Davidson Wildcats: 2022-23 season outlook
A look at Roster changes, expectations, the non-conference schedule, and more.
Entering the Harry L. Vance Athletic Center hallway as a Davidson visitor, you are immediately welcomed with the decorated success of Bob McKillop, Steph Curry, and the past three decades of Basketball success. All Davidson's athletic achievements are available to be viewed as well, but one thing is abundantly clear at Davidson: This is a Basketball school.
As I waited to be greeted by then Associate Head Coach, Matt McKillop, I did my best to take in all that Davidson viewed as achievements.
How much longer will Bob stay? I recall thinking at the time, in late April. The news of Jay Wright at Villanova had recently hit the wire and we’ve already seen Coach K and Roy Williams step aside. The mystery was even quieter out at Davidson with less of the national spotlight, Coach McKillop didn’t need to worry as much about additional “pressure.” He could leave on his terms and timing. Eventually, I asked his son, Matt (Associate Head Coach), that very question. He gave me a respectful answer and said it would mean a lot to him (Matt) to be able to stay at Davidson long-term even if his Father moved on.
The rest is now history.
Matt McKillop is the new Head Coach at Davidson, following the retirement of his legendary Father, Bob. The announcement came about six weeks after our visit together. Let’s dive into what to expect in the Matt McKillop era.
STAFF CHANGES
Unfair to deem the go-forward staff at Davidson as “new.” They are a collection of deep-rooted Davidson Basketball experts and strategists. Matt McKillop takes over as Head Coach after 14 years as an Assistant Coach and a successful playing career. Matt has a firm grip on everything that goes on within the Davidson program, which was evidenced by my visit. Several players came over and said hello and shook my hand unprovoked, the facility plans were thoroughly explained. Matt knows the ins and outs of schemes and transfer portal strategies and clearly knows that Davidson can’t take every player due to its commitment to high-achieving academics. They find the players who fit them and have deep relationships coast-to-coast within the high school spectrum to continue funneling intelligent, talented players in a shooter’s offense to come to play a fun style and win big as a Wildcat. It doesn’t take long to see the draw.
Matt Matheny was hired to take Matt’s place on the bench as an assistant. Another individual who is no stranger to the Davidson program. Matt played for Bob McKillop between 1991-93 and served as Assistant Coach between 1993-2009 before taking the head job at Elon. We are talking about two decades of Davidson Basketball knowledge. Matheny spent last season calling games on ESPN+ and is ready to dive back in with a fresh set of eyes.
Joshua Heyliger received a promotion to Assistant Coach. Heyliger previously served as Director of Operations for three seasons, where he built a strong reputation as a tireless worker and someone dedicated to Davidson’s success. He spent time in the Ivy League as a Grad Assistant with Dartmouth and has ties to New York.
What about Bob? How involved will he be?
Matt will undoubtedly lean on Bob to bounce questions off of him throughout the season. After all, they don’t know any other way to do it and both love the program and the game. Matt also says that his Mother will not want to miss any of her son’s games. She also won’t want to go to the games by herself. What does that mean?
Expect to see Bob at Davidson games this year next to his wife, Cathy.
SEASON SUMMARY
History was made in a wildly successful A-10 campaign for the Wildcats in ‘21-22. By setting a new program record for A-10 wins in a single-season going 15-3, Davidson secured the outright conference championship Going 15-3 in such a competitive league, especially after being picked sixth in preseason, is pretty astonishing. The steady lineup of Hyunjung Lee, Foster Loyer, Luka Brajkovic, Michael Jones, and Sam Mennenga proved to be lethal as a cohesive unit.
In covering Davidson’s early February road win at St. Bonaventure, I quickly saw first hand just how lethal this team was and how many challenges they posed to opposing defenses. Wildcats run great actions and really landed the ideal personnel with addition of Loyer to make it reach near-max potentional. Here’s a snip from Eric Fawcett on one of the foundations of Davidson’s offense.
As you can tell, the ball movement is crisp and unselfishness is a premium at Davidson. The high level of execution creates an abundance of good looks throughout the course of a Basketball game.
The Wildcats avoided any bad losses in non-league play and had a marquee victory by beating Alabama in Birmingham. But the journey was never as smooth as the Wildcats would’ve preferred due to a road loss against #142 Rhode Island. Nevertheless, we here at Bracketeer.Org were never that concerned because the Wildcats did great damage away from home by also adding a key road win at VCU, at St. Bonaventure, and at Richmond that all landed in the Top 2A of their resume. Despite the elimination from the A10 Tournament at the hands of the eventual champs (Richmond), the ‘Cats were safely in and were rewarded with the 10-seed in the West.
The West Region selection paired the Wildcats with Michigan State, Foster Loyer’s former team. It played out to be one of the tournament’s best games. Unfortunately for the Cats’ they lost a heartbreaker which turned out to be Bob McKillip’s last game and the last game played for Lee and Brajkovic, who had 18 points in the defeat.
IMPORTANT DEPARTURES
Hyun-Jung Lee - Lee was in a tough position this offseason per the Davidson staff. South Korean citizens have a military requirement at Age 26 to enlist. This meant Lee’s clock was sped up much faster than the common NBA prospect. The staff believes he likely would have stayed in normal circumstances, however in Lee’s case, it just made sense to start earning income as a professional as soon as possible.
Lee was an all-conference selection who ranked sixth in the league in scoring (16.5), 11th in three-point field-goal percentage (.386), and seventh in three-pointers per game (2.4). Recorded four double-doubles. Made at least four treys in a contest on eight occasions. He will be remembered for a long time around here.
Luka Brajkovic - Never easy when the Atlantic 10 Player of the Year leaves your school, which is what occurred when Brajkovic made the decision to play overseas professionally. Luka brought both a double-double and three-point threat to opposing defenses and was a crisp passer like nearly all Wildcats are. He will be remembered as well. Luka is off to play professionally for CB Breogán in Spain, part of Liga ACB.
Michael Jones - Jones is on his way to Stanford to play in the Pac-12 and pursue academic endeavors. Jones really improved in 21-22, Jones finished as the third most offensively efficient player in the A-10. In fact, this trio of Juniors all landed in the top four:
Top 10 in ORtg - All Atlantic 10 players, 2021-22.
WHO’S BACK?
Foster Loyer - This was the big win for Matt McKillop this summer. Loyer has suffered multiple leg injuries in his career, including the one that sidelined him for four games in late February. During my visit it was unknown if he would use his extra year or potentially retire and jump straight into the coaching profession. Loyer has had his eyes dead set on being a coach as soon as his playing days are over. After all, his father, John, is an NBA scout with a long resume of coaching experience including a stint as interim Head Coach of the Detroit Pistons in 2014. Younger Loyer is serious enough about it that he interned for LA Clippers during NBA Summer League during the offseason. He also put in six weeks of intense individual workouts to fully recover. All of this points back to the way Foster plays and commands the floor. Very easy for the common fan to see his coaching mentality while playing the game he loves. After a few additional months of conditioning, Loyer announced he feels good and ready for one run with the Wildcats. Coach McKillop also stated that he feels great right now.
Sam Mennenga - Sam played a valuable role in the ‘Cats run of 21-22. Starting in every game but one, Mennenga piled up 14 games with double-figure scoring. Very quietly I might add, being in the shadows of Loyer/Lee/Brajkovic for recognition. This 22-23 campaign will be where Sam emerges as that next great Davidson player with the ability to be all-A10 if things go well. Matt McKillop acknowledged that a much heavier load of the offense could run through Sam on this roster, while he also raved about his skill set. Look for a breakout year here.
Grant Huffman - Another player who will see an increased role. Huffman made five starts last season and looked the part in a 12-point second half vs. Saint Louis in the A10 Semifinals last March, where he didn’t miss a shot. And he gained some valuable extra minutes when Loyer was out, logging as many as 32 minutes against Duquesne. Huffman is also known as an active defender with his hands. His continued development will be important to the overall team's success.
Desmond Watson - Appeared in every game in his first season as a Frosh. Watson picked up needed valuable experience behind a veteran team. The upside is high for Desmond. He was a big-time bucket-getter in High School (24.5 PPG) and led his team to the Ohio State Championship Game. A path that many Davidson recruits have in common, a background that includes teamwork and winning. Watson like many others on the team fits the model well and brings additional athleticism.
KEY NEW GUYS
David Skogman - Will have the tough role of filling Luka’s shoes. However, Skogman fits what McKillop is looking to do. He absorbs information quickly, he has a nice stroke from the outside, he’s also a good athlete and rim protector. Matt McKillop is impressed with how much he has picked up already this summer. Skogman transfers over from Buffalo, where he was a blossoming big at the end of last season. He ended up with five double-doubles, all after January. He steadily increased in usage throughout the season. That was on a Buffalo team stacked with talent and he earned his playing time. He’ll have even more importance this year at Davidson. Skogman is known to have a heart condition where he plays with a mini-defibrillator. Here is the full story from CBS last season:
Connor Kochera - On December 4th, 2021 , Davidson ble out William & Mary 70-46 in a dominating effort. One of the lone bright spots for the Tribe that day? Connor Kochera. Kochera went for 18 (39.1% of team pts.), nine boards to go along with three assists. It was enough to impress the Davidson staff and offer him to transfer up. Kochera is a two-year starter who was heavily used, 11th highest Minutes% in the CAA last season. Davidson feels that he will fit the system and be an additional leader.
THE NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
Davidson worked early on in the process to gain a neutral game vs. Purdue in Indianapolis. That allowed the Wildcats to anchor a bit and be more selective on any new series matchups. The ‘Cats already had return games with San Francisco (Home), Northeastern (Home), Delaware (Away), and Charlotte (Home). Add in the Charleston Classic, which was signed well over a year ago and there wasn’t a lot left to go after. Since my time visiting in April, Davidson did add a home contest with VMI. And prefer to play at home to open the season, but that has not been finalized at press time.
As you can see with the manageable schedule, Davidson may need a Purdue win to really carry weight for an At Large or a big win or two in Charleston. The A10 should be much improved with a loaded Dayton team and formidable Saint Louis and VCU showing strength. Add in a tough Loyola-Chicago, a George Mason team with Josh Oduro back, and other quality teams - the Wildcats will also get more chances to build a resume in the league. Furthermore, the Wildcats already have their league-play schedule and will in fact get two cracks at Dayton, VCU, and Saint Louis. Will not be easy.
The 2022-23 Non-Conference Schedule.
EXPECTATIONS
The Davidson program is rooted in high performance and fairly high expectations. As you can tell from this State of the Program update - the types of players that Davidson recruits are rooted in high intelligence and have strong shooting ability. It’s a combination that can win a handful of games in College Basketball by default. Any team that beats Davidson has to earn it typically.
Matt McKillop will bring a more science-based approach to in-game strategy and recruiting. As he enters into more of a CEO role, it will be interesting to see how things flow on the Davidson bench.
As Bob said during the press conference: “One of the interesting dynamics that occurred in the last five years was Matt’s performance on the bench,” his father said. “He was a pain in the butt. He was constantly offering opinions, challenging decisions …” adding, “I coach by gut.”
This Wildcats team is forecasted at #104 on the Bart Torvik Forecast. The forecast is designed I believe to get a general idea of how teams stack up. Per KenPom, the Wildcats have not finished lower than 85th since 2016. Based on how things have come together and as long as Loyer’s health remains intact, there is no reason why they shouldn’t be a Top 85+ squad..