a couple of days longer.

How's that for motivation?

Davis sits in front of the cameras on a stage set up on the practice courts outside of the Jon M. Huntsman Center on the campus of the University of Utah. In a few minutes, he will take his team through a public practice, but for the time being, he has to face the national media. He knows they will ask some of the same questions he has been asked for nearly the past month, but considering that he hasn't talked to many of the reporters in attendance, he doesn't get irritated with the line of questioning. He knows his situation was bound to bring its own unique set of issues with it, not the least of which was handling the media.

Davis is asked if he has thought about the possibility he could be coaching his final game at Indiana when he takes on San Diego State. Clearly, Davis was ready for just such a question.

"It has been a great opportunity for me," Davis says. "Personally, I haven't put any thought into my last game. I hope our last game is on Monday night, which would mean we were playing for a national championship. That's the way we're looking at it. But this has just been a great opportunity and I feel real good about the direction the program is going in. I feel great about the players and their mindset right now.

"Right now our fans are really supporting our players and embracing everything. It has been fun for me to be a part of this. And the next coach should come in and he should do well because of it."

That word "fun" hangs in the air for a few seconds. After all, Davis is quitting his job, basically because the uproar surrounding the program had gotten to the point where it was affecting his players. Now, after announcing he was walking away, suddenly the job became fun? Davis is asked if it really has been "fun" for him.

"The last couple of weeks have been a great time," Davis says. "I really enjoyed it. For me, it's more seeing the players happy, seeing them able to come out and no matter what the score is, they receive the support. After I made my announcement, we played a couple of road games — we played at Purdue and at Michigan — and we had a lot of support there from the fans. They need to feel that, because once you decide to go to a university to play basketball, those are your lifetime memories."

It is at this point that Davis almost shifts into a mode where he seems to be interviewing for a future job. He may not mean to do it. Or maybe he does. Without losing his focus on the Aztecs, he admits he has thought about what the future might bring for him, and he lays out his credentials for any possible suitors to go over.

"I've thought about it," says Davis when asked if he had thought about his future. "I'd be lying to you if I said I didn't think about it. I feel good about my situation. I think sometimes people overlook what I've done here. I've averaged over 19 wins a year. I've averaged over nine wins in conference play. Under the circumstances, it has been tough, but at the same time it has been a journey that I've really enjoyed because I've developed a lot over the past couple of years. My future will take care of itself, but right now it's important to focus on this basketball team because I feel like we have a lot of good basketball left."

Oh, the job interview isn't done. Not by a long shot.

"I'm not leaving because of wins and losses," Davis clarifies. "I think that's what people don't understand. When I stepped down we were 13-10, but when I made my decision to step down, it was way before the UConn game and we were ranked 15th or 16th in the nation. It's not about wins and losses.

"I told my team last year after we played Northwestern…we had really had a tough time in non-conference last year. We played North Carolina, UConn, Kentucky, Notre Dame, we played at Charlotte. We played a really tough schedule, and that was in back-to-back years that we played that schedule. The difference was we had an inexperienced team one year and a very young team the next year. We played Northwestern and we lost at Northwestern, and the fans were really, really tough on the team. I called a team meeting and I wrote '20' on the board. Then I asked them if they knew what that meant. They asked, 'Does that mean how many games we have left?' and I said, 'No, that's how many wins I've averaged since I've been here. I've averaged 20 wins a year.' So what I said was, 'What you guys have to understand is it's not about you. It's about me. And before I let this happen to you, I'll walk away from this job because it's more important that you have the opportunity to enjoy your college career.' And we won 10 games in the conference last year. No one even knew we won 10 conference games.

"It just felt like it was time for me to step away to take the pressure off the players. If we win the national championship, it won't change my decision because it's what's best for the program. And what's best for the program is what's best for the kids because I don't think anyone wants to be in the situation where their coach is questioned every game. That's the reason I stepped away. So the fans of Indiana should really appreciate what they have here, and what they have is a great basketball program. I will always support this program."

Although Davis repeatedly has said he resigned to ease the pressure on the players, they will tell you he has changed as a coach. Senior Marco Killingsworth says Davis has been more lenient in practices and has changed the atmosphere in Assembly Hall.

"He's having more fun and we're having more fun," Killingsworth says. "He will laugh with you and joke around with you. I've been taking jump shots and I've been taking three-pointers, stuff like that, and he used to get this look on his face like he didn't like that. But now he's like, 'Just play ball.' And he never really gets too upset."

Davis denies he has been more lenient, but he also says it with a smile, an expression that didn't often make an appearance in January and early February. He is asked if he is frustrated that it took such a drastic step to get his team back on track after starting the season so well.

"No, it's not frustration from me because I appreciate the opportunity," Davis says. "If the players look in my eyes and they see bitterness, then they wouldn't be able to perform. I'm OK with it. I've had the greatest opportunity of any coach in the country to be a part of this program. I knew I wasn't going to be here 20 years. I said that when I got the job. So for me having the opportunity to coach here and do some things I got to do, for them to be able to move on with the program, I'm just happy for the players."

Then, Davis headed back into job interview mode.

"I think this experience is second to none," says Davis of coaching Indiana. "To be a college basketball coach, to not have to introduce yourself to a player or a family when I walk into a gym, all of them know who I am. There are maybe 10 or 15 other coaches where you can put the name to the face. That's what Indiana has given me. I've grown so much as a coach and as a person. I don't take things personal anymore. It's not about me. It's about the program. I've graduated, once this class leaves, I've graduated 13 out of 15 players who have played for me. That's important. I think that me going to another situation, with my background, it definitely will help me and help a program in the future."

So, 20 wins a year, national name recognition and a good graduation rate — just in case anybody in need of a head coach was listening.

Today really could be Davis' final game as head coach at Indiana. It's the first round of the NCAA Tournament, and as gametime approaches, there already have been the usual upsets. UW-Milwaukee, a Cinderella from last year and an 11-seed this season, already has dumped No. 6 seed Oklahoma. No. 12 seed Montana has dispatched No. 5 Nevada in Salt Lake City in the morning session, and No. 4 seed Boston College needed double overtime on the floor at the Huntsman Center to knock off a game Pacific ballclub. The No. 2 seed in the Washington D.C. region, Tennessee, nearly lost to No. 15 Winthrop.

In other words, the Hoosiers are entering dangerous waters.

Through most of the game, it looks like IU is going to be another first-round failure. San Diego State's size and athleticism give the Hoosiers fits, and the Aztecs lead by 10 midway through the second half. Davis, however, never panics. He simply keeps pleading with his team to push the tempo and play their style of basketball.

It works. With junior guard Earl Calloway leading the way, Indiana erases the 10 point edge, then makes a five-point deficit with just under three minutes to play vanish. Robert Vaden, a player who is so close to Davis he has vowed to transfer after the season comes to an end, hits a three-pointer with 3.3 seconds left to play to give IU the win.

Davis and the coaching staff have survived to see another day yet again. Oddly, Davis isn't exactly pounded by questions from the media following the win. It could be because the late start time of the game has left the East Coast writers battling their deadline. It could be that the Indiana locker room is open while Davis takes the stage, which keeps most of the IU beat writers far away from the media room for the time being. Whatever the reason, Davis is asked just three questions, but naturally, one of them is about his future.

Davis is asked, if sometime during the final minutes of the game when the Hoosiers were on the losing end of the scoreboard, if the fact his IU career was coming to an end crossed his mind.

"It didn't really cross my mind about it being my last game," Davis says. "It just crossed my mind about making sure our guys fought to the end and not panic. As I said before, we have been in that situation the last three weeks where it is a do or die situation for us and I wanted it so bad for these guys and for the Indiana basketball program for this team to play hard and go out on top."

After making a joke about the media being asleep, Davis walks out of the media room a picture of contentment. He is relaxed. He is smiling. He is simply enjoying the moment. And later in the tunnel outside the locker room, when he finally meets with the IU contingent of reporters, Davis continues to be the cat who ate the canary.

He is reminded that exactly one month earlier he had made his announcement he would be resigning. He is asked if he ever thought he would be where he was standing in March when he held his press conference in February.

"I knew I would be here," Davis laughs. "I'll show you my daily diary. I wrote that one month from the day I resigned, I'd be talking about a win on a last-second shot. Nah, I'm just kidding. That was a good play on you, though, wasn't it? But our guys… it's the players, trust me. It's them. They're making plays, making shots. We're playing our system. It's the first time we're playing the type of basketball we were playing at the beginning of the year."

And even though he knows his future won't play out at Indiana, he still hopes to use his system to win plenty of ballgames in the future.

"Hopefully this will all still be working in 10 years," Davis says with a smile on his face. "Let's all say amen to that. It's fun coaching this team now, even though I get upset with them a little bit. They still look at me with that confidence and not that the-world-is-coming-to-an-end type of look. I'm proud of these guys and their attitude and the effort they've given."

When Davis takes to the stage for Friday's press conference, he still wears the look of a man who is completely relaxed. Wearing an Indiana sweatsuit (you have to wonder what coaches do with all their logoed outfits when they change jobs), Davis strides to the microphones with a smile on his face. He's clearly enjoying coaching again, and just how much more he's enjoying his time on the bench is one of the first questions asked of him.

"It's hard to explain," Davis says. "I'm just excited about every game, excited about the players. They are the ones making plays. It's not me."

He also is asked if his resignation has made him a better coach, and again Davis simply credits his players.

"I think since they knew I was OK, they are playing a lot better and playing a lot more free," Davis says. "As for being a better coach, I'm having more fun coaching, but our system is still the same. We're still doing the same things we were doing since Day One. But our guys are just playing more free."

By the time Davis meets with the media, at least one of the coaches who has been rumored as a possible successor has been eliminated from the tournament. Iowa and head coach Steve Alford, the No. 3 seed in the Atlanta region, lost to No. 14 seed Northwestern State on a last-second shot. Davis is asked about coaching reputations being made at this time of the season and whether he takes any interest in possible candidates falling by the wayside before Davis' team has been eliminated.

"When it comes to the NCAA Tournament, it's the luck of the draw," he says. "I'm 7-3 in tournament play, and I've been fortunate enough to play teams that we matched up well against. Last night vs. San Diego State, I thought that was the most athletic team we played all year. We just have to play your style. Coaches do develop a reputation this time of year. But I just hope we can continue to play and win tomorrow night and move to the Sweet 16."

Earlier, his players admitted they are looking to keep things rolling not just for themselves, but also to send Davis out on top. Vaden deflected a question about his future at Indiana, focusing on Gonzaga for the time being, but it's clear there is love flowing both directions on the team. Davis, however, says he has let some of the emotion of facing a lot of "lasts" — the last time he goes on the road, the last time he runs a practice with his players, etc. — go long ago.

"Hopefully, it's not the last time I do it," Davis says. "It's the last time I do it at Indiana. Sometimes when I'm riding on the bus to the games, I think about how lucky I was to be the coach at Indiana. This is a big-time program. But I've never had thoughts of emotion where this is my last game or feeling sad about it. But you never know when the day comes just how you're going to feel. I'm just enjoying this right now. Every team has its moments, and I feel like we're in a moment right now where we can do something special."

Davis does admit he believes he has achieved one of the goals he set when he announced his resignation. He said during that press conference that he wanted to reunify a splintered Hoosier fan base, and Davis thinks that task has been accomplished.

"I felt that the next home game when we played Penn State," Davis says. "I felt it during our win streak. I just felt the fans coming back supporting the boys, and they need that. They need that more than I need that. You know, the coach, he's gets paid a lot of money to do this, so whether they hurt my feelings or not, that never should make me feel different about any one. From a maturity standpoint, you can say anything you want about me because that's just your opinion. I can handle it. With young players, they're emotional and sometimes immature because if they feel they aren't getting the support, it can really affect them. That's been my great concern through all of this."

Finally, mercifully, there is certainty. The record books will say Mike Davis spent 194 games as head coach of the Indiana Hoosiers over six years. He won 115 of those games and lost 79, including a 90-80 defeat at the hands of Gonzaga in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The loss comes despite the fact Adam Morrison, the Bulldogs' star forward and the leading scorer in the country, was held to 14 points on 5-of-17 shooting. Gonzaga's depth and balance were too much for the Hoosiers to handle, and as usual, Davis closes the game with class.

First, he removes Strickland, a senior who was the first player to sign with Davis once he got the job on a permanent basis, in the closing seconds with the game out of reach. Davis takes the time to embrace his guard for a while and softly speaks into his ear. Strickland credits Davis with helping him become a man, but in this moment, Strickland looks like a boy in his father's arms. With 18 seconds left to play and Indiana down by 10, Davis orders Calloway to just dribble out the clock. There is no need to rage against the dying of the light. The season is over.

But more than just a season. Davis' tenure has come to an end, as has the college careers of four seniors. When the team gathers behind closed doors in the moments after the end of the game, Davis tells his players to be sure to go to class, to support the program and make sure they maintain their eligibility.

"I'm no longer the coach here, but it's just important to me that they go to class and hold on to their eligibility," Davis says. "We graduated a lot of guys since I've been here as a coach, and I hope we continue that. We have four seniors, and all four can graduate, so there's no reason for them not to go to class. For the underclassmen, it's important for them to go to class. Basketball is over. It's important to make a commitment to the program and to the next coach."

When he meets with the press, the first thing Davis does is make sure he hands out his thank-yous to the appropriate people.

"I'd like to thank President Herbert for allowing me to finish the season and the AD Rick Greenspan, and President (Myles) Brand, who gave me the hire here at Indiana when I was interim coach," Davis says. "I'm proud of these guys. They fought hard and showed a lot of courage over the last month. They were under a lot of pressure, but they played as well as anyone in the country. I couldn't be more proud of these guys. It's a very, very good basketball team we played against tonight."

Davis clearly is emotional, but he does his best to hide it. When Vaden is asked about his relationship with Davis — "He is like a father figure to me," Vaden says. "I love him with all my heart and we've just got to move on." — the words move him. The former Indiana coach bends down as if he's trying to tie his shoe, even though it looks as though he is trying to compose himself. He wipes his face a lot, and his eyes glisten. The man looks tired and sad, but he says he isn't disappointed.

"I'm not really disappointed," he says. "I'm really sad for our players. I really am. We fought really hard. If you don't come out and play hard, that's disappointment to me. I thought we fought hard. I'm hoping I get an opportunity. I'm not going to sit here and campaign for any job. My future will take care of itself. I walked out of here on faith, and I hope everything works out."

Naturally, the question is asked about what his plans for the immediate future might be. For a man who has dealt with the pressure of being the head basketball coach at Indiana University for six years, having the chance to relax is completely foreign, but it's an idea Davis hopes to explore.

"I'm just going to enjoy my family," Davis says. "I have an older son on this team, and he's struggling a little bit with everything. I'm going to go home and enjoy them for about a week or so and see what happens. Hopefully, something will happen, but if not, I really do appreciate this opportunity. Hopefully, I can be a part of this family for a long time. For me, I don't like watching games after I lose, so I'm going to disappear until the playoffs are over. I'm just going to go and enjoy my family for a while and hang with them for a while."

With that, his main press conference comes to an end, bringing him one step closer to the peace he has craved since his announcement. He signs some autographs for some fans, then walks down a long hallway that leads to a tunnel that will take him back to the locker room. Without the lights of the television cameras shining in his eyes or microphones pressed to his face, Davis lets his guard down a bit. Strolling past the pock-marked concrete walls of the hallway, Davis exhales long and hard a couple of times, puffing out his cheeks and seemingly letting go of some of the emotions that are pent up in him. There will be time for quiet reflection soon enough. For the time being, Stoic Mike still must be the face of the man.

Fans still call for his autograph. There are more hands to shake, more people who just want to say, "thank you" for his work over the past half-dozen years. Davis never won over the majority of the IU fans, but he certainly has gained the respect of a large number of people for the way he handled a very awkward situation. After all, nobody ever disliked Mike Davis the man. They just didn't care for his results.

Davis addresses his closeness with his players, namely Vaden and forward D.J. White, who missed most of the season with a broken foot. Both have hinted they might move on without Davis as head coach, but even though he doesn't have to, Davis continues to play the role of mentor.

"It's an emotional time for them," Davis says. "They're young. We'll sit down with them and their families and talk it over and do what's best for them. Right now, it's too emotional. They feel like they are taking up for me by saying those things, and they're very, very good players. Robert Vaden has got a chance to be an outstanding player and D.J. White… both guys I think are NBA players. When you ask questions to them about me, I know they are going to defend me because I know both of them will go to war and fight for me, and I will fight for them. We'll sit down and talk to them and talk to their parents, and I'll tell them to do the right thing."

Doing the right thing has been a theme for Davis this season. Nobody questions that he did the right thing by resigning when the questions surrounding his job status became a distraction for the team. He will do the right thing in helping the program go forward, and he will do the right thing for those he loves in the next few weeks as well.

"I have a family to take care of," Davis says. "The most important thing to me is my family, and hopefully I'll get the opportunity to coach somewhere. I'm not taking off. I'm going to do what's best for my family, and hopefully someone can give me an opportunity. I'll go pack up my stuff at Assembly Hall on Monday or Tuesday, but other than that, I'm definitely looking for another job."

Six years ago Davis took over a program in chaos. He coached a team to the national title game. He missed the postseason one year, then went to the NIT the next. This year he stepped down when the season was on the brink of collapse, only to watch his ballclub rally to reach the Big Dance and even win a game. But the past is prologue. Indiana will get a fresh start by hiring a new head coach sometime next month. Davis will get his fresh start when he lands elsewhere, which undoubtedly will happen over the next few weeks.

For now, however, Davis finishes up with the local media, talks to some friends and then walks down a hallway by himself toward a door with an illuminated sign hanging over it. It reads "Exit," although for Davis it may just as well read "The Next Chapter."