The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is proud to announce Coach Bob McKillop of Davidson College as the 2008 recipient of the Coach Clair Bee Award.

Five of the nation’s premier basketball coaches and five outstanding graduating players were named as finalists for the twelfth annual prestigious Clair Bee and Chip Hilton Awards, to be presented by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and Chip Hilton Sports during the Final Four in San Antonio on April 7 at the Hall of Fame’s “Family Brunch” at the Marriott Riverwalk.

The Coach Clair Bee Award honors the Active Division I men’s basketball coach who has made the most significant positive contribution to his sport during the preceding year. The winner reflects the character and professional qualities of Clair Bee, a Hall of Fame coach whom many consider the best technical basketball coach in history and a man who cared deeply about his players’ well being.

The five finalists for the Clair Bee Award were: Mark Few (Gonzaga University), Trent Johnson (Stanford University), Ernie Kent (University of Oregon), Bob McKillop (Davidson College), and Rick Stansbury (Mississippi State University).

Coach Bob McKillop has led his Davidson Wildcats to five NCAA tournaments and three NIT spots.

This season, the Wildcats finished the year at 29-7.  Davidson was 4-6 in the latter part of December and then won twenty-five games in a row before being topped by Kansas in the Elite Eight, 59-57.

In his eighteenth season, Bob McKillop is 340-225 (.602) at Davidson. He is Davidson’s all-time winning coach and the SoCon’s all-time winning coach. His teams have earned five SoCon Tournament titles and nine regular season titles. During his Wildcat coaching career, all sixty-two of his seniors have graduated.