DAVIDSON, N.C. — On Friday, Bob McKillop announced his immediate retirement from Davidson College. At age 71, McKillop left the job after 33 years as Davidson’s head basketball coach and will be replaced by Matt McKillop, his son and top assistant. It was the succession plan Bob McKillop had hoped for, given that Matt had coached alongside him for 14 years and played for him at Davidson for four more.
On May 31, 17 days before that announcement, Bob McKillop sat down with The Charlotte Observer in the practice basketball gym at Davidson for an unusually revealing hour-long interview about his career.
The elder McKillop was reflective and self-deprecating. Although he gave no strong indication of retirement, in retrospect McKillop sounds very much like a man committed to lifelong earning but also at peace with his legacy.
