Legendary Davidson Coach Bob McKillop Discusses NIL, Stephen Curry, and Much More

Former Davidson Coach Bob McKillop shared his thoughts about the new ways of college basketball.

Mar 21, 2008; Raleigh, NC, USA; Davidson Wildcats head coach Bob McKillop talks to guards Stephen Curry (30) and Jason Richards (2) during the Wildcats 82-76 victory against the Gonzaga Bulldogs in the 1st round of the 2008 NCAA Mens Basketball Tournament the RBC Center. / Bob Donnan-US Presswire

Bob McKillop, the former Davidson College head coach of 33 years, helped the program reach national success.

Throughout his long career, it wasn't just about the 23 conference championships, 15 regular season titles, 11 Coach of the Year honors, and 10 NCAA Tournament appearances.

The 2008 NCAA Tournament run, led by Stephen Curry and Jason Richards, is still considered one of, if not the most remarkable showings in March Madness history.

Davidson beat Gonzaga, Georgetown, and Wisconsin, three marquee college basketball programs. McKillop and the Wildcats were eventually knocked out in the Elite 8 by the 2008 National Champions, a Kansas team with seven NBA players.

Davidson lost to Kansas by just two points, falling 59-57.

McKillop's success was long before and after that run.

In 2014-15, the Wildcats joined the A-10, winning the regular season title in their debut after being picked 12th in the league's preseason poll.

While all of that was something Coach McKillop will cherish forever, he did it for his players. Spending 33 years at a school isn't an easy task, but Davidson was his home and a place he deeply loves to this day.

I had an opportunity to speak with the legendary head coach about the current college basketball landscape.

Coach had plenty to say about coaching Curry, his son taking over the program, and much more.

In today's day and age, players, at times, look for the top dollar available. That isn't the case in every situation, but student-athletes want to be paid what they're worth.

Think about a scenario where Curry could've been paid in college. As a freshman at Davidson, he averaged 21.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 2.8 assists. The Golden State Warriors star and NBA all-time great shot 40.8% from three-point range on 8.8 attempts per game that year.

In his next two seasons, Curry averaged 27.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 4.2 assists, all while shooting 41.4% from three-point range on 10.1 attempts per game.

Needless to say, had it been in this era, every school in the country would've been knocking on his door.

However, McKillop had an interesting story about the Davidson alum, sharing that Curry stayed true to his word about graduating and how two other schools attempted to recruit him during his senior year of high school.

"In the capital world we live in, it became of no value to have a degree from Davidson College. That wasn't going to make him any more famous or any more money. But he honored his commitment, and he got his degree. So, he was faced with a similar kind of scenario, it played out in a different way, but he honored his commitment, just like he honored his commitment when he decided not to go to those two schools who tried to get him while he was still in high school."

McKillop can't answer about what Curry would've done.

Only the NBA 3-point record holder can, but his loyalty and commitment to the school and program was evident.

"The only thing I can clearly state is that Stephen Curry has always honored his commitments."

His words after graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology make it tough to believe he would've ever left, no matter how much money could've been offered to him in today's landscape.

"The best decision I ever made was to come to Davidson College and pursue an education, join an amazing community and, most importantly, play for an amazing man who has built this program in Coach [Bob] McKillop," Curry said in 2022, according to Kendra Andrews of ESPN.

McKillop is one of the handful of legendary coaches who decided it was time to retire over the past few years. Some have cited many reasons, including NIL and the transfer portal, but for the Hofstra alum, that didn't play a factor in his decision.

Coach McKillop liked to work with his guys. He'd get on the court and show them firsthand how he wanted something done.

He used that in his recruiting pitch, and as he got older, he physically couldn't keep his promise on that end. Coach McKillop didn't believe it was fair to the student-athletes he recruited and thought his son was a better fit for the job.

"Physically, I wouldn't do it just to tell you; I would show it to you. That's what I did with our players. I'd actually walk them through movements and actions. All of a sudden, my body couldn't do that, so I asked Matt McKillop, my son, who was a top assistant, to do this for me with this player. It got to the point where he was doing it all the time, and I wasn't able to do anything."

Former Davidson director of basketball operations, Billy Thom, the head basketball coach at the Millbrook School, a co-ed boarding school in Dutchess County, New York, remembers how involved McKillop was during his practices.

"Coach had a hands on approach in everything he did - hyper prepared, like any fantastic teacher. He’d jump in practices, have his assistants demo things with him. He is a master teacher in every way," Thom said.

Coach Thom has always had great things to say about his time with McKillop at Davidson.

His level of impact on many made him who he was as a coach and, in large part, was a reason for the 33 years filled with joy.

While NIL and the transfer portal aren't why McKillop retired, there are challenges to it at Davidson.

Unlike many Division 1 schools, Davidson can't offer student-athletes a graduate program. That eliminates their chances of landing a graduate transfer.

In this age of college basketball, players are older than ever before, and even if it's a small one, there's a challenge in not having a graduate program.

With that aspect, not having a marquee football program and only having 2,000 undergraduate students, Matt McKillop's recruiting has to be better than ever.

"NIL, especially if you don't have the resources of big-time football, and we don't have that here, is different. We also have an enrollment of 2,000 undergraduates. Matt has the challenge of academic rigor. Davidson is a very, very challenging school academically. It also has the challenges of no graduate school ... He has to be even finer-tuned with his recruiting class. He's getting great kids. His kids, you'd want every kid on his roster to marry your daughter."

Coach Matt McKillop has done a great job of working through those challenges.

In the first 15 games of the season, Davidson sits at 11-4 overall and 1-1 in the A-10. The Wildcats best win came on Nov. 28, defeating Providence, 69-58.

With all the changes in the college basketball world, Coach McKillop emphasized how fortunate he was to spend time at Davidson.

"I was very, very lucky to have the opportunity of coaching at Davidson for so many years as they allowed me to work through many of my own inadequacies and experience so many years of joy. These are different times and the challenges are extraordinary for both coaches and players."

A few years after his decision to hand the program over to his son, Coach McKillop still lives in the area and is an avid fan of the Wildcats.

He's proud of what he left behind and is excited about the future for all involved with Davidson basketball.