The time Bob McKillop punched himself in the face, and other stories you haven’t heard
READ MORE
Bob McKillop’s retirement
Davidson head basketball coach Bob McKillop retires after 33 seasons
Expand All
Bob McKillop unplugged: Going 1-on-1 with the Davidson basketball coaching legend
Davidson basketball coach Bob McKillop stepping down after 33 seasons
Meet Matt McKillop: 4 things you should know about Davidson’s new basketball coach
The time Bob McKillop punched himself in the face, and other stories you haven’t heard
.JPG)
What Stephen Curry, Davidson alums said on social media about Bob McKillop’s retirement
Titus Ivory was a heavily recruited basketball standout at North Mecklenburg High in the mid-1990s, and Davidson College coach Bob McKillop saw Ivory as a potential key piece for his rapidly improving program.
Ivory chose Penn State instead, but when Ivory’s father died suddenly, McKillop was among the mourners at the funeral.
“That’s the kind of man Coach McKillop is,” said Terrell Ivory, who is Titus’ younger brother and who chose Davidson when he was being recruited. “He cared enough for our family to be there at a time like that.”
Ivory is among many former Davidson players and assistant coaches who describe McKillop as a caring man who taught his players the importance of teamwork, caring for each other and having a “world view” in their lives.
Here are some stories from those who played under and coached with McKillop in his 33 years at Davidson.
McKillop wanted his players to build good habits
Now assistant dean of admissions at Phillips Academy near Boston, Titus Ivory was a bench player at Davidson in the late 1990s. He said McKillop’s lessons went far beyond the court.
“Everything he told us was about more than basketball,” Ivory recalls. “He told us, ‘If you’re having a bad day, go do something nice for somebody.’ ”
“If you help somebody, you help yourself,” Ivory said McKillop told his players.
Ivory, who said McKillop had a role in every job he’s had, notes that details were important to the former Davidson coach.
“The little things matter to him,” he said. “He was about building good habits.”
Bob McKillop was a passionate coach
Michael Kelly, now assistant director of athletics at Out the Door Academy in Sarasota, Fla., was an assistant under McKillop in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
He said a well-dressed, smooth outward appearance sometimes hid the passion that McKillop had for coaching.
“My first year at Davidson, we were on the road, getting ready to play Duke at Cameron,” Kelly recalled. “That year, Duke was incredible … Jay Williams, Shane Battier, Mike Dunleavy, Chris Duhon, Carlos Boozer – just loaded.
“The night before, we were at the hotel in Durham. So after we get done with film and the (scouting) report, Coach starts talking about toughness, attacking Duke, going right at them.
“Throw the first punch!” McKillop told his staff and players.
Kelly said McKillop then punched himself in the face three times – “as hard as he can,” Kelly recalled. “Right! Left! Right! It was unbelievable.”
Kelly said the other assistant coaches didn’t flinch.
“Not one player in that room thought about anything other than winning that game the next night,” Kelly said.
He added that McKillop still had marks on his face the next day.
“What made him great is he is relentless,” Kelly said.
Bob McKillop was always ready to help
Ardrey Kell High boys’ basketball coach Mike Craft was looking for a job in 2005 after being caught up in a coaching staff change at Appalachian State and moving to Charlotte with his wife.
On a lark, Craft called Davidson and learned that the basketball program’s director of operations had left the previous day. McKillop offered Craft a job.
“He made me feel like a part of the program, from the very start,” Craft said.
He recalled the night that McKillop got a commitment from Charlotte Christian senior Stephen Curry.
“I’ll be the first to tell you that I had nothing to do with that recruitment,” Craft said. “But Coach called me that night, so excited. It was the only time he ever called me after hours. I really felt like I was a part of things.”
A year later, Craft got the boys’ head coaching position at newly opened Ardrey Kell and has been there since.
A few years ago, Ardrey Kell won a big tournament game on a play that Craft learned from McKillop.
“I got a text from Coach McKillop afterward, talking about that play,” Craft recalled. “For him to acknowledge that … well, it says a lot.”
Looking ahead
Matt Williams, who played at Davidson, graduated in 2016 and now is an assistant at Washington and Lee University in Virginia, said one of McKillop’s strengths was his ability to adapt to change.
“Coach McKillop was recruiting international players much earlier than other college coaches, and it paid dividends for the program,” Williams said. “His forward-thinking allowed him to adapt over the years.”
Like Titus Ivory, Williams said McKillop wanted his players to take an interest in helping the community.
“Often times, when you do something for someone else, it has a positive impact on you personally as well,” Williams said. “To this day, when I sense myself feeling stressed out or lacking in joy, I remind myself of Coach’s words and ask myself, ‘Can I do something for somebody else?’ ”
Bob McKillop’s world view
In June 2018, Davidson’s team spent several weeks in Europe on a basketball tour. Bob McKillop arranged for his team to tour the former concentration camp at Auschwitz, where more than 1 million Jews were killed by Nazis during World War II. The tour was arranged with the CANDLES organization, founded by Auschwitz survivor Eva Mozer Kor.
McKillop said he felt the tour was part of the big-world education he wanted Davidson players to receive.
Eva Kor died the following year, but her son, Alex, took to Twitter on Friday after hearing of McKillop’s announcement.
He wrote, “Words do not adequately express my sincere gratitude for you, your family and for taking your 2018 basketball team to Auschwitz to tour with my Eva Mozer Kor.”
This story was originally published June 18, 2022 at 9:10 AM.