Andy Kennedy (basketball)

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.

Following his freshman season, Kennedy transferred to UAB where he played under another legendary coach, Gene Bartow. From 1988-91, Kennedy was a two-time all-conference performer that led the Sun Belt Conference in scoring at 21.8 points per game in 1991. Kennedy finished his UAB career as the program's second all-time leading scorer with 1,787 points. Kennedy still holds numerous school and conference records.

After graduation, Kennedy played briefly for the NBA's Charlotte Hornets at guard.[2][3][4][5] He later began a three-year professional career abroad, playing in Greece, the Netherlands, Spain and Puerto Rico. 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.

Kennedy's coaching career began as an assistant for the University of South Alabama during the 1994–95 season. Since then he has also served as an assistant coach at UAB from 1996 to 2001 and the University of Cincinnati from 2001 to 2005. Kennedy's first head 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 was named the NY Post Big East Coach of the Year.

In his first year as head coach of Ole Miss, Kennedy 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.

In his 12 seasons at Ole Miss, Kennedy became the program's all-time wins leader, as well as the only head coach since World War II to finish with a winning record in SEC play.

Among Kennedy's accomplishments at Ole Miss:

• Ranks 18th in SEC history with 245 wins
• One of only 23 coaches in history with 100 SEC regular season wins (only Ole Miss head coach to accomplish that feat)
• Averaged more than 21 wins per season after the program posted only 21 or more wins three times in 96 years before his arrival
• Fifth-most wins in SEC history by a coach in his 12 years in the league at one school
• One of five coaches in SEC history to post at least nine 20-win seasons in first 11 years in the league, joining Billy Donovan, Joe B. Hall, Nolan Richardson, and Tubby Smith
• Only coach in SEC history to post 11 consecutive winning seasons after taking over a program coming off four straight losing seasons
• Six consecutive seasons of .500-or-better in SEC play (2012-2017) for the first time in program history
• Nine 20-win seasons under Kennedy; Seven 20-win seasons in 96 years before his arrival
• Eight postseason berths and 11 of the program's 20 all-time postseason wins
• During his tenure, was one of just two teams in the SEC and 14 power conference programs in the nation to have 11 straight winning seasons
• One of 20 programs in the country to finish in the RPI Top 100 for 11 consecutive seasons
• Finished with a .500-or-better record against 10 SEC teams
• Produced 12 all-league guards and 16 All-SEC selections
• 2013 SEC Tournament Champions
• 2 SEC West Division titles (2007, 2010)
• 2 NIT Final Four appearances
• 2-time SEC Coach of the Year
• Holds 33 school records (16-team, 17 individual)
• Tied the school record with 27 wins in 2013
• Reached 100 wins faster than any coach in school history
• Nationally ranked for a total of 18 weeks, rising as high as 14th
• Produced the school's all-time leading rebounder, shot blocker, and 3-point FG shooter
• Led the SEC in scoring (77.2 ppg) for the first time in school history in 2012-2013
• In 2007-2008, set school records for longest winning streak and most wins to start a season
• In 2006-2007, won the most games (21) by a first-year Rebel head coach and received SEC Coach of the Year honors

On February 12, 2018, Kennedy initially announced that he and Ole Miss had agreed to part ways following the 2017-18 season.[6] However, Kennedy resigned effective immediately on February 18, 2018.[7]

In 2018, Kennedy agreed to a deal with the SEC Network to become a college basketball analyst across the ESPN family of networks. During the 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 seasons, Kennedy was featured as an in-game color analyst, studio analyst, and sideline reporter covering college basketball.

After 2 years working with ESPN, on March 20, 2020, Kennedy was hired as the head coach at UAB, replacing Robert Ehsan.[8] In his first year Kennedy led the Blazers to a 22-7 record. The 22 wins were the most by a first year head coach in the NCAA and the most wins for UAB since 2016.[9] Under Kennedy's guide UAB finished with their highest NET ranking in program history along with the program's highest Kenpom ranking since 2011. The Blazers were led by their defense in Kennedy's first year as they finished with the most wins in Conference USA as well as the most series sweeps. They finished 5th in the country in scoring defense while also boasting the 3rd best turnover margin in the NCAA. For the first time in UAB history they had 2 members selected to the conference All-Defense team.[10] Kennedy's first year leading his alma mater saw UAB reach its 4th highest winning percentage in program history and be one of 17 programs in America with at least 22 wins and 7 or fewer losses.[11]

• 22 wins (Most by first-year head coach in 2021, Most by first-year head coach in UAB history)
• 13 wins (Most in Conference USA)
• 5 series sweeps (Most in Conference USA)
• 4th-highest winning percentage in program history (76%)
• Best start in UAB history (7-0)
• One of 17 programs with at least 22 wins and 7 or fewer losses
• 5th in the country in scoring defense
• 3rd in the country in turnover margin

In his second year at UAB, Kennedy led the Blazers to a school record 27 wins while winning the C-USA tournament and getting the NCAA tournament automatic bid. Kennedy's 49 wins through his first 2 years is the most ever for a UAB coach to start their career. It was the 9th time in UAB history to have 17 wins through the first 22 games and Kennedy is the only coach in UAB history to have at least 17 wins in 22 games in back to back years. In his 2nd season UAB averaged over 80 points per game for the first time since Kennedy was a player in 1990. It is the first time ever that UAB has led CUSA in scoring. Guard Jordan Walker won CUSA Player of the Year and Tournament Player of the Year. He has led the program to both their highest NET and Kenpom rankings in school history reaching as high as 40 in Kenpom and 28 in the official NCAA NET rankings. With his 20th win he became one of 6 active coaches to win 20 or more games in 12 of his first 15 seasons. His success at UAB has been impressive as his team is one of the premier in the country at forcing turnovers, turnover margin, scoring margin, and points per game. They were one of 27 teams out of all 358 in D1 that have at least 17 wins through January 30th. The Blazers were in the Mid-Major Madness Top 25 every week of the poll climbing as high as 3rd. The 31 home wins in the first 2 years under Kennedy are the most ever in a 2 year stretch in program history.

• 27 wins (Most in the 44 year history of UAB)
• Conference USA tournament champions (6th conference tournament title in school history)
• 3rd Highest win percentage in UAB history (77%)
• 17 total conference wins (Most in school history)
• 1 of only 6 active coaches to have won 20+ games in 12 of their first 15 seasons as a coach
• 49 wins through 2 seasons (Most in UAB history & 9 more than any other coach hired in 2020)
• Led UAB to 16th NCAA tournament appearance (first since 2015)
• Led CUSA in scoring (80.3 Points per game, 6th in America)
• Averaged 80 points per game for the first time since 1991 when Kennedy was a player and averaged 22 points per game
• 29th in offensive efficiency, the highest in UAB history and highest in the last decade in CUSA
• Highest final NET ranking ever (46)
• Highest final Kenpom ranking since 2004 (49)
• Team received 8 All-CUSA honors including Player of the Year, Newcomer of the Year, 1st team All-CUSA, 3rd team All-CUSA, Tournament MVP, All-Defensive team, and 2 players on All-Tournament team