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By John Crumpacker
#WCChoops Columnist
COMPLETE WCC HALL OF HONOR RELEASE | COMPLETE CRUMPACKER ARCHIVES
When he shows up for the WCC's annual Hall of Honor ceremonies in Las Vegas on March 4 as a 2017 inductee, Dick Davey will be with his son Mike, among others, but not his wife Jeanne.
She will be back in Maui attending to their two cats.
That's right. The cost of cat care (cat sitting?) in Hawaii being what it is -- $40-50 per day -- will keep Jeanne Davey at home while her husband is honored at the Orleans Hotel & Casino for his career as a basketball coach at Santa Clara, a 30-year stretch equally divided into 15-year stints as an assistant under Carroll Williams and as a head coach who brought national attention to the Broncos in the NCAA Tournament.
Cats.
"Financially, it costs us an arm and a leg to take care of the cats,'' Davey said, somewhat in exasperation.
Davey was quick to say that he and Jeanne will be on the mainland in May for his induction in Santa Clara's Hall of Fame. Davey, 74, will hardly be lacking for company at the WCC gala, however. With 10 to a table for each honoree, Davey will have with him several Santa Clara stalwarts, including Williams, former Cable Car Classic director Art Santo Domingo and former sports information director Mike McNulty.
"A lot of real good people are coming, and I get a day to play on the slot machines,'' Davey said.
As for his reaction to being selected to the Hall of Honor, he said in his self-deprecating style, "The first thing that came to mind is they made a mistake. Let's face it, I didn't do anything special to deserve that.''
To the contrary, Davey did plenty to deserve a place in the Hall. For starters, he was the only coach who saw the potential in a kid from British Columbia who would elevate Santa Clara's program in his four years at the school and then go on to a long and successful career in the NBA.
Kid named Steve Nash. Davey recruited him. No one else did.
As a freshman in 1992-93, Nash led the 15th-seed Broncos to a stunning upset of No. 2 Arizona in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. At the time, Santa Clara was only the second 15 seed to win a game in the first round of the tourney. To cap his Santa Clara career, Nash helped the Broncos upset Maryland in the 1996 tournament.
Davey's tenure as Santa Clara's head coach ran from 1992 to 2007 and resulted in a record of 251-190, three trips to the NCAA Tournament, four 20-win seasons and three regular season (outright and shared) WCC titles. He was named WCC Coach of the Year four times.
"I can sum it up pretty easily,'' he said. "I got a chance to be around some real great kids. That's the greatest thrill I had, being able to spend time with those guys.''
Some of "those guys'' visit Davey in Maui from time to time, whether on a business junket or vacation with their families. It's those personal connections that the retired coach treasures most. He will certainly enjoy spending time with 30-40 of his former players at Santa Clara's Hall of Fame function in May, just as he will in catching up with friends at the Hall of Honor ceremony in March.
"I'm really honored,'' Davey said. "It was a surprise to me. As you get older, those things are more important to your family. My son is going with me. I had 10 people who wanted to go (as well), so that's amazing. It's an honor I surely appreciate. I'm looking forward to seeing a lot of people.''
If Davey's career could be crystallized into a single game, it would have to be that NCAA tourney game against Arizona on March 18, 1993 in Salt Lake City. Under coach Lute Olsen, No. 2 Arizona was a huge favorite over No. 15 Santa Clara.
Nevertheless, Davey said his players believed they could win -- and they did, 64-61, to the surprise of college basketball observers.
"I'm really proud of the kids,'' Davey said. "That was a game not many thought we could win. The kids were more confident than people thought. They believed they could win. Every indication I had as we were preparing for the game told me they believed they could win.''
Davey said in leading up to the game, he stressed rebounding and defense as the keys, and the Broncos withstood a run by Arizona to hold on and win. During his tenure at Santa Clara, Davey's teams beat five Top 25 teams, including a 2004 regular season win over eventual NCAA champion North Carolina. However, it's that Arizona game that stands as his signature moment as a head coach.
Following an awkward departure from Santa Clara after the 2006-07 season, Davey wrapped up his coaching career as an assistant at Stanford under Johnny Dawkins for four seasons ending in 2011-12 and an NIT championship for the Cardinal.
Shortly thereafter, Davey and his wife moved to Maui, where his focus now is on a much smaller ball -- golf. In retirement, the former coach who would get Santa Clara maroon in the face and slap the court in frustration finds relaxation in playing golf about three times a week. That and walking on the beach regularly.
"It's been a good life for us in retirement,'' Davey said. "I weighed 243 when I got here. One year later I weighed 208 by doing nothing more than walking on the beach and playing golf three times a week. I'm down to my playing weight.''
That would have been in the 1960's when Davey lettered in basketball and baseball at Pacific. His roots in the WCC run deep and the Hall of Honor is the logical landing spot for a man who gave so much of his life to the conference.
John Crumpacker spent more than three decades working at the San Francisco Examiner and San Francisco Chronicle. During his career he has covered the full gamut of sports from prep to professionals. Most recently, Crumpacker served as the beat writer for Cal through the end of the 2013-14 season. In addition to covering 10 Olympic Games, Crumpacker served as the beat writer for the San Francisco 49ers. He is a two-time winner of the Track & Field Writers of America annual writing award and has several APSE Top 10 writing awards.