Bob McKillop’s smile was infectious. Fans, ushers and media members all were smiling after seeing the Davidson coach before his team played in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden.
A native of Queens, McKillop had a very good playing career at Hofstra before becoming a successful high school coach on Long Island, which led to his long run as the head man at Davidson.
Until he took the 23rd-ranked Wildcats into the building on Tuesday, McKillop had never coached a game at Madison Square Garden.
McKillop coached Bill Wennington at Long Island Lutheran H.S. The 7-foot center teamed with Chris Mullin for a great four-year run at St. John’s.
“I saw many St. John’s games in this building. I grew up in South Ozone Park and my best friend growing up there was Kevin Joyce, who played at South Carolina and had some great games in this building,” McKillop said. “I’ve seen some great players in this building. The Knicks with Red Holzman. I’ve got memories solidly embedded in my mind about how great this building is.”
igger than ever after Davidson beat West Virginia 68-65. Stephon Curry missed 12 of his first 13 3-point attempts before making his last three to rally the Wildcats.
“It was a joy to be back here in New York and win in this place,” McKillop said. “Steph stepped up to the plate and tried to swing for the fences early. He was in New York and on this grand stage and I think maybe he tried a little too hard.
“It was a matter of being in the Garden for the first time, playing against a very good Big East basketball team and the defensive scheme of Bob Huggins.”
McKillop wanted to make sure everyone was having as good a time as he was in Davidson’s first visit to the Garden since the 1972 NIT.
“I said to our guys we were going to have fun because you don’t get this gift of playing on this wonderful floor in this magnificent city very much in our lives,” he said. “I told them to take this gift and have fun while you’re’ doing it. I tried to have as much as fun as I could and I think our players did as well.”
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DAYTON DANCER: They’re dancing and winning in Dayton.
The Flyers are off to an 8-1 start and the credit could be given to some foot work that comes from dance classes.
Senior forward Charles Little, who had 17 points and 10 rebounds in an 87-70 win over Troy on Dec. 2, is in a ballet class this semester.
l Challenge who leads the team in scoring (13.0) and rebounding (8.0), is studying tap dance this term.
“Tap is really difficult to do, but it pays off,” Wright said. “After my ankle injury last year, it really helps with my flexibility and footwork.”
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TWIN KILLING: Chavis and Travis Holmes are keeping VMI in pursuit of a third straight scoring title by averaging a combined 59.7 points per game this season.
The seniors are also marching up the career scoring list for twins.
Their total of 2,928 has them fourth on the list, ahead of Dick and Tom Van Arsdale. Probably basketball’s most famous twins, they played at Indiana from 1963-65.
Next up on the list are Horace and Harvey Grant at 3,231 points. Horace played at Clemson from 1984-87, while Harvey started at Clemson and transferred to Oklahoma playing there until 1988.
The second spot belongs to former VMI players Ramon and Damon Williams, who scored 3,252 points from 1987-90.
The No. 1 twin duo was a little one-sided. Johnny and Eddie O’Brien scored 3,263 points for Seattle in the early 1950s. Johnny had 2,733 points in his three seasons while Eddie had 530 in his one season at the school.
Chavis Holmes is averaging 30.9 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.0 assists while shooting 52.7 percent overall, including 42.2 from 3-point range, and 79.7 at the free throw line.
28.8 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.9 assists while shooting 57.3 percent overall, including 39.4 percent from 3-point range, and 86.0 percent at the free throw line.
The 6-foot-4 guards are from Charlotte, N.C.
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DUKE DAYS: California women’s coach Joanne Boyle was eager to catch up with her old Duke comrade: first-year Stanford men’s coach Johnny Dawkins.
Boyle made sure to pay a visit to Dawkins in his new second-floor corner office when she was on the archrivals’ campus recently for a Bay Area women’s basketball media day.
It’s been more than two decades since they both played at Duke and became friends.
Boyle turned down the Duke job before the 2007-08 season to stay in Berkeley, while Dawkins left the Blue Devils’ program this past spring to become a head coach after serving as Mike Krzyzewski’s longtime top assistant.
“We were classmates. He’s a great friend. He was a year behind me,” Boyle said. “The thing that I really remember about Johnny was his freshman year – you know how skinny he is. Well, think of him half that size as a freshman. He was a toothpick. He came in and we all had to run the mile. He ran the mile and the last lap he ran backward and he was 4 minutes and something – he ran the last lap backward. He was ridiculous. He was a gym rat and such a great leader. He really embodies Coach K. He’s going to do really good things in the league.”
ut his mile run, Dawkins modestly shrugged it off.
“I think it was a half-lap,” he said with a smile.
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LAST ONES: One of the fun things about a player getting a triple-double is that we get to recall the last player to have one at the school, and sometimes the name is one which hasn’t been heard in a while.
Courtney Fortson had 20 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds in Arkansas’ 98-70 victory over North Carolina Central on Wednesday. It was the first triple-double for the Razorbacks since Alvin Robertson had one in 1983 against Texas.
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AP Sports Writer Janie McCauley in San Francisco contributed to this report
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