"I think somebody will take me by the hand and lead me down there," Drake’s first-year basketball coach said with a laugh today when asked if he’ll remember to go to the visitors’ bench at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City.

Davis, the winningest basketball coach in history at Iowa, sends his young Bulldogs against a Hawkeye squad that undoubtedly will be heavily favored at 7:05 p.m.

Davis had a 269-140 record in 13 seasons before being told he was no longer welcome at Iowa. His final Hawkeye team had a 20-10 record in 1998-99.

I asked him if Tuesday’s game will, indeed, mark his first trip to Carver-Hawkeye Arena since his career ended at Iowa.

He said it would be, but technically it’s not. Davis and his players took a bus to Iowa City after classes today, and the Bulldogs will practice in Carver-Hawkeye Arena tonight. They’ll also have a shoot-around in the arena Tuesday.

Once I cleaned out my desk after the Connecticut game in my final season, I have not been back," Davis said.

"There will be some weirdness to it," Davis said of Tuesday’s game. "I’ll be going back down that tunnel and onto the court for the first time in quite a few years."

Most people figure Davis will receive a thunderous welcome from Iowa’s fans when he walks onto the floor and is later introduced. And, actually, there’s no reason for them to react any other way.

"Iowa’s fans have always been terrific," Davis said. "They’ve been very respectful to everybody. One of the positive things about Carver-Hawkeye was the great respect the fans had for opponents—whoever it was from around the Big Ten, from Bob Knight to Gene Keady or whatever coach came in.

"Sometimes the students got a little negative about the visitors, but for the most part the fans were very respectful."

I asked Davis if he has had any contact with Bob Bowlsby, Iowa’s athletic director, since walking out of his office for the final time.

"I think there have been some written things," Davis said. "I’ve run into him a time or two. We’ve been at some functions at the same time and got a chance to say, ‘Hi.’ It’s been just very casual. There have been at least a half-dozen times when we’ve been at the same functions."

"There’s something in this coaching profession that you feel for other people," Davis said. "You are kind of in this thing together. I just wanted him to know that I was there if there were some things I could do to help in any way.

"I wanted him to know I was available. Yet I wanted to stay in the background and not intrude on what he was doing. We’ve gotten along fine. It’s not a social thing, but I’ve seen him occasionally. I certainly followed the team over the past four years.

"The fact I continued living in Iowa City says a lot about what I felt about the people, the Iowa fans and the support we got."

Davis said he "would have enjoyed it a lot" to go to a game at Carver-Hawkeye at Alford’s invitation. But it didn’t happen.

"Certainly Steve and his staff did everything to make me feel welcome," Davis said. "I just didn’t think it was the right thing. Sometimes when a coach leaves a position it creates an uncomfortable atmosphere because players I had recruited were playing for a new staff.

"That’s enough of an adjustment without worrying about other things. For a lot of reasons it was best to stay away from it."

Davis watched on TV Sunday when Iowa rolled past North Carolina-Asheville, 107-80. Like a lot of other people, he was impressed with the Hawkeyes.

"They’re too good," Davis raved. "No, they’re about what I thought they’d be. I think they’re being underrated. Having watched them over four years and watching the players develop, I think they have a nice blend of experience and youth.

I think there’s a chance they could have a terrific year. I like their ballclub very much."

"It was hard work," Davis said. "That’s going to be the story of this team. The good news is they’re trying real hard. I admire their effort."

The Bulldogs will be at a tremendous size disadvantage Tuesday night.

"I could cite a lot of other negatives, too," Davis said. "As a coach, what you have to do, is put those in the background and go with what you and stress that. We’ve got pretty good quickness. So you try to use the fast break or pressure defense or try some other things to compensate for what you don’t have.

"You go to your strengths and hopefully hide the fact you have some weaknesses. But you’re not going to hide them for long."

Davis, who always uses a lot of players, said, "This is going to be the kind of team where you’ll see lineup changes."

One change tonight could see Quantel Murphy, whom Davis calls "Q," – a 6-4 sophomore forward – in the starting lineup. Murphy came off the bench to score lead Drake’s scoring with 19 points and the rebounders with seven against Simpson.