After 33 years dedicated to college basketball, Bob McKillop announced his retirement about a day after Steph Curry was named the NBA Finals MVP. For three consecutive seasons at Davidson, Steph Curry was coached by McKillop. Back those days, Curry averaged 41% of 3-point shots for the Wildcats. When Steph Curry broke the 3-point shooting record in 2021, all cameras turned to Bob McKillop who was attending the game at Madison Square Garden.
At 71, this was Bob’s 10th NCAA tournament with Davidson. Matt McKillop, Bob’s son, will succeed his father. Matt has been working for the athletic department of Davidson for the past 14 years and will now lead the men’s basketball team.
Bob McKillop is a native of Queens, New York, he played college basketball at East Carolina University before transferring to Hofstra University, and later he briefly played for the 76ers. He then coached Long Island Lutheran High School before becoming head coach at Davidson in 1989.
He is Davidson's all-time leader in wins owning a 634-380 record. He transformed a regular unknown Wildcats to become a mid-major power of college basketball in the United States. Under Bob McKillop's coaching time, Davidson won 11 SoCon regular-season titles, seven SoCon Tournament titles and then two regular-season titles and the 2018 A-10 Tournament.
It was during Curry’s sophomore season in 2007-08, that Davidson reached the Elite Eight, which was yet another milestone for Bob McKillop, since he was the one who chose Steph.
Coincidently, the announcement of the Wildcats coach retirement came when Davidson informed that Steph Curry would be inducted into the school’s hall of fame. Bob cried both when he announced his retirement and learned about Curry’s induction.
Basketball thanks Bob McKillop for continuing to make history, now, and for years to come.