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.
Professional
After graduation, Kennedy played briefly for the NBA's Charlotte Hornets at guard. 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.
Coaching career
Early years
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.
Ole Miss
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
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
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 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 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. However, Kennedy resigned effective immediately on February 18, 2018.
UAB
On March 20, 2020, Kennedy was hired as the new head coach at UAB, replacing Robert Ehsan.
Broadcasting career
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 has been featured as an in-game color analyst, studio analyst, and sideline reporter covering college basketball.
