Remember those days when you looked at Tom Coverdale and thought he was either the ball boy or some poor coach’s chubby son? Remember when every analyst said “Oh, IU’s Tom Coverdale isn’t the most athletic player, but he works SO hard” (which basically meant “Hey, he’s white - he can’t have basketball skills!”) as Indiana made it’s 2002 past Duke, Kent State
and Oklahoma to the 2002 national title game?
Well, he’s no longer any of those. He’s a coach. Seriously.
To our surprise, Coverdale is entering his third season as an assistant coach for the Louisiana-Monroe Indians (coached by Orlando Early). Coverdale came to ULM in 2005-06 to be director of basketball operations, and became a full-fledged assistant last season.
Lost track of Coverdale? Like so many college stars, he tried (and failed) to play pro ball: One season for Rockford in the CBA, one season in Germany. Then reality: Ask athletically
gifted as he is, he’s too small and a tad too slow to be a pro player. So, at 26, that part of his past.
Make fun of Tom since he looks like, well, a leprechaun (which, um, uh, we already did. Doh) but Coverdale made his mark at IU: He’s 2nd-all time
with 200 3-pointers, 3rd-all time with 500 assists, and 6th-all time with 137 steals. And despite Mike Davis’ blunderous coaching, Coverdale was part of one of the most memorable Hoosier teams (and one of the best Big Ten stories the past ten years), leading the Hoosiers within one game of a championship on a bad ankle.
If only he wasn’t always stealing me lucky charms …
Ah, good ol’ Tommy Basketball. One of my (few) favorites from the past 10 years. I’m happy for Tom and wish him the best.
For those IU fans who claim that Mike Davis was responsible for Coverdale’s sudden emergence as a prime time basketball player…you’re still a bunch of idiots.
Why you gotta make us fearful that our Lucky Charms will be stolen?