A-10: Can Davidson's Bob McKillop Work His Magic In A-10?

The Davidson Wildcats have been under the direction of head coach Bob McKillop for 26 years and have experienced monumental success. However, the Wildcats joined the Atlantic-10 in July which is a gigantic step up in competition from the Southern Conference.

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Since coming to Davidson in 1989, the 64-year old McKillop has compiled a 472-292 record. He has led the Wildcats to 12 seasons of at least 20 wins, including eight of the last 10 campaigns, and 11 Southern Conference regular-season crowns along with seven NCAA tournament appearances.

Davidson has made the postseason 13 times under McKillop’s guidance and is 7-13 in those contests, including 3-7 in the NCAA tournament. The Wildcats reached the Elite Eight in 2008 before falling to Kansas 59-57.

Davidson lost three starters from last year’s 20-win team, including forward De’Mon Brooks, who led the team with 19.0 points and 7.1 rebounds a game. Forward Tom Droney (10.2 PPG, 3.7 RPG) and guard Chris Czerapowlz (8.8, 4.3 RPG) also graduated.

Davidson Wildcats head coach Bob McKillop is a fantastic coach but will likely have a rough time during his first season in the Atlantic-10. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /

Losing 38 points a game will hurt, but the Wildcats averaged 78.5 — which ranked 29th in the nation. The Wildcats are expected to be strong in the backcourt this year starting with potential conference honors candidates Brian Sullivan and Tyler Kalinoski.

Sullivan, a 5’11” junior, is a dangerous perimeter shooter who has the abilty to light up a scoreboard. He reached double-figures 19 times last season, which includes seven-20 point games and one-30 point outing. Sullivan, who knocked down 90 3-pointers last year, averaged 12.9 points a game while shooting 38 percent from beyond the arc and 83.3 at the charity stripe.

Kalinoski , a 6’4” senior, is the “glue” to the team as he is an all-around player. Kalinoski — who tallied 16 points to go along with five rebounds and five steals in Davidson’s annual Red/Black game recently – is a lethal perimeter shooter and effective ball-handler.

He averaged 11.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.4 assists a game as well as shot 45.5 percent from long-range last season.

If the Wildcats are going to be competitive in the A-10 this season, the development of the rest of the backcourt is key. Jordan Barham, a 6’4″ junior, and 5’11” sophomore Jack Gibbs will get the first crack at backing up the two starters while 6’1” freshman Jordan Watkins also figures into mix.

Barham is a slasher who has the ability to create his own shot and is a good rebounder. He averaged 5.8 points and three rebounds a game while shooting 62 percent from the field in 12.5 minutes of action last year.

Gibbs, who was named to the SoCon All-Freshmen Team, is an excellent ball-handler and jump shooter but needs to improve his consistency from the 3-point line (32.1 percent last year). He scored in double-figures 10 times and averaged 6.8 points a contest despite shooting just 38.2 percent from the field.

Watkins, a pure shooter, could see more time as the season progresses.

The frontcourt is a concern for the Wildcats, specifically in terms of size and strength but also scoring with the loss of both starters.Jake Belford, a 6’9″ junior, and 6’8” sophomore Andrew McAuliffe lead an inexperienced group.

Belford is a stretch-4 who has the ability to score but needs to stay out of foul trouble and improve his rebounding. He averaged six points and just 2.2 rebounds in 15.4 minutes of action a year ago.

McAuliffe will likely be the main presence in the low post until the freshmen have time to develop. McAuliffe, who needs to be more physical, averaged 2.3 points and 1.5 rebounds in less than 10 minutes a contest.

Swingmen Peyton Aldridge and Nathan Ekwu appear to be the most ready of the five incoming freshmen to contribute immediately. The 6’7” Aldridge can score inside and out while Ekwu, a 6’7” forward from Nigeria, has nice skills away from the basket. Oskar Michelsen,a 6’9″ freshman, can score, as evidenced by his winning the scoring title in his native Finland ‘s first division with 20.6 points a game in 2013-14.

Strengths: Scoring, 3-point shooting, shooting

Weaknesses: Rebounding, size, strength, athleticism, defense

Analysis: The 2014-15 campaign will likely be long for McKillop and his young Wildcats – they have two seniors, five juniors, three sophomores and five freshmen on their roster.

McKillop is a fantastic coach but Davidson’s lack of athleticism and strength as well as their lack of frontcourt depth will likely cause the Wildcats to finish near the basement in the conference. The good news is that the Wildcats do have plenty of scorers on their roster so points shouldn’t be an issue.

However, the defense will likely still be an issue as Davidson gave up 72.8 points a game last year which ranked 255th in the nation.

Davidson plays a so-so nonconference schedule with the feature games being against North Carolina in Charlotte and at Virginia. Six of the Wildcats 11 nonconference games are at home and another game is on a neutral court. In conference, Davidson will be home/home games against wDuquesne, George Mason, George Washington, Richmond and VCU.

The Wildcats will host Dayton, Fordham, St. Bonaventure and Saint Louis and travel to La Salle, UMass, Rhode Island and Saint Joseph’s.

A-10: Can Davidson’s Bob McKillop Work His Magic In The A-10?

By Daniel Benjamin | Oct 22, 2014