Assistant basketball coach named

Mike Davis made his first move in piecing together a coaching staff immediately after he was hired as interim head coach of the men's basketball team Wednesday. \nDavis called on long-time friend Julius Smith, a former assistant coach at Southeastern Louisiana University, and offered him the job around 11:45 that same night. Smith arrived in Bloomington Monday.\nDavis said he will choose a second assistant today. Last night he met with Dan Panaggio, head coach of the Continental Basketball Association's Quad City Thunder. Davis is also talking with two assistant Division I coaches from the University of Alabama.\n"Now we have some pieces in place," Davis said. "I told him two years ago that if I ever got a job (as head coach), don't wait for me to call you. Just pack your bags and come."\nSmith, 46, will return to SLU sometime next week to do an exit interview and finish up some paperwork. His wife and three sons will remain in New Orleans for the year, mainly because he wanted his kids to finish school where they had started.\n"I took a risk," Smith said, laughing. "This is the first job I've had in 20 years where everybody has 'interim' in front of their name. But you don't get too much better than Indiana University."\nBefore joining SLU's staff last year, Smith spent eight years working for former head men's basketball coach Perry Clark at Tulane. Smith was part of three consecutive 20-win seasons at Tulane, including a trip to the NCAA Tournament (second round, 1992-93) and a Final Four NIT berth in 1994. \nBut his main efforts at Tulane were directed at player recruitment. Smith helped Tulane attain its top two recruiting classes in 1993 and 1997. Davis said the same will be expected of Smith at IU.\nLike Davis, who played college basketball at Alabama, Smith has strong ties to the South. Both coaches recruited sophomore forward Kyle Hornsby. Smith laughed because Davis won that recruitment contest. Smith also recruited a high-school teammate of freshman guard A.J. Moye's.\nSmith said recruiting would be difficult because none of the coaches know if they will still be with the program next season.\n"I know I'm going to have to grab those recruit reins and try and do that for him," Smith said. "We're going to have to come up with some kind of answer to tell the kids (when they ask if we'll be here next season). You win enough, and you'll take care of that."\nRight now, one of Smith's main concerns is establishing a relationship with the players IU already has.\n"Getting to know the kids is going to take a while," Smith said. "They've been through so much emotionally. I'm going to take it slow. I have to be tough and demanding, but I have to reach out to them. I don't think they'll be kicking down the door of a guy they just met"