UMC Men’s Basketball Adds Davis to Coaching Staff

CROOKSTON, Minn.- The University of Minnesota Crookston basketball program announced the addition of Blaise Davis as assistant men’s basketball coach. Davis takes over Bryan Beamish’s role at UMC, after he was elevated to the lead assistant and head women’s golf coach earlier this Fall.

“Blaise did a great job helping the Dakota County program over the past few years and was highly recommended to us,” said UMC Head Men’s Basketball Coach Dan Weisse. “He is a go-getter and is ready and eager to get started. He will be helping our staff in all phases of our basketball program. We are excited to welcome Blaise into the Golden Eagle basketball family.”

“I am very excited about getting the chance to help build a new culture here at UMC,” Davis said. “I was always a cerebral player at Carleton. I come at the game from an analytical standpoint, so I think I can bring that to the team. I have a high work ethic and passion for the game. I have also gained experience recruiting throughout the Midwest during my time at DCTC.”

Davis comes to UMC from Dakota County Technical College, where he served as assistant coach for the Blue Knights for the past two seasons. His primary responsibilities were assisting in the execution of practices, games and team functions. In addition he had a key role in recruiting student-athletes, film-editing, scouting, practice planning and execution, as well as in-game strategy.

Davis was part of a quick turnaround in his first season in Rosemount. The Blue Knights posted a 23-8 mark during the 2014-15 season as they advanced to the NJCAA Division II Region XIII Final, where they lost to Dakota College at Bottineau. In his first season with at Dakota County Technical College, the team went 7-21.

During his time coaching at DCTC, Davis also served as a special education assistant for Minneapolis Public Schools, assisting teachers and administrators to successfully implement the LifeSkills program at Minneapolis South High School. This last year, Davis also served as Head Coach for the 15U AAU team for Minnesota Fury. He helped the team compile an overall record of 32-9. The Fury won the 2015 Midwest Summer Slam in Ames, Iowa.

Prior to getting into coaching, Davis was a collegiate player for NCAA Division III school Carleton College in Northfield, Minn., from 2008-10, where he helped lead the team to a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) playoff championship in 2009-10 and an NCAA Tournament berth in that same year. He was a two-year starting point guard for the Knights.

The Elk River, Minn., native, earned his Bachelor of Arts in sociology and anthropology from Carleton College in 2012. His senior thesis was “An Anthropological Study on the Cross-Cultural Perceptions of Basketball.

For more information, visit the Golden Eagle Athletics website at www.goldeneaglesports.com.