Davidson’s basketball season ended with more questions than answers

Davidson basketball coach Bob McKillop was born and raised in New York City. So he knows about roller coasters, especially a famous one on Coney Island.

“I have a little kinship with Coney Island and the ‘Cyclone,’ ” said McKillop. “So I understand what it’s like to be on a roller coaster, and I felt like that all season long. It was from beginning to end.”

Indeed, there were more ups-and-downs and twists-and-turns to this Davidson season than could ever have been imagined. In November, McKillop knew his Wildcats had their top seven players returning from a 24-victory season in 2018-19.

Four months later, the Wildcats’ season ended in a New York hotel when they were informed the Atlantic 10 tournament had been canceled due to concerns about the coronavirus.

Davidson finished with a 16-14 record and had been the seventh seed in the conference tournament. There’s no doubt the Wildcats failed to meet expectations, but what a ride it turned out to be.

“There were moments when we were at the top, moments at the bottom,” McKillop said. “There moments when we were going up the hill, and moments when it was all downhill.”

McKillop was referring to games against quality competition in which everything clicked for the Wildcats -- a blowout victory at St. Bonaventure or an overtime triumph at home against Rhode Island. But then there were mystifying losses -- against last-place Saint Joseph’s and in four overtimes at George Washington, in which Davidson looked lost during late-game situations.

“We had some outstanding moments,” McKillop said. “Then there would be some when you’d shake your head and ask, ‘How the heck did that just happen?’ ”

The overriding factor for the Wildcats was how they would react to the unexpected loss of two key players after the season began. Sophomore guard Luke Frampton unexpectedly left the team in December, five games into the season. Senior guard KiShawn Pritchett, who had knee issues over his entire career, never got on the court.

It was difficult terrain to navigate, even with returning A-10 player-of-the-year Jon Axel Gudmundsson, first-team all-conference guard Kellan Grady and forward Luka Brajkovic still around.

“Amidst all that, there was never a sense of, let’s quit and look toward next season,” McKillop said. “The team never gave me that kind of indication. There were rocky stretches. But it’s a tribute to the team and our assistant coaches that every day they came to the gym to get better.”

The absence of Frampton and Pritchett meant some of Davidson’s younger players were forced into increased minutes and, for the most part, they flourished.

Freshman guard Hyunjung Lee averaged 8.4 points and made the A-10’s all-rookie team. Redshirt freshman guard Mike Jones was leading the league in 3-point percentage until an elbow injury cost him four games late in the season.

Sophomore forward Nelson Boachie-Yiadom found a place in the rotation and offers the Wildcats an athletic and physical presence inside they always seem to need. Freshman forward David Kristensen also worked his way into the rotation.

Junior forward Bates Jones and junior guard Carter Collins both saw their playing time increase dramatically.

Figuring out how to replace Gudmundsson, who finished in the top 10 in several of Davidson’s career statistical categories, will obviously be McKillop’s biggest challenge for next season.

Grady will be back for his senior year and he will again be one of the league’s top players. Brajkovic, especially if he continues to add muscle and work on his physicality around the basket, can be one of the league’s better big men.

McKillop signed three freshmen -- 6-foot-8 forward Sam Mennenga (New Zealand), 6-3 all-purpose guard Emory Lanier (Atlanta) and 6-3 point guard Grant Huffman (Lakewood, Ohio).

Mennenga, rated a four-star prospect by the 24/7 Sports recruiting website, enrolled in January and has gotten valuable practice time with the team.

“Sam can potentially be a game-changer for our program,” McKillop said.

There is also the intriguing issue of whether Frampton might return.

Frampton, who as a redshirt freshman was the A-10’s top 3-point shooter, took a personal leave of absence and left school in December. McKillop said he’s met with Frampton about the possibility of returning, but “that’s an evolving process at this point.”

That’s another question for McKillop to grapple with, coming on the heels of a season full of them.