Brendan McKillop to be a Wildcat

Brendan McKillop signs with Davidson
Charlotte Catholic standout will be coached by his father

LANGSTON WERTZ JR.

His father is the men's basketball coach at Davidson. His brother was a high school basketball star who played for his father at Davidson.

Because of all that, Charlotte Catholic's Brendan McKillop, who signed with Bob McKillop's Davidson team Monday, was never sure he wanted to be a Wildcat until he watched them play in the NCAA tournament.

Brendan, a 6-foot-1 point guard, was the Queen City 3A/4A Player of the Year last season after averaging 26 points, five rebounds and five assists. He shared the Observer's player of the year award in Mecklenburg County with Butler's Demontez Stitt.

"At first, I wanted to get away from home and do my own thing," Brendan said. "I'd lived there my whole life. My brother (Matt) played at Davidson, and I've always been in my brother's shadow growing up and going to all the same schools he did."

Brendan got heavy interest from N.C. State, Virginia Tech, George Mason, Penn State and St. John's, said his high school coach, Bob Moran.

But Moran said Brendan began to "fall in love" with the Wildcats during workouts with the players. "And I think those players wanted him there," Moran said. "They saw he could fit in."
Brendan said he made his decision while watching Davidson play in the NCAA tournament this year, seeing how much fun the players were having. So he'll follow his brother after all. Matt graduated in 2006 and is an assistant at Emory University in Atlanta, Brendan said.

"I wasn't sure for a while," Brendan said, "but I'm glad I decided to go."