Bilas giving McKillop his due on ESPN.com for National Coach of the Year

"3 POINT SHOTS"

The discussion of which coach should be national coach of the year should not be held unless Davidson's Bob McKillop is at or near the top of the list.

Davidson has become the top team in the Southern Conference and was an NCAA Tournament team last year, giving Ohio State a battle in Dayton before losing in the first round. McKillop had a corps of seniors last year, and the SoCon expected Davidson to be "gettable" this year with a younger, less experienced team.

Wrong. McKillop's troop of three juniors, two sophomores and two freshmen are atop the SoCon again at 21-4 (12-1), and have suffered losses only at Duke, at Missouri, at Michigan and to Appalachian State.

The Wildcats are led on the floor by the scoring prowess of freshman guard Stephen Curry (20.1 ppg) and junior point guard Jason Richards, who is among the nation's leaders in assists (7.6 per game). The true leader of this team, though, is McKillop, whose steely calm and depth of basketball knowledge have kept his program among the nation's best.

McKillop is the real thing, and Davidson is the type of team that should get at-large consideration. If the Wildcats make the NCAA field, at-large or otherwise, opponents had better be ready. So should voters for national coach of the year.