Curry pays tribute to retiring Davidson coach McKillop
Stephen Curry has thanked long-serving Davidson College coach Bob McKillop, who has announced his retirement.
After 33 seasons leading the Davidson College men’s basketball program, Bob McKillop is retiring from coaching. Davidson announced the news on Friday, just one day after the program’s most famous alumnus, Stephen Curry, led the Golden State Warriors to a fourth NBA championship in eight years.
“I’m sure that you understand that Steph is part of this story. The second part of this story is I am stepping down as the basketball coach,” an emotional McKillop explained at a campus news conference. “Everything happens for a reason. Did you see Steph after the game last night? He was crying - crying - tears... I thought that was a message to me: It’s OK to cry today. I read once that tears are a gift from God. Tears show that your heart can be touched. And I think you know how my heart has been touched by Davidson. So, I’ll be stepping away. You may ask, ‘When did you decide this coach?’ Well, after each year, I analyzed completely what we are doing, how can we do it better. I’m in a constant quest to get better. I feel I could have done more, and I didn’t”.
Curry was among those who voiced appreciation for McKillop’s accomplished career on social media. “Love you Coach!” Curry said on Twitter. “Thank you for everything you’ve done for me, my family, Davidson and every person you’ve impacted along the way.”
McKillop, 71, is among the top 60 coaches all-time at the NCAA Division I level with 634 career wins. He coached the Wildcats to 10 NCAA Tournament appearances, including an Elite Eight run with Curry in 2008, ending in a two-point loss to the eventual national champions, Kansas.
Davidson was 27-7 last season, including a 15-3 record in the Atlantic 10 Conference, leading to an at-large NCAA Tournament berth. He was named his conference’s coach of the year 11 times, twice in the A-10 and nine times in the Southern Conference.
Last season, McKillop became the 10th coach in Division I history to coach at least 1,000 career games at one school. His son, Matt, who played on Davidson’s 2006 NCAA Tournament team and has been serving as an assistant, will be the program’s next head coach.