McKillop deserves kudos

Stephen Curry’s incredible late surge in Davidson’s historic, 74-70 defeat of Georgetown on Sunday won’t soon be forgotten.
It’s not every day a player scores 21 points in 96 1/2 minutes in the biggest game of his life. Deservedly, Curry will get most of the media attention in a nation that loves underdogs.
In America, gray-haired men who grew up in Queens don’t get nearly as much love as baby-faced shooting guards who are descendants of NBA players. But here’s hoping coach Bob McKillop gets some of the recognition he deserves after this win, too.
He has built the Wildcats into a mid-major power whose strength finally has been validated with a run to the Sweet 16 in this NCAA tournament. He prepared Davidson for the tournament by scheduling North Carolina, Duke, UCLA and N.C. State early in the season.
And despite having athletes who – let’s face it – were vastly inferior to Georgetown’s, he outcoached John Thompson III on Sunday at the RBC Center.
After the Hoyas led by 17 early in the second half, their half-court offense deteriorated. Patrick Ewing Jr. and DaJuan Summers were firing up 3-point attempts early in the shot clock when Georgetown should have been banging the ball inside.
Meanwhile, McKillop didn’t panic despite the deficit. He didn’t let his players shoot a bunch of guarded 3-point attempts that would have allowed Georgetown to widen the lead. And when Curry finally got hot and gave the Wildcats the lead, they never were in danger of turning it over.
All that is a credit to how McKillop coached the team. A trip to the Sweet 16 is his reward.
-- Ken Tysiac