Andy Kennedy
From NCAA Wiki
| Andy Kennedy | |
| |
| Sport | Basketball |
| College | Ole Miss |
| Title(s) | Head Coach |
| Record | |
| Years | 2nd Season |
| Awards | |
| Championships | |
| History | |
In his debut season with the Rebels, Andy Kennedy was named the 2007 SEC Coach of the Year by the Associated Press after guiding Ole Miss, a preseason last-place pick in the SEC West, to its first division title and most wins since 2001. The 21 victories was the most ever recorded by a Rebel coach in his first season at the helm. Kennedy also returned Ole Miss to postseason play for the first time since 2002 and for the 13th time in the program’s history.
Kennedy’s Rebels knocked off 18th-ranked Alabama for its first top-25 victory since 2004 and defeated Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi State. He also directed Ole Miss to its first SEC Tournament semifinal appearance in six years and to the second round of the NIT.
Kennedy’s style of "pressure basketball" ignited the Rebel offense. Ole Miss raised its scoring average eight points from the previous year to 73.1 per game, the highest clip since 1998-99. Kennedy’s club scored 80-plus points in four consecutive SEC games this year for the first time since 1976, and the team’s 80 points against LSU in the SEC Tournament was its most in a tourney game since 2001, 10 tournament games ago. The Rebels' 100-80 victory over Nicholls State marked only the second time since 2001 for the team to reach the century mark in points.
The Tad Smith Coliseum atmosphere experienced a resurgance in Kennedy's initial campaign. The Rebels were 16-1 in Oxford, establishing an arena record for single-season wins. Kennedy’s club inspired a huge homecourt advantage during SEC play, averaging 8,241 fans and drawing a record crowd of 9,452 for the victory over No. 18 Alabama.
A native of Louisville, Miss., Kennedy was introduced as the 20th head men's basketball coach in the history of the University of Mississippi on March 24, 2006. The 38-year-old came to Ole Miss after a season as interim head coach at Cincinnati, where he was labeled the Big East Coach of the Year by CBS Sportsline and the New York Post.
Following the resignation of veteran mentor Bob Huggins, Kennedy was tapped on Aug. 26 with the challenge of steadying the program and preparing the Bearcats for their first season of competition in the BIG EAST. A daunting task at the beginning, that challenge became more difficult with the departure of two returning veterans and one promising freshman, and the loss of a key starter to injury, not to mention playing one of the toughest schedules in the nation.
Despite the obstacles, Kennedy directed Cincinnati to a 21-13 record, defeating 12 foes ranked in the Top 100 of the RPI, including four in the Top 50, and playing a schedule rated fifth-toughest by the RPI. Kennedy's Bearcats had their season end in the NIT quarterfinals.
Kennedy has proven himself both as an astute strategist and a top-notch recruiter during his decade of coaching in the college ranks. Athlon named him one of the nation's top-10 assistant coaches, and Rivals.com listed him among the top-20 college basketball recruiters.
Kennedy, who joined the Cincinnati staff as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator in 2001, was promoted to associate head coach in 2004. On the floor, he worked both with the Bearcat guards and tutored the big men.
Kennedy was also intricately involved in developing game plans. When Huggins suffered a heart attack in late September of 2002, Kennedy assumed a larger role in game preparations.
During Kennedy's first three years as the program's recruiting coordinator, Cincinnati attracted three consecutive Top-10 recruiting classes with the class of 2002 rated as high as fifth in the nation by Bob Gibbons of All Star Sports, the class of 2003 finishing seventh by both PrepStars and FutureStars, and the class of 2004 receiving 10th by All Star Sports.
Kennedy's four seasons as an assistant on the UC bench resulted in four straight NCAA Tournament appearances, two Conference USA regular-season championships and two C-USA Tournament titles. The 2001-02 squad recorded the most wins in school history with a 31-4 mark while also claiming the C-USA Men's Basketball Team GPA Award.
In addition to working by Huggins' side during Cincinnati's successful run, Kennedy has also been exposed to the coaching styles of the late Jim Valvano while a player at North Carolina State, and legendary Gene Bartow at UAB.
Prior to joining the Bearcats, Kennedy served as assistant coach at UAB for five seasons, helping the Blazers compile a 90-66 record and make three postseason tournament appearances. The highlight of that tenure was the 1998-99 season when the Blazers tied for the Conference USA regular-season crown and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
Kennedy draws from his experience as a standout player on the high school, college and professional levels.
A 1986 Parade All-American and the Mississippi Player of the Year at Louisville High School, Kennedy started his collegiate career at North Carolina State where he was a member of Valvano's 1987 Atlantic Coast Conference championship team. He then transferred to UAB where over the next three seasons he became the school's No. 2 all-time leading scorer with 1,787 points, an 18.8-point career scoring average.
The two-time all-conference performer still holds or shares 20 Blazer records, including most 3-point field goals (318), highest career 3-point percentage (.437), most 20-point games (43), most 30-point games (7) and the single game scoring mark of 41 points.
Kennedy, who completed his B.A. in history at UAB in 1991, played professionally for four seasons starting with the NBA Charlotte Hornets. He competed professionally abroad for three seasons, playing in Greece, Holland, Spain and Puerto Rico.
Kennedy began his coaching career as an assistant at South Alabama during the 1994-95 season. He returned to UAB two years later after working a year in commercial real estate.
