SoCon Basketball: Top 10 head coaches of the century (2000-20)

1. Bob McKillop – Davidson (2000-2014)

For what he accomplished with Davidson, McKillop clearly stands out in the Southern. His only experience prior to taking the Davidson job in 1989 was at the high school level, but this clearly hasn’t been a limitation. Before the turn of the century, he led the Wildcats into the Southern and to the NCAA Tournament in 1998, but there was plenty more success to come.

McKillop is best known for recruiting Stephen Curry to Davidson and for coaching that 2008 team to the Elite Eight. In total, he made six NCAA Tournaments, and a slew of other postseason bids, finishing at or near the top of the conference standings regularly. In Davidson’s final ten seasons in the conference, the Wildcats were 150-27 in league play, with 15 of those losses coming in the two seasons after Curry’s departure.

McKillop built consistency with this program and helped lead them to the Atlantic 10 in 2014. They have continued to contend for NCAA Tournaments there. No one else in this conference can boast as impressive a resume, let alone a month like he had leading Davidson to the Elite Eight. While Davidson is not part of today’s stronger SoCon, McKillop is still remembered as a legend of this conference.

We have finished our look at the ten best Southern Conference coaches since the turn of the century. As this conference continues to get even better, it’ll be fascinating to see what new coaches come and go and lead their teams to fulfill their potential.