Pittsburgh News, Ray Mernagh

NBE STAFF SUPPORT SERIES: RASHEEN DAVIS, PITTSBURGH

by RAY MERNAGH

Rasheen Davis is like most young guys on the administrative side of staffs in college basketball in that he knows the next step he wants to make in his career is as a full-time assistant coach. Davis is currently the Video Coordinator for Jamie Dixon at Pittsburgh. And while he definitely wants to one day be “on the road” as coaches say, Davis’ prior experiences have made him realize how special and unique Dixon is for a coach at the elite level of college basketball.

Before Davis got to the D-1 level, he was exposed to the more human side of college coaching while playing and coaching under Dennis O’Donnell (over 300 wins) at St. Thomas Aquinas College, a D-2 school in Sparkill, New York. “I could tell parents if they sent their 17-year-old to play for coach O’Donnell they might not end up a pro,” says Davis, “but when they leave they’ll be good men — I could say that with the utmost confidence because that’s the effect coach O’Donnell had on me.” Davis was surprised when he got to Pitt and found Dixon was the same way.

“Had I not come to work here,” says Davis, “I never would’ve believed all the stories about coach Dixon because I didn’t think it was realistic to be like that at this level, but he’s just a phenomenal guy.” Now Davis tells coaches he knows the same thing he used to tell parents — that if they send their players to Dixon they’ll be fine, they won’t have to worry about them.

Davis says that philosophy extends to the way Dixon’s staff interacts with each other as well. He credits Director of Operations Brian Regan and assistant Brandin Knight with getting him acclimated when he came on board in August of 2008. The video system that Pitt used was completely different from the one at Louisville that Davis worked with in his last job. “Brian and Brandin really got me up to speed,” says Davis, “they were fantastic with me.” Davis hopes he can one day impart the kind of care, and wisdom, that folks like O’Donnell, Dixon, and Mo Hicks (who Davis played for and coached under at Rice high school) have shared him.

But he’s in no hurry to leave Pitt. “I love it here,” says Davis, “it’s a great city and the people I work with treat me like family.” Davis says his favorite part of his job is knowing what other teams are going to do before anyone else.

“I’m usually the first one to see the tape,” says Davis, “and it’s cool because I can tell whoever is assigned to prepare the scout for that game what I saw on the tape before he looks at it.” Davis said a big part of his job is editing video into different areas, like say all the inbounds play a team might run, or what they do against a man defense as opposed to a zone. It definitely helps a coach in training see how coaches react to different situations on film. He also sets the DVR’s in every coach’s office before leaving for the night. “If it’s on TV, says Davis, “we record it.”

Davis is a New York guy, born and raised in the South Bronx.

His experience is actually pretty deep for a young guy in his position. He’s coached on the D-2 level as an assistant for four years at St Thomas Aquinas, did a few years on the Rice bench with Hicks, and also helped coach the Gauchos AAU program in New York (not to mention the time he did in Louisville). And he said it was Pitino who counseled him against just taking a job to be “on the road” as a lot of guys do. “Rick Pitino told me you have to make sure you pick a good guy to work for, says Davis, “a guy that will keep the job.”

Davis’ time in New York and traveling with the Gauchos has provided him with a wide range of contacts. Working for Dixon, Davis has seen a guy in an elite, high-major program both treat people right and be successful. Maybe he’ll stay at Pittsburgh long enough for a staff position to open up, you never know?

One thing is certain though — if Davis does have to leave eventually, he’ll have great models in both O’Donnell and Dixon to compare prospective bosses with.

Previous Staff Support Features:

Cary Collins, Providence
Tony Benford, Marquette
Rob Murphy, Syracuse
Josh Eilert, West Virginia