Coaching veteran Kent Davison begins his fourth season as the Roanoke Dazzle head coach in 2004-05. It will be his 32nd year in a coaching career that spans most levels of basketball in the United States – high school, junior college, NCAA Division I and professional minor leagues.

Davison was named the Dazzle’s first head coach on June 28, 2001. He came to the NBDL from the United States Basketball League, where he coached the Dodge City Legend to the 2000 championship. His record as a professional head coach is 71-71, spanning seasons in the USBL, CBA and NBDL. His commitment to a strong community relations effort since joining the Dazzle has made Davison a very popular and recognizable figure in the Roanoke Valley.

Last year, in his third season as the Dazzle’s head coach, Davison finished the regular season at 20-26, helping two players find spots with NBA teams for the season. During his second season (2002-03) with the Dazzle, Davison finished the regular season at 26-24, in a three-way tie for second place, and clinched the Dazzle’s first-ever playoff berth.

Davison, 53, led the 2000 Legend to a 25-8 record in the franchise’s first season and was named the USBL Coach of the Year. He returned to the Legend in 2001 for a second season and the team finished 17-16 and went to the final of the USBL 2001 postseason tournament, after entering as the No. 7 seed.

He is a native of Rochester, Pa. (suburban Pittsburgh). The son of a milkman, Davison is a former high school teacher and college professor. He is known for his instructional skills, attention to detail and blue-collar devotion to basketball fundamentals.

A graduate of Sterling (Kan.) College, Davison went to school as a scholarship football player in a NAIA program, but soon changed sports. He began his coaching career in basketball, football and tennis at Winfield (Kan.) High School in 1974. At age 24, he was named Winfield’s head basketball coach. He also taught accounting.

He left the high school ranks for an assistant coaching job at Wichita State University, where in two seasons he worked with future NBA players Cliff Levingston and Antoine Carr. Davison then moved to Garden City (Kan.) Community College, where he stayed 17 seasons, including the final six as the Broncbusters’ head coach.

Davison succeeded his former boss, National Junior College Hall of Fame coach Jim Carey, at GCCC in 1992-93. His program showed a 12-victory improvement from his first to second year in charge. Davison led the Broncbusters to a 97-91 record in his six seasons, including three 20-win seasons. His ‘94-95 team (23-11) reached the Region VI championship, and Davison was named the Jayhawk Community College Conference coach of the year. Davison helped send more than 50 players on to Division I basketball, and he also built a relationship with Keith Smart at Garden City. Smart went from Baton Rouge, La., to Garden City to 1987 NCAA Tournament championship final-shot hero at Indiana University. When Smart was named head coach at Fort Wayne in the Continental Basketball Association in 1998, he hired Davison as his assistant coach.

Smart moved in 2000-01 to the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers as an assistant coach and director of player development. Davison – who coached Dodge City to its USBL title in the CBA offseason -- moved up to the Fury’s head coaching job for the 1999-2000 season.

Only 20 games into the season – an 11-9 start for Fort Wayne – the CBA ceased operations. Davison returned to Dodge City for a second season as head coach, before being selected by NBA executives for the NBDL position in Roanoke.

At Sterling, Davison lettered in baseball and basketball. He was a three-time all-conference selection in basketball, and a two-time all-league pick in baseball. He was the college’s athlete of the year in his senior year, 1971-72. He has a BS in business, and also a master’s degree in secondary education, from Fort Hays (Kan.) State.

Davison and his wife, Pat, have two sons. Matt, 26, and Andrew, 19