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McKillop Nominated for Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame

by | Dec 24, 2019 | Bottom Left Box, Sports

Davidson Head Coach Bob McKillop

 

Davidson head coach Bob McKillop has been officially nominated for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, as announced Thursday afternoon.

A first-time nominee, McKillop joins the likes of Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett as eligible candidates for the Class of 2020.

A complete list of nominees can be found via the link above.

McKillop Bio
Bob McKillop is in his 31st season as the head coach of the Davidson Wildcats.

The 10-time Conference Coach of the Year has won more games in Davidson and league history than any other coach thanks to an all-time mark of 583-355. Entering the 2019-20 campaign, his victory total ranked 20th on the NCAA’s list of Division I winningest active coaches. McKillop also ranks fourth among active coaches on the NCAA’s list of most seasons with their current school.

The Wildcats’ 2019 NIT appearance marked the 17th postseason berth under McKillop — the NCAA Tournament in 1998, 2002, 2006-08, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2018 and the NIT in 1994, 1996, 2005, 2009, 2014, 2016 and 2019. McKillop-coached teams have now reached the 20-win plateau 16 times, and six have won 25 or more games.

Fifty-seven of his players have gone on to play professionally, including Stephen Curry, the 7th pick in the 2009 NBA draft, who has led the Golden State Warriors to three NBA titles while earning back-to-back NBA MVP honors.

Picked to finish 12th in the 2015 preseason poll, McKillop led the Wildcats to the Atlantic 10 regular season title in their first season, earning him his 10th (9 – SoCon, 1 A-10) conference coach of the year honor.

In five seasons in the Atlantic 10, the ‘Cats have won a regular season title (2015), tournament crown (2018) and totaled 59 league wins.

The 2007-08 NABC National Coach of the Year led Davidson to the 2008 NCAA Tournament Midwest Regional Championship game with victories over Gonzaga, Georgetown and Wisconsin. The Wildcats’ unbelievable run ended with a two-point loss to eventual champion Kansas, and Davidson finished the campaign with a final ranking of ninth in the ESPN/USA Today Poll.

Along with tying the school’s single-season record for wins with 29, McKillop and the ‘Cats strung together 25 consecutive victories, the longest streak in the nation, before falling to Kansas on the doorstep of the Final Four.

Seven of the last 12 campaigns have seen the Wildcats collect 24 or more victories, including a 25-8 mark in 2011-12 and 26-8 record in 2012-13.

McKillop’s teams have been successful off the court as well. He has had a perfect Academic Progress Rate of 1,000 each year since the NCAA began tracking it in 2003, and all 90 of his seniors have graduated. During his 28 years coaching against league competition, he has guided the Wildcats to at least 10 wins in conference play 24 times.

The ‘Cats went undefeated in the SoCon with a 20-0 record in 2007-08, the third time Davidson accomplished the feat under McKillop (14-0, 1995-96; 16-0, 2004-05). Davidson had a 43-game conference win streak from 2007-09. It was one away from tying the SoCon record and the eighth longest in NCAA history.

A 1972 graduate of Hofstra, McKillop guided the Wildcats to 13 SoCon divisional titles, including 10 of the last 13 they were in the league.

An inductee into the Hofstra Basketball and NYC Basketball Hall of Fame, McKillop was signed and then cut by the Philadelphia 76ers before beginning his coaching career at Holy Trinity HS.

In May 2017, McKillop along with TV analysts Bill Raftery and Doris Burke were chosen for the 2017 Lapchick Character Award.

A native of Queens, N.Y., McKillop and his wife Cathy have three children — Kerrin, a 2002 Davidson graduate, Matt, a member of the 2006 NCAA Tournament team and 2006 graduate, and Brendan, a member of the 2008 Elite Eight team and a 2011 graduate. The McKillop’s have five grandchildren, Maggie, Claire, Jack, Hazel and Rosie Marie.

From Hall of Fame Press Release
A press conference announcing the Finalists from the North American and Women’s committee for the Class of 2020 will be held during NBA All-Star Weekend, which is scheduled for Friday, February 14th in Chicago, Illinois. The entire Class of 2020, including those selected by the direct elect committees, will be unveiled during the NCAA Final Four in Atlanta, Georgia in early April.

The Enshrinement ceremony will take place in Springfield, Mass., August 29, 2020. Tickets for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2020 Enshrinement ceremony and various events surrounding the ceremony will be on-sale at a later date.

The Hall of Fame will reveal the full schedule of Enshrinement events on January 20, 2020. For the latest news and updates, follow @hoophall on Twitter and Instagram.

About the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame: Located in Springfield, Massachusetts, the city where basketball was born, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an independent non-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to promoting, preserving and celebrating the game of basketball at every level – men and women, amateur and professional players, coaches and contributors, both domestically and internationally. The Hall of Fame museum is home to more than 400 inductees and over 40,000 square feet of basketball history. Nearly 200,000 people visit the Hall of Fame museum each year to learn about the game, experience the interactive exhibits and test their skills on the Jerry Colangelo “Court of Dreams.” Best known for its annual marquee Enshrinement Ceremony honoring the game’s elite, the Hall of Fame also operates over 70 high school and collegiate competitions annually throughout the country and abroad. For more information on the Basketball Hall of Fame organization, its museum and events, visit www.hoophall.com, follow @hoophall #20HoopClass or call 1-877-4HOOPLA.

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