Davidson men’s basketball: 5 things to watch
Five things to know about Davidson men’s basketball:
1. It’s a new era
When Davidson begins the season Nov. 7 against Guilford, the Wildcats will have a new coach for the first time in a very long time.
Longtime coach Bob McKillop has retired after 33 years at the school, and he led the Wildcats to 15 regular-season and eight conference tournament championships plus 10 trips to the NCAA Tournament. He ended his career with 634 wins, which ranks No. 54 on the all-time list of NCAA Division I wins for a coach.
Replacing McKillop is another McKillop — his son, Matt.
Matt McKillop, named the school’s 19th head coach in June, played at Davidson from 2002-06. He joined the coaching staff in 2008, and had been associate head coach since the start of the 2016-17 season. McKillop is married to former Davidson women’s tennis star Kelsey Linville.
2. Foster’s back
After leading Davidson in scoring at 16.2 points per game, point guard Foster Loyer returns this season. Loyer, a 6-foot senior, is one of two starters back from a 27-7 team that won the Atlantic 10 regular-season championship. Also back is Sam Mennenga, a 6-9 240-pound junior forward.
Loyer, a second-team all-conference pick, led the nation in free-throw percentage (93.6 percent) and was fourth in 3-point field goal percentage (43.8). Loyer is a preseason all-conference first-team pick.
Mennenga averaged 8.4 points, 5.3 rebounds as a redshirt sophomore.
3. Steady success in the A-10
Davidson moved up in competition when it left the Southern Conference for the Atlantic 10 eight years ago.
But since the 2014-15 season, Davidson has won two A-10 regular-season championships (2015, 2022), plus a conference tournament championship in 2018. And since joining the league, the Wildcats have made three trips to the NCAA Tournament — in 2015, 2018 and 2022.
4. Matt McKillop’s first team is young
Davidson’s roster includes just one senior — Loyer — plus five juniors. The other players are freshmen or sophomores.
5. Winning is tradition
Davidson is one of seven Division I programs with 21 consecutive winning seasons. The others are Duke, Gonzaga, Kansas, MIchigan State, Xavier and Virginia Commonwealth.
