PROVIDENCE — Currently, the hallway leading into the basketball office at Providence College is stripped of the mementos and keepsakes amassed from over 80 years of Friar hoops.
Thanks to the generosity of a PC alum, those stark-white walls are scheduled for some sprucing up come June. Inside the office, another case of “Extreme Makeover” lurks.
With a few pictures on his desk and none hanging on the walls, Keno Davis’ work space screams decorating. Rest assured the 36-year-old will be busy applying his personal touch in the coming weeks, both on his Alumni Hall digs and the job he signed up for a week ago.
Much is on the newly-appointed Providence coach’s plate. Davis, who arrived in town late Sunday night after spending the weekend on the road recruiting, was scheduled to return to Iowa last night. The reigning national coach of the year expects to build up some heavy-duty frequent flyer miles with all the expected shuttling from Des Moines, Iowa, to Rhode Island.
“I’ll be back and forth the next three weeks.  My thought right now is I’ll be (in Providence) on the weekdays and on the weekends be shuttling (to Iowa or seeking out future Friars),” Davis said Tuesday afternoon, a few hours before his return trip to wife Krista and infant son Brady. “I’m trying to get some loose ends tied up.”
Asked when he expects to put full-time roots down, Davis answered “my guess is by the end of May I’ll be here on a 100 percent basis. That’s my goal.”   
Though Davis hasn’t set into stone his assistants, his PC staff is likely to become rounded out with a few names from his Drake staff. A major road block was presumably cleared earlier this week when Bulldogs associate head coach Chris Davis was passed over.  The job instead went to Mark Phillips, an ex-assistant to Herb Sendek at Arizona State and N.C. State.
Davis, who mentioned during his introductory meet-and-greet with Friar fans and the media his desire to add someone with strong ties to the area, could also be bringing along Rodell Davis, who joined the Drake staff last year, and Justin Ohl, a former Drake player who also served under Keno’s father, Dr. Tom Davis, the former Boston College coach.
“Making sure I put together one the best staffs possible is one of my top priorities,” said Davis. “I’m definitely looking at members of the Drake staff as far as talking to them and seeing what’s best for them and their families. They were obviously a large part of the success and it wouldn’t have happened without them.
“If I’m able to lure a couple of the guys east, I’m sure they’d love it here.”
Though his time in Providence has been brief, Davis has touched base with the cast of Friars he stands to inherit. He held a team meeting earlier this week, yet Davis is “at an information gathering stage” before he can fully sink his teeth into the players.
“Some of them, mostly upperclassmen, have stopped by the office. It’s tough for me to put down a game plan for them until I really get to understand what motivates and drives them to become better,” said Davis.
The time for Davis to strengthen the bond with the Friars will likely occur in the summer, generally regarded as college basketball’s lull point (if one truly exists). Davis, however, sees the summer as a crucial opportunity to get a jumpstart on the coming season.
Last summer Davis took his Drake players to the Bahamas, the kick start to what turned out being a magical season that cumulated with a NCAA Tournament berth.
“Every team in the country works hard from October to March, but those other months are where you are able to make a lot of progress and maybe outwork some other teams,” said Davis. “With so many of the guys going into their senior year, it takes that summer to understand the timing that ‘Hey, this is your last chance. How much can I improve in the offseason to make my senior season a memorable one?’
“We need a few [Friars] to make big jumps from their junior season. As a coach you never know who that’s going to be, but you’re hopeful the light goes on.”
One PC player Davis has been unable to make contact with is Dwain Williams. The sharpshooting sophomore is still believed on campus, though Williams didn’t attend Davis’ press conference. Davis is also looking forward to some face-to-face with Bilal Dixon, the lone recruit Tim Welsh had incoming for 2008-09.
Davis has been inundated with such a high volume of congratulatory messages that his cell phone “died and broke. I don’t know if it was because of the mass number of calls.” Among the well-wishers has been Bruce Pearl, the Tennessee coach who allowed Davis to get his coaching feet wet at Southern Illinois from 1995-97.
“I did get a chance to talk to Bruce and obviously thanked him for getting me prepared for this position,” said Davis, an assistant under Pearl.
Davis, whose formative years came in the Newton, Mass. area, said it felt like old times when he showed up to work Monday. “The Red Sox were on and it kind of hit me where I was,” he said. “It’s exciting to be back where I [grew up] and make sure the dream of Friar basketball is reached as well.”