Johnny Davis

Johnny Davis remembers it as if it were yesterday, though he is unsure in which of a thousand gyms the moment of clarity came to him. Yet it remains vivid and life-changing, 22 years after it washed over him. In 1974, Davis was a 19-year-old sophomore guard at the University of Dayton, a ballplayer out of east Detroit who was "just another guy" in the hypercompetitive world of college basketball. "I was virtually nobody," the 76ers' first-year coach recalls. "I was there as a courtesy.

John Calipari took himself out of the running for the 76ers' coaching job yesterday. The University of Massachusetts coach whose highly successful program has been touched by scandal this week is venturing where his mentor, Rick Pitino, feared to tread, reaching an "agreement in principal" to coach the New Jersey Nets. Details were not disclosed, but sources indicated that Calipari will be paid $15 million over five years and will have control of the Nets' basketball operations.

The 76ers defeated the Orlando Magic, 100-91, last night for their sixth victory. That in itself was something, considering that the Sixers got their sixth win last season on Jan. 2. But the Sixers, now 6-8 and set to play a very beatable Vancouver tonight, also did something else. They showed the world that they can win against a decent NBA team with a healthy Allen Iverson sitting on the bench and watching. The Sixers played almost a minute of the third quarter and all of the fourth at the CoreStates Center with Iverson benched and backup Doug Overton handling the point-guard chores.

One is old, but feels he's getting younger. The other is much more inexperienced, but proclaims he's getting wiser. And both say they are as different as night and day. But when Ed Badger and Bob Ociepka took on their newest jobs as assistants to first-year Sixers coach Johnny Davis, it was clear they both were on the same page. "I think we bring to this team exactly what [Davis is] looking for," said Badger, who will be on the Sixers' bench for the first time tonight to help coach the Sixers' rookies/free agents squad against the Baker League All-Stars at McGonigle Hall at 7:30 p.m. "That's why he hired us. "If we have a terrible practice, Bob might be ready to jump off the bridge; I'll say that tomorrow is always another day. Experience is what I'm talking about here.

Mark it down: Last night could be the night this Sixers team went over the cliff. Against the mediocre Sacramento Kings, the Sixers lay down in the second half and lost, 107-92. It was their 24th loss in their last 26 games and their 12th consecutive loss at the CoreStates Center, a franchise record for home losses. How bad was it? So bad that coach Johnny Davis, tired of what he was seeing, benched his starters in the fourth quarter and finished with a lineup of backups that went so deep that even Mark Hendrickson, a rookie who last played on the West Coast swing, got four minutes.

An old Pete Seeger song asks, "How high's the water, mama?" The answer comes back, "Six feet high and risin'. " In the song, the water eventually rises overhead, drowning the world. The 76ers are about neck deep right now. With the Knicks arriving in town tomorrow, followed the next night by the Chicago Bulls, the Sixers are looking at a tough row to hoe if they are going to break an eight-game losing streak. They have five more chances to win in December. "It's right here," veteran center Michael Cage said, pointing to his head.

Missing yesterday's practice apparently will cost 76ers forward Derrick Coleman some money. "I was told he was stuck in traffic, that's all I know," coach Johnny Davis said. Coleman, averaging 17.1 points and 8.5 rebounds during the Sixers' impressive 7-8 start, apparently had been at home in New Jersey since Saturday night's 96-90 victory over the Vancouver Grizzlies. The NBA's collective bargaining agreement calls for a maximum $1,000 fine for each of the first two practices missed by a player and a maximum of $2,500 for each additional missed practice.

It didn't take long for coach Johnny Davis to realize the necessary pieces were in place. Minutes after rookie Allen Iverson and the 76ers welcomed NBA basketball to the CoreStates Center with a 104-93 victory over the Golden State Warriors in their exhibition finale last night, Davis eliminated two days of contemplation about his roster. He got to the 12-man limit by cutting second-round draft picks Ryan Minor and Jamie Feick, as well as veteran forward-center Tim Kempton. "I think all those guys are capable of playing in the NBA," Davis said.

Jack Ramsay was the first name Johnny Davis mentioned when the 76ers' new coach was asked about influences on his basketball philosophy. It's clearly a mutual-admiration society. Ramsay, Davis' first NBA coach with the Portland Trail Blazers, sounded like a proud father in praising the Sixers' choice. "I am a big Johnny Davis guy. I think he will make an outstanding coach. He is a wonderful, wonderful person," Ramsay said. Although Davis has never been a head coach, Ramsay has no doubts that he's ready.

Johnny Davis says that, even though his resume shows six seasons as an NBA assistant, he has been a head coach before. Once when then-Los Angeles Clippers coach Bob Weiss was ejected. In NBA-sanctioned summer leagues. In pro-am leagues. In AAU ball. The new Sixers coach knew exactly how he would be last night, overseeing his team's intrasquad scrimmage. He knows exactly how he will be tomorrow night in the preseason opener against the Dallas Mavericks in Tulsa, Okla. Last night, he never left his seat, never showed a trace of emotion.

ALONG THE SIDELINES Starting with the four men already in place, here are the dates of hire of the Philadelphia pro head coaches since 1976. Note, the start date of one coach's tenure may not coincide directly with the end of his predecessor's: Date PHILLIES EAGLES SIXERS FLYERS 1976 Danny Ozark Dick Vermeil Gene Shue Fred Shero Nov. 4, 1977 Billy Cunningham July 5, 1978 Bob McCammon Jan. 30, 1979 Pat Quinn Aug. 31, 1979 Dallas...

Here are some of the team's highlights - and lowlights - since Comcast-Spectacor, with Ed Snider as team chairman and Pat Croce as team president, purchased the 76ers from Harold Katz on April 24, 1996: 1996-97: Allen Iverson was drafted No. 1 overall, won the MVP award at the all-star rookie game, set an NBA rookie record in April by scoring 40 or more points in five consecutive games, and was named NBA rookie of the year....

NEW ORLEANS - Former 76ers guard Lionel Hollins, introduced yesterday as the Memphis Grizzlies' coaching replacement for another former Sixer, Marc Ivaroni, wanted two former NBA head coaches on the bench with him. He has Johnny Davis, a former Sixers coach, as a holdover, but he doesn't have close friend and onetime backcourt mate Maurice Cheeks. Hollins had extended an invitation to Cheeks, fired last month by the Sixers, and got an early indication that Cheeks would come. "But he decided he wanted a little more time to himself," Hollins said.

THIS WAS 1995-96, the 76ers' 18-victory season of first-round draft choice Jerry Stackhouse and the team of Clarence Weatherspoon, Vernon Maxwell, Trevor Ruffin, Shawn Bradley, Jeff Malone, Sharone Wright and Derrick Alston. And, during the preseason workouts and scrimmages at Saint Joseph's University . . . Lower Merion High senior Kobe Bryant. "He was better than anyone we had," said Chicago Bulls assistant coach Ron Adams, then a Sixers assistant. Legends tend to evolve over the years.

LeBron James made sure nothing was stolen from home. Cleveland's All-Star scored 25 of his 36 points in the second half and the Cavaliers, drawing from tough lessons learned in last year's playoffs, beat the visiting New Jersey Nets, 102-92, last night to open a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals. James added 12 assists and Sasha Pavlovic scored a career playoff-high 17 points for the Cavaliers, who will travel to New Jersey for Saturday's Game 3 with a commanding lead in the best-of-seven series.

Johnny Davis was let go yesterday as coach of the Orlando Magic, who have lost six straight games and are on the verge of falling out of playoff contention. Assistant Chris Jent was named interim coach. "We work in a bottom-line business," general manager John Weisbrod said in a statement. "It is our responsibility to do everything possible to create the best opportunity for success. " Davis, a former 76ers coach, was dismissed along with assistant coach Ron Ekker hours after Wednesday night's 110-102 road loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.

It was a familiar setting for Allen Iverson, seated in a chair while reporters and camera operators surrounded him to hear his latest beef with 76ers management and whether he desires a trade from the team with which he has spent his entire NBA career. Iverson wouldn't be specific on his complaints with the team, but as for his reported request for a trade if the team remains in a rebuilding process, he said, "I want to be here. " "If I could have a wish, I would wish that this is the last time that I had to say that," Iverson said yesterday after the Sixers concluded a brief practice at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine.

A week ago, fans attending 76ers games were still cheering for the Eagles. On Saturday night in an electric setting in the Wachovia Center, the cheers were all for the Sixers. Allen Iverson enjoyed another virtuoso performance, the first 60-point game of his career, in a 112-99 win over the Orlando Magic. He shot 17 for 36 from the floor and 2 for 5 from three-point territory. He also drilled 24 of 27 free-throw attempts. When he hit two free throws with 1 minute, 7 seconds left to become the first NBA player to score 60 points since Tracy McGrady last season, the crowd roar was deafening.

Starting power forward Kenny Thomas, coming off one of his best performances of the season on Friday, was unavailable to play for the 76ers last night against the Orlando Magic because of a lower back injury. Thomas fell hard on his back while coming down with a rebound late in Friday's 106-91 win in Toronto against the Raptors. He had 23 points and eight rebounds, and shot 10 for 13 from the field. "He is out, and we will evaluate him on a daily basis," Sixers coach Jim O'Brien said before last night's game.

The farmworker's bus was attempting to navigate the bumpy roads on the outskirts of Juarez, Mexico, a journey seemingly going nowhere. Paul Westhead was coaching in the minor-league American Basketball Association, riding the bus on another endless road trip a little more than a year ago, when he was told that Orlando Magic coach Johnny Davis wanted to speak with him. Davis was hired Nov. 17, 2003, as coach of the Magic after Doc Rivers was...