In a surprise announcement on Friday, longtime Davidson head basketball coach Bob McKillop announced his retirement after 33 years.
McKillop helped the Wildcats’ basketball program achieve new heights during his tenure. But perhaps his crowning achievement was developing Steph Curry into a future NBA megastar.
So when Curry got wind of his mentor’s retirement, he made his feelings known quickly. Taking to Twitter, Curry thanked McKillop for helping him, his family, his school and many others over his career.
“Love you Coach! Thank you for everything you’ve done for me, my family, Davidson and every person you’ve impacted along the way,” Curry wrote.
Bob McKillop began his coaching career at the high school level in his native New York. But in 1989 he was hired as the head coach at Davidson, a school that had made the NCAA Tournament only once in the previous 18 years.
McKillop quickly turned the program around, and by 1998 they were a dominant program in the Southern Conference, regularly in contention for the conference title.
The 2007-08 season may have been his crowning achievement. Led by Steph Curry and Jason Richards, the Wildcats turned a 4-6 start into a 25-game winning streak that took them all the way to the Elite Eight, during which they upset the likes of Gonzaga, Georgetown and Wisconsin before falling to Kansas.
McKillop would take the Wildcats to the NCAA Tournament 10 times in his career. His final record as a head coach is 634-380.
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