Bob McKillop

Bob McKillop

Biographical details
Born	(1950-07-13)July 13, 1950 Queens, New York,U.S.
Playing career
1967–1968	East Carolina
1970–1972	Hofstra
Coaching career (HCunless noted)
1973–1978	Holy Trinity HS
1978–1979	Davidson(assistant)
1979–1989	Long Island Lutheran HS
1989–2022	Davidson
Head coaching record
Overall	634–380 (.625)
Tournaments	3–10 (NCAA Division I) 2–8 (NIT) 2–1 (CBI)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
11×SoConregular season (1996, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2007–2009, 2012–2014) 7×SoCon tournament(1998, 2002, 2006–2008, 2012, 2013) 13×SoCondivision (1996–1998, 2001–2005, 2007–2009, 2012, 2013) 2×A-10regular season (2015, 2022) A-10 tournament(2018)
Awards
Clair Bee Coach of the Year Award(2008) NABC Coach of the Year(2008) 8×SoConCoach of the Year (1994, 1996, 1997, 2002, 2005, 2007, 2012, 2013) 2×A-10Coach of the Year (2015, 2022)

Robert McKillop(born July 13, 1950) is an Americancollege basketballcoach who is the former head coach of theDavidson Wildcats men's teamof theAtlantic 10 Conference.He has a 100 percent graduation rate for his players during a 33-year tenure.

Early basketball career

Born inQueens, New York,McKillop grew up in Queens and onLong Islandand played forChaminade High SchoolinMineola.McKillop went on to play college ball forEast Carolina Universitybefore transferring toHofstra University.At Hofstra he was named team MVP. After graduating in 1972 with a degree in history, he was briefly signed as a free agent by thePhiladelphia 76ers,but was cut.

Coaching career

He then accepted a job teaching history and coaching basketball back on Long Island atHoly Trinity Diocesan High SchoolinHicksville.There, McKillop achieved an 86–25 record. In 1978 he became an assistant coach at Davidson College in North Carolina for one year before returning to high school ball atLong Island Lutheran Middle and High SchoolinBrookville.There, McKillop compiled a record of 182–51, winning five New York State Championships.

Head coach at Davidson

In 1989, McKillop returned to Davidson as head coach. He is Davidson's all-time leader in wins, years coached, and games coached. His 230Southern Conferencewins are more than any coach in league history. He has been the SoCon Coach of the Year seven times, has won thirteen conference division titles, seven tournament championships, and taken his team to seven NCAA tournaments and four postseason NITs. All this winning hasn't come at any academic sacrifice, as 95 per cent of his Davidson lettermen have graduated. In 2006 the Wildcats won the Southern Conference tournament and went on to face No. 4 seeded Ohio State in the NCAA tournament. 13th seeded Davidson led 29–25 at halftime before falling 70–62. On January 27, 2007, McKillop reached 300 wins with a 79–59 victory overWestern CarolinainBelk Arena.On February 26, 2011 he reached 400 wins with a 78–67 victory overUNC Greensboro.

Despite the recent success of the Wildcats, the 2006–07 season promised to be a rebuilding year, as McKillop lost seven seniors, accounting for 76% of scoring. Nevertheless, Davidson finished the year with an overall record of 24–4 and 17–1 in the SoCon. They were ranked 31st in the nation by the ESPN/USA Today poll and #4 amongmid-majors.In the months of December, January and February, the Wildcats lost a total of one game. This season saw the arrival of the Wildcats' greatest modern player, future two-timeNBA MVPStephen Curry.

On March 3, 2007, the Wildcats won their second straight Southern Conference tournament Championship, and third in 5 years. Davidson defeatedCollege of Charleston72–65, after waltzing pastFurmanandUT Chattanoogain the earlier rounds. In 2007, McKillop's Wildcats represented the Southern Conference in the NCAA tournament by battling number 4 seed Maryland losing by 12 at Buffalo.

In2008,after compiling a perfect regular season conference record, the Wildcats ran their record to three straight Southern Conference tournament Championships, beatingElonin the title game. They entered the NCAA tournament as a 10-seed and took down 7-seedGonzaga,for their first NCAA Tournament win since 1969. They then won their second-round game against the 2-seedGeorgetownto advance to the Sweet 16. Almost a week after beating Georgetown, McKillop and Davidson stunned the world by upsetting the 3 seed and regular seasonBig TenchampionsWisconsin.This win put Davidson in theElite Eightfor the first time sinceLefty Driesellgot them there in 1969.

The 2008 season was a testament to McKillop's recruiting prowess, as they were carried by the shooting of Curry, who did not get a second look from most of the bigger programs.

In February 2014, Davidson named the playing surface at Davidson's on-campus arena,John M. Belk Arena,"McKillop Court" —much to McKillop's surprise.

Family

McKillop and his wife, Cathy, have three children, all of whom graduated from Davidson—Kerrin in 2003,Mattin 2006, and Brendan in 2011. Matt played for his father from 2003 to 2006 and earned four varsity letters. After assisting former Wildcat player and assistant coach Jason Zimmerman atEmory UniversityinAtlanta,Matt was named assistant coach to his father at Davidson in 2008, was elevated to associate head coach in 2016, and succeeded his father as Wildcats head coach in 2022.Brendan also played for his father at Davidson.

All of McKillop's children married Davidson students; Kerrin married Henry Heil, Matt married former Wildcats tennis player Kelsey Linville,and Brenden married Keena Classen. McKillop has five grandchildren: Kerrin's children Maggie, Claire, and Jack Heil; and Matt's daughters Hazel and Rosie McKillop.

Head coaching record

College

Statistics overview

Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Davidson Wildcats(NCAA Division I independent)(1989–1990)
1989–90	Davidson	4–24
Davidson Wildcats(Big South Conference)(1990–1992)
1990–91	Davidson	10–19	6–8	4th
1991–92	Davidson	11–17	6–8	6th
Davidson Wildcats(Southern Conference)(1992–2014)
1992–93	Davidson	14–14	10–8	5th
1993–94	Davidson	22–8	13–5	T–2nd	NIT First Round
1994–95	Davidson	14–13	7–7	3rd(North)
1995–96	Davidson	25–5	14–0	1st(North)	NIT First Round
1996–97	Davidson	18–10	10–4	T–1st(North)
1997–98	Davidson	20–10	13–2	T–1st(North)	NCAA Division I Round of 64
1998–99	Davidson	16–11	11–5	2nd(North)
1999–00	Davidson	15–13	10–6	2nd(North)
2000–01	Davidson	15–17	7–9	T–3rd(North)
2001–02	Davidson	21–10	11–5	T–1st(North)	NCAA Division I Round of 64
2002–03	Davidson	17–10	11–5	T–1st(North)
2003–04	Davidson	17–12	11–5	T–1st(South)
2004–05	Davidson	23–9	16–0	1st(South)	NIT Second Round
2005–06	Davidson	20–11	10–5	2nd(South)	NCAA Division I Round of 64
2006–07	Davidson	29–5	17–1	1st(South)	NCAA Division I Round of 64
2007–08	Davidson	29–7	20–0	1st(South)	NCAA Division I Elite Eight
2008–09	Davidson	27–8	18–2	1st(South)	NIT Second Round
2009–10	Davidson	16–15	11–7	3rd(South)
2010–11	Davidson	18–15	10–8	4th(South)	CBI Quarterfinal
2011–12	Davidson	25–8	16–2	1st(South)	NCAA Division I Round of 64
2012–13	Davidson	26–8	17–1	1st(South)	NCAA Division I Round of 64
2013–14	Davidson	20–13	15–1	1st	NIT First Round
Davidson Wildcats(Atlantic 10 Conference)(2014–2022)
2014–15	Davidson	24–8	14–4	1st	NCAA Division I Round of 64
2015–16	Davidson	20–13	10–8	6th	NIT First Round
2016–17	Davidson	17–15	8–10	9th
2017–18	Davidson	21–12	13–5	3rd	NCAA Division I Round of 64
2018–19	Davidson	24–10	14–4	2nd	NIT First Round
2019–20	Davidson	16–14	10–8	7th
2020–21	Davidson	13–9	7–4	3rd	NIT First Round
2021–22	Davidson	27–7	15–3	1st	NCAA Division I Round of 64
Davidson:		634–380 (.625)	381–149 (.719)
Total:		634–380 (.625)
National champion Postseason invitational champion Conference regular season champion Conference regular season and conference tournament champion Division regular season champion Division regular season and conference tournament champion Conference tournament champion

External links

• Davidson profile