Wow.

Not only does former President Bill Clinton’s visit to southern Indiana today have to deal with Indiana University announcing it’s hired Tom Crean as the new basketball coach of the Hoosiers, now he also competes with former Indiana 9th District Rep. Lee Hamilton endorsing Illinois Sen. Barack Obama.

Hamilton announced his endorsement this morning, according to a new release from the Obama’08 campaign.

Hamilton, a vice-chair of the 9/11 Commission and a man with incredible foreign policy credentials, cited Obama’s “ability to unite the county and his visionary approach to foreign policy,” according to a campaign press release.

“Barack Obama has the best opportunity to create a new sense of national unity and to transcend divisions within this country, not by ignoring them or smoothing them over, but by working together with candor and civility to meet our challenges,” Hamilton said in the news release.

“Obama has brought hundreds of thousands of new voters into the political process, making the Democratic Party more representative of the people of this nation and giving it new energy,” he added. “I am impressed by his wide reach and appeal across the electorate. He is redesigning the contours of American politics, expanding Democrats’ electoral reach, and inspiring a whole new generation of voters. If elected, he will lead the country in a manner consistent with the values, hopes, and dreams of the American people, bridging many of the gaps that separate us.

“His foreign policy is pragmatic, visionary, and tough,” Hamilton said. “Barack Obama understands the urgent need for American leadership in confronting many of the challenges ahead, first and foremost defending the safety and security of the American people.”

Timing is everything in politics.

You can bet Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s campaign can’t be too excited about today’s planned announcement that Indiana University has hired a new men’s basketball coach.

That will be the big news out of Assembly Hall today, not former President Bill Clinton’s visit there, set for 2 p.m. after earlier stops in Columbus, Seymour (doors open to the Seymour High School auxiliary gym at 10:45 a.m.) and Bedford.

A former president visiting the area is a big deal, but we’re talking about a new coach for the Hoosiers.

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Pop would likely be excited about the Class A basketball final this weekend between Lutheran High School of Indianapolis and No. 3-ranked Triton at Conseco Fieldhouse.

That’s because there’ll be a Davis on the sidelines.

My brother, Bill, served as an assistant coach for the freshman Saints at Lutheran this season and has been on the sidelines with the other coaches as the varsity squad has made its way through the tournament.

Among those other coaches, of course, is head coach Tom Finchum.

Like all us Davises who grew up on East Hoefgen Street, Tom, or Tom-Tom as we knew him when he’d visit his grandparents two houses down the street, is a graduate of Emmerich Manual High School on the southside of Indianapolis. Unlike all us Davises, though, Tom played for the Redskins. I was, however, a student manager, including two of Tom’s seasons (he was a couple classes ahead of me).

Bill’s son, Brandon, played for Lutheran before graduating last spring. He’s a freshman at IU Bloomington this year. I’m sure Brandon will be in the stands rooting on his alma mater, and his dad.

While I’m excited for Tom and his wife, Audrey, who was a good friend through grade school and high school, I’m also excited for my brother.

Bill’s coached his own children through Little League, football, baseball and softball for what seems like forever. Oh, and possibly soccer, too. Like a lot of youth league coaches, he’s labored many years with little fanfare about the hours he’s put in with practices, dealing with parents, getting fields ready, dealing with parents and juggling his home schedule around practices and games. Did I mention dealing with parents?

Back to Pop. Unlike his sons, he played high school basketball. He was likely a guard for Helmsburg High School in Brown County back in the late 1930s. I say “likely” because I don’t know, but his nickname was “Shorty.” I also know he played basketball and earned a letter sweater. It was either dark blue or purple (it’s been a long time since I last saw it in Mom’s cedar chest).

When I moved to Jackson County in 1984, I mentioned to Peck Forgey, who was then the Jackson County building and planning commissioner, that Pop, who died in 1979, had played at Helmsburg. Peck, who played at Freetown, said he recalled watching a scrappy, hard-nosed Davis boy who played for Helmsburg. It sounded a lot like Pop, so I’ve always imagined it was him. But who knows.

Anyway, I wish Tom, Bill and the Indianapolis Lutheran Saints the best as they prepare to take on Triton in the state final.

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