We’re excited to announce that Park Community’s spokesperson is none other than current Bellarmine University Men’s Basketball Head Coach Scotty Davenport! With a distinguished athletics education career and a strong community presence in the Greater Louisville area, we feel Mr. Davenport is a great example of what it means to be not only our spokesperson, but a respected role model among our serving community. You may see him speaking on our behalf in future publications and events as not only our spokesperson, but a fellow Park Community member.
Here is a passage taken from Bellarmine University’s site to better give you an idea just what he’s contributed to the local athletic community:
“On April 29, 2005, Scott Davenport became the 11th coach in Bellarmine’s history, and in six years took Bellarmine all the way to the top by leading the Knights to the 2011 NCAA Division II National Championship. For his efforts, he was named national coach of the year by two different organizations: the National Association of Basketball Coaches and the Division II Bulletin.
In his debut season, Davenport—who inherited a team program that had finished last in the Great Lakes Valley Conference the year before—led his troops to BU’s first .500 finish since 2001, and the first conference tournament appearance since 2002.
The following year Davenport’s charges went 12-15, which included three losses in the NABC Classic at Freedom Hall against NCAA Division I opponents Louisville, Ohio, and Saint Joseph’s. Improvement continued in 2007-08 as Coach Davenport and the Knights once again finished with a winning record at 17-11 and returned to the GLVC Tourney where they lost in the first round to eventual champion Drury.
In the 2008-09 season, Davenport led the Knights to one of the best seasons in Bellarmine basketball history, setting school records for most wins in a season, most games played and highest in-season national ranking. His 26-7 Knights made it to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament, narrowly losing to the eventual national champion in overtime in the NCAA Midwest Regional Final.
After the successful 2008-09 season, the nation began to take notice of Bellarmine University. Heading into the 2009-10 season, Sporting News tabbed the Knights as preseason No. 1. The Knights would go on to a 23-9 record and win the Great Lakes Valley Conference tournament championship for the first time in program history.
In 2011, everything came together as Davenport led Bellarmine to a 33-2 record while capturing the Knights’ first national championship in any sport. Among the milestones reached by the 2011 squad were best winning percentage, most wins, and most consecutive wins, while recording a third straight 20-win season. His Knights had a 17-1 GLVC regular season record while competing in arguably the toughest conference division in all of college basketball. His colleagues recognized him for this accomplishment by voting him the 2011 GLVC Coach of the Year.
In his six years at Bellarmine, two players have been named to All-America squads, 12 have been named to All-GLVC teams while one has earned conference Player of the Year and another was named GLVC Freshman of the Year.
Prior to coming to Bellarmine, Davenport served nine years as an assistant coach at the University of Louisville under Hall of Fame coach Denny Crum and national championship-winning coach Rick Pitino. He also served a year as an assistant coach on Mike Pollio’s staff at Virginia Commonwealth where he coached alongside Tubby Smith.
Before heading to Louisville, Davenport spent 10 seasons as the head boy’s coach at Ballard High School where he won a state championship in 1988 and coached two future NBA players in DeJuan Wheat and Allan Houston.
A Louisville native, Davenport and his wife, Sharon, have two sons: Russ and Doug, who are both Bellarmine graduates. Russ now works for General Electric in Louisville. Doug, who played four years at Bellarmine, is now a graduate assistant on Chris Mack’s staff at Xavier University”
