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| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1950-07-13)July 13, 1950 (age 75) Queens, New York, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1967–1968 | East Carolina |
| 1970–1972 | Hofstra |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1973–1978 | Holy Trinity HS (NY) |
| 1978–1979 | Davidson (assistant) |
| 1979–1989 | Long Island Lutheran HS (NY) |
| 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×SoCon regular season (1996, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2007–2009, 2012–2014) 7×SoCon tournament (1998, 2002, 2006–2008, 2012, 2013) 13×SoCon division (1996–1998, 2001–2005, 2007–2009, 2012, 2013) 2×A-10 regular season (2015, 2022) A-10 tournament (2018) | |
| Awards | |
| Clair Bee Coach of the Year Award (2008) NABC Coach of the Year (2008) 8×SoCon Coach of the Year (1994, 1996, 1997, 2002, 2005, 2007, 2012, 2013) 2×A-10 Coach of the Year (2015, 2022) | |
Robert McKillop (born July 13, 1950) is an Americancollege basketball coach who is the former head coach of theDavidson Wildcats men's team of theAtlantic 10 Conference. He has a 100 percent graduation rate for his players during a 33-year tenure.
Born inQueens, New York, McKillop grew up in Queens and onLong Island and played forChaminade High School inMineola. McKillop went on to play college ball forEast Carolina University before 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.
He then accepted a job teaching history and coaching basketball back on Long Island atHoly Trinity Diocesan High School inHicksville. 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 School inBrookville. There, McKillop compiled a record of 182–51, winning five New York State Championships.
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 Conference wins 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 Carolina inBelk 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 Charleston 72–65, after waltzing pastFurman andUT Chattanooga in 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, beatingElon in 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-seedGeorgetown to advance to the Sweet 16. Almost a week after beating Georgetown, McKillop and Davidson stunned by upsetting the 3 seed and regular seasonBig Ten championsWisconsin. This win put Davidson in theElite Eight for the first time sinceLefty Driesell got 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.[1]
McKillop and his wife, Cathy, have three children, all of whom graduated from Davidson—Kerrin in 2002,Matt in 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 University inAtlanta, 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.[2] Brendan also played for his father at Davidson.
All of McKillop's children married Davidson students; Kerrin married former Wildcats baseball player Henry Heil, Matt married former Wildcats tennis player Kelsey Linville,[2] and Brenden married Keena Classen. McKillop has seven grandchildren: Kerrin's children Maggie, Claire, and Jack Heil; Matt's children Hazel, Rosie, and Charlie McKillop; and Brenden’s daughter Elsie McKillop.[2]
| 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 | |||||||||