Davidson and the McKillop Lineage

How the son of a local legend yearns to follow in his father's footsteps

For over three decades, Robert “Bob” McKillop stood alone as the face of Davidson basketball.

He had first accepted his first position with the team during the 1978-79 season as an assistant coach under Eddie Biedenbach after accumulating a win-loss record of 86-25 during a five-year stint (1973-78) at Holy Trinity High School.

Following a middling 8-19 season for the Wildcats, McKillop abandoned his position after just one season, heading back to New York to coach at Long Island Lutheran High School, a title he held for a decade (1979-89). During this time frame, McKillop achieved a 182-51 record while becoming one of the winningest coaches in the history of New York HS sports, with 5 state titles to his name.

In 1989, McKillop returned to Davidson. What transpired afterwards is nothing short of amazing- if not incredulous: 33 years at the school, with a 634-380 record in 1,014 total games, in addition to 15 regular season championships, 8 conference championships, and 10 NCAA Tournament appearances.

And then, of course, there were his players. From Stephen Curry to Payton Alridge, or Brendan Winters to Kellan Grady, or the likes of Brian Anderson to some pairing featuring Jon Axel Gudmunson, Luka Brajkovic, Sam Mennenga, or Foster Loyer, McKillop was never lacking in talent. And the list goes on too; it would just take too long to get through.

For 33 years, a suburban town in the outskirts of Charlotte, North Carolina became synonymous with the last name “McKillop”. Year in and year out, fans could rely on their ageless wonder of a head coach when it came to fostering a competitive team. His Brooklyn roots and humanitarian approach to the game made him into a revered figure throughout the NCAA, and his loyalty to such a blue collar, hole-in-the-wall school is beyond commendable even to this day.

Following the 2021-22 season- a year in which Davidson won the Atlantic 10 regular season championship and received an NCAA tournament bid despite losing to Richmond in the conference championship game- rumblings began that McKillop was contemplating retirement. At 71 years old, it wasn’t entirely unfeasible, although it was widely unexpected.

After all, if he were to stay, McKillop was virtually guaranteed to bring back several key players to an NCAA tournament team which had just narrowly fallen to Michigan State in their Round of 64 bout. And yet, on June 17th, 2022, word got out: Bob McKillop had retired as the head coach of Davidson following a 33-year stint with the program.

For the first time since 1988, there would be no degree of synonymity between Davidson College and the name “McKillop”.

Or so one would think.

Instead, the association between this small, suburban school and a last name of clear Eastern European descent remains. For in the same breath as the announcement that McKillop had retired, his son Matt- a longtime assistant with the program- was declared the team’s newest head coach.

The middle child of Bob and his wife Cathy, Matt McKillop graduated from Davidson in 2006. He appeared in 117 contests (starting 97 of them) for the school from 2002-06, averaging 8.2 points per game in his career. He was also a part of two separate tournament teams under his father’s tutelage.

McKillop initially had dreams of playing professionally in the Czech Republic, but such aspirations were thwarted following a knee injury. Following the recovery process, he became an assistant at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia during the 2007-08 season, leaving at season’s end to join his father’s staff at his alma mater.

From 2008-2022, Matt served as his dad’s right-hand man on the Davidson bench. During the 14-year stretch as his father’s lead assistant, Davidson amassed a record of 294-155 (.655) with 5 NCAA Tournament appearances.

After his father stepped down from his role and handed Matt the proverbial set of keys he held for over three decades, the younger McKillop was all too aware of the size of the shoes he had been tasked with filling.

But it wasn’t just the coaching staff which was undergoing a sizable change; Davidson’s roster was all but set for Matt McKillop’s first year. Luka Brajkovic, the 2021-22 A10 Player of the Year, was set to graduate. Hyunjung Lee, Davidson’s sharpshooter from South Korea, entered his name in the NBA draft. Other key pieces, such as starter Michael Jones and key reserve Nelson Boachie-Yiadom, entered the transfer portal.

McKillop, however, was able to retain two key veteran stars in guard Foster Loyer and forward Sam Mennenga- in addition to keeping several role players (Grant Huffman and Desmond Watson specifically) while also bringing in transfer talent such as ex-Buffalo big man David Skogman and Connor Kochera from William & Mary. Additionally, 3-star forward Reed Bailey joined the fold for Davidson this year, a key young piece for McKillop.

Davidson went an even 16-16 in 2022-23, with an 8-10 mark in conference play. McKillop will have even more roster overturn this upcoming season, as both Mennenga and Loyer are out of eligibility and Desmond Watson- who started in 18 of his 32 appearances this season- recently announced he would be transferring to Davison’s newest interconference rival, Loyola-Chicago.

However, such is the landscape of college basketball. Players come and players go. And so too do coaches; more often than not, there’s always a bigger job with more pay and better benefits. Nowadays, the overturning of rosters and coaching staff has become such a constant it’s almost perceived as a footnote.

But for Bob McKillop, Davidson was home. It was more than just a job; it was a lifestyle- a culture for him and his family, and the teams on-court success during his 33 years was a testament to that.

Now, the torch has been passed. Bob’s legacy at the school lives on, and he has set the groundwork for his successor to carry the program for another 33 years or so. And, if you ask the people of Davidson, North Carolina what they think of Bob’s successor, they’ll tell you he’s the perfect man for the job.

Why? Because he’s a McKillop.