With the 2020 NCAA tourney tipping off next month, we will spend this month taking a walk down memory lane with a choice collection of players/coaches who are celebrating an awesome anniversary this year. From some game-winning FTs in the 1955 tourney (65th anniversary) through a 17-PT comeback win in the 2015 1st 4 (5th anniversary), these legends have all carved out a little piece of history in past Marches. We conclude our series with Andy Kennedy, who had a nice little playing career before becoming a coach: Parade All-American, 1987 ACC tourney champ at NC State, then transferred to UAB and became the #2 scorer in school history. After taking over for Bob Huggins as head coach at Cincinnati he was hired at Ole Miss where he was named 2007 SEC COY and won the 2013 SEC tourney. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Andy about the 5th anniversary of 1 of the greatest comebacks in history during the 2015 NCAA tourney and making the switch from coach to broadcaster.
In 1986 you were named to the Parade All-American team: which of your fellow honorees impressed you the most (Shawn Kemp/Alonzo Mourning/Dennis Scott/other)? You are testing my memory! The 1 name that jumps out to me was Derrick Coleman: he was not as highly-touted as his peers but had as good of an NBA career as any of them. I remember him playing in the Dapper Dan game in Pittsburgh.
In the 1987 ACC tourney as a player for Coach Jim Valvano at NC State you had an OT win over Duke, a 2-OT win over Wake Forest, and a 1-PT win over UNC: how were you able to pull out 3 clutch wins in 3 consecutive days? It was my very 1st conference tourney experience. We had an up-and-down year but it was the 1st year of the Sagarin Poll. Our strength of schedule might have been #1 in the country that season: we played David Robinson at Navy, Danny Manning at Kansas, other great programs like Louisville/Texas, an Iowa team with 7 or 8 future pros, etc. We stumbled along and did not know if we needed to win the ACC tourney to make the NCAA tourney but knew that we needed to do well. Vinny Del Negro had a great run.
You transferred to UAB to play for Gene Bartow and graduated as the 2nd-leading scorer in school history: why did you decide to transfer, and what made you choose the Blazers? This is the 1st time in 23 years that I have not been on the sideline in some coaching capacity. I was a hotshot who wanted to rush everything: I wanted to play and have a bigger role just like everyone else. I was impatient and wanted to make a change. Valvano and Bartow are both Hall of Fame coaches but they were polar opposites. I was fortunate that it worked out as well as it did: it made Birmingham my home away from home.
After graduating you played in the NBA/overseas before knee problems forced you to retire: what is your favorite memory from being in the NBA, and how frustrating was it to not be able to go out on your own terms? I had my 1st injury the summer prior to becoming eligible to play for UAB. I tore my left ACL and the rehab process was long/arduous. I had a bunch of subsequent issues. I was not in the NBA long before starting my journey overseas. I had an eclectic experience in different countries/cultures before blowing out my right ACL while playing in a summer league game in Puerto Rico.
After replacing your boss Bob Huggins as head coach at Cincinnati, you led the team to the 2006 Big East tourney before Gerry McNamara made a running 3-PT shot at the buzzer in a 1-PT win by Syracuse: do you think that he traveled, and do you think that loss kept you out of the NCAA tourney? I do think the loss kept us out of the tourney. I saw Joey Brackets years later: you can ask him. That was the start of the “McNamara Weekend”: he made game-winning shots that entire weekend. We did not switch on a ball-screen and he made an incredible shot. We beat West Virginia on Senior Night and Coach Huggins was at the game so it was very emotional. We thought that would put us safely into the NCAA tourney and were 13-2 until Armein Kirkland tore his ACL against UConn. Obviously we were not the same team after that so it was disappointing but we still had an amazing year.
In 2007 you were named SEC COY in your very 1st year at Ole Miss: how were you able to come in and be so successful right from the start? I just did not know any better! We were inheriting a program coming off 4 consecutive losing seasons. I remember meeting the team the 1st time and realizing that none of them had ever experienced a winning season in college. I challenged our 3 senior guards to do something if they were tired of losing, and they all had great seasons. We were co-champs of the SEC West, got to participate in postseason play, and that was the springboard.
In the 2013 NCAA tourney you beat Wisconsin before losing to La Salle after Tyrone Garland scooped a layup off the glass with 2 seconds left in a 2-PT win by the Explorers: where does the 1st game rank among the greatest wins of your career, and where does the 2nd game rank among the most devastating losses of your career? Wisconsin was probably the 2nd-biggest win of my career. #1 was the game prior to that when we beat Billy Donovan’s Florida team to win an SEC Championship. It was special to get the trophy/cut down the nets. We spent part of our time in Kansas city at the Hall of Fame..but when we entered the very 1st photo we saw was of Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan, which was very daunting! We were able to knock them off but due to all of the media obligations I did not get a chance to sit down and watch the Kansas State-La Salle game until the 2nd half. La Salle played 4 guards so it was a hard match-up. It was gut-wrenching because we thought that we could make a further run.
In the 2015 NCAA 1st 4 you trailed BYU by 17 PTS in the 2nd half: how on earth were you able to come all the way back and win by 4 PTS? That was another pretty incredible year. I think that we were in the very last bracket unveiled on Selection Sunday…and then learned that we would be playing BYU in Dayton on Tuesday! We had very little prep time and knew that it would be a challenge. Tyler Haws had broken many of Jimmer Fredette’s school records at BYU and I had actually played against his father Marty back in the day. We went on an incredible 2nd half run led by Stefan Moody: it was the highest-scoring game in the NCAA tourney that year. After the win that night we packed up our stuff, got on a plane around 3AM to fly to Jacksonville, and then played Xavier 2 days later.
You remain the all-time winningest coach in school history with more than 200 wins and had a winning record during each of your 11 full seasons in Oxford: how were you able to be so successful for such a long period of time? When I announced my resignation there were only 2 consistent ingredients that set the standard: God’s grace and hard work, in that order. We did a good job of identifying/developing players and then putting them in a position to be successful.
In 2018 you were hired as an analyst for the SEC Network: how is it going so far, and what do you hope to do in the future? It is going great: I am doing studio/game stuff and was doing SEC-centric things early but it changed once we get into league play. I am learning the TV aspect so to get paid to talk about it for the Worldwide Leader is a pretty good gig!
