Andy Kennedy (basketball coach)
From Wolfpack Wiki
| Andy Kennedy | |
|---|---|
| Title
Template:! Head coach | |
| College | |
| Sport | |
| Team record
Template:! 45-24 (.652) | |
| Born | |
| Place of birth | |
| Overall
Template:! 66-37 (.641) | |
| style="background-color: LightSteelBlue; " colspan="3" Template:! Playing career
Template:!- style="vertical-align: top;" | 1986–1987 1988-1991 1992 Template:! NC State |
| style="background-color: LightSteelBlue; " colspan="3" Template:! Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Template:!- style="vertical-align: top;"
Template:! align=left Template:! 1994–1995 | |
Andy Kennedy (born March 13, 1968 in Louisville, Mississippi) is the current head men's basketball coach at the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss). Kennedy was a player in high school at both Winston Academy and Louisville High School. He was a 1986 Parade All-American and he went on to play for North Carolina State and the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). On March 24, 2006, Kennedy was introduced as the Rebels' 20th head men's basketball coach.
Contents |
Playing career
College
Kennedy, a 6'7" forward, was a 1986 Parade All-American, as well as the Mississippi Player of the Year at Louisville High School. He started his collegiate career at North Carolina State where he was a member of Jim Valvano's 1987 Atlantic Coast Conference championship team.
Professional
After graduation, Kennedy played briefly for the NBA's Charlotte Hornets at Guard.<ref>Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: Newcomer trying to keep pace in rugged Big East</ref><ref>Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal: Bartow says Kennedy will force tempo</ref><ref>Ole Miss Andy Kennedy Bio</ref><ref>Old UAB Andy Kennedy Bio</ref> He later began a three-year professional career abroad, playing in Greece, Holland, Spain and Puerto Rico. Unfortunately chronic knee problems brought his career to an early end. He had his second ACL tear and subsequently his fifth and final knee operation while playing in Puerto Rico and chose to retire as a player and transition into coaching.
Coaching career
Early years
Kennedy's coaching career began as an assistant for the University of South Alabama during the 1994-1995 season. Since then he has also served as an assistant coach at UAB from 1996-2001 and the University of Cincinnati from 2001-2005. Kennedy's most notable coaching position came during the 2005-06 season when he was named interim head coach for Cincinnati after Bob Huggins resigned. He led the Bearcats to a 21-13 record and an NIT appearance that year. He is known for his excellent style of recruiting, and has developed a national reputation as a top recruiter.
Ole Miss
He is now the head men's basketball coach for the Ole Miss Rebels. He led the Rebels to a 21-13 overall record and 8-8 in conference play record to become co-champions of the Southeastern Conference Western division. The Rebels made it to the semi-finals of the SEC tournament, but fell to the eventual champions, Florida. The Rebels then received an NIT berth and won the first round against Appalachian State but fell to the eventual runners-up, Clemson.
Andy Kennedy's 2006-2007 season as an Ole Miss Rebel was thought of as a success as the Rebels shared the SEC's Western Division title with Mississippi State after being projected to finish last in the West division. Kennedy's Rebels did a nice job defending their home court in Oxford where they were 14-1, losing only to Kentucky.
Arrest
Kennedy was arrested in Cincinnati, Ohio on December 18, 2008, after allegedly punching cab driver Mohammed Jiddou with "a closed fist while shouting racial slurs," according to the police report. Kennedy's attorney entered a plea of not guilty on his behalf at a court hearing later that day, and Kennedy as well as UM athletic director Pete Boone expressed their complete confidence that Kennedy will be cleared of all charges, despite the public testimony of a valet who witnessed the incident <ref>WLWT video:Andy Kennedy arrested</ref> and whose account of the assault corroborates the cab driver's story.<ref> Mississippi coach Kennedy charged with assault of cabbie ESPN.com, December 19, 2008</ref> Kennedy subsequently filed a lawsuit against both Jiddou and the witness valet for defamation of character; Kennedy claims, as well as four other people that were with him, that no assault occurred and that Jiddou was the one who used racial slurs in insulting Ole Miss assistant coach Torrey Ward, who is black and was with Kennedy at the time of the arrest.<ref>Legal woes, point guard search weigh on UM's Kennedy David Brandt, The Clarion-Ledger, December 21, 2008</ref>
On December 22, 2008, Kennedy's wife filed suit against the cab driver claiming loss of consortium from her husband. Published reports have not provided specifics regarding the loss of consortium. On January 16, 2009, the cab driver and the witness filed civil countersuits claiming distress from the frivolous lawsuits filed by Kennedy and his wife. The cab driver has also filed a separate civil lawsuit against Andy Kennedy for assault and ethnic intimidation [1] .
The criminal trial was delayed from January to April, 2009.Template:Fact On Monday, April 21, 2009, in the criminal trial, Kennedy plead guilty to disorderly conduct and was sentenced to six months' probation, a $100 fine and 40 hours of community service. By pleading down to disorderly conduct, he avoided a possible six-month jail sentence on the original first-degree misdemeanor assault charge. Kennedy still vehemently denies that he punched Jiddou or uttered ethnic slurs at him. He only admitted to a verbal altercation which escalated into an incident that didn't involve slurs or violence. After Kennedy's plea, Ole Miss announced the coach would keep his job. Athletic director Pete Boone said because of the incident, Kennedy's contract would not be extended at this time but left open the possibility of extending it in the future. Kennedy still has 3 years left on a 4 year contract.<ref>The Clarion-Ledger: Ole Miss coach pleads, keeps job</ref>
Head coaching record
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External links
References
Template:SECBasketballCoach Template:CincinnatiBasketballCoach Template:OleMissBasketballCoach
