Kennedy Named Assistant Basketball Coach
May 26, 2005
Coral Gables, Fla. (hurricanesports.com) – University of Miami head men’s basketball coach Frank Haith announced the hiring of Billy Kennedy as assistant basketball coach.
“Billy (Kennedy) is a great addition to our coaching staff,” said Haith. “He has had tremendous success as a head coach and knows what it takes to be successful both on the court and in the classroom. He is a strong recruiter and a proven developer of young men. I feel extremely fortunate to have him here at Miami.”
Kennedy (41) comes to Miami having spent the last six seasons as the head coach at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, Louisiana.
Last season Kennedy guided the Lions to a 24-9 record, their second consecutive Southern Conference regular season title (13-3), the Southland Conference tournament championship and a trip to the NCAA Tournament.
Following the season Kennedy was named Coach of the Year by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association and the Louisiana Association of Basketball Coaches, and was honored as the District 8 Coach of the Year by National Association of Basketball Coaches marking the second consecutive season he was honored by all three organizations.
Over the last two seasons Kennedy, who was named the 2003-04 Southland Conference Coach of the Year, guided Southeastern Louisiana to its first back-to-back 20-win seasons in school history. The Lion’s 44-18 record over the last two seasons is the best among Louisiana schools.
During Kennedy’s tenure the Lions became known for their tenacious defense and the 2004-05 season was no exception as the Lions ranked No. 1 in the Southland Conference in scoring defense (55.8) and turnover margin (+3.70), ranked second in field goal percentage defense (.417) and was third in steals (9.09).
Kennedy’s success at Southeastern Louisiana was not limited to the court. With Kennedy at the helm the men’s basketball team’s GPA from Fall 2000 to Spring 2001 improved more than any other team at Southeastern Louisiana rising from 2.01 to 2.43. Even more important was the team’s graduation rate under Kennedy. Of the 18 players who finished their careers with the Lions, nearly 70 percent earned degrees.
Prior to taking over at Southeastern Louisiana, Kennedy spent two seasons (1997-99) as head coach at Centenary College in Shreveport, La. In his final season at Centenary, Kennedy guided the Gents to a 14-14 overall record, their first non-losing season in five years, and a 9-7 mark in TAAC play. In 1998-99, Centenary finished fourth in the 11-team league and won its first postseason game in five seasons.
Kennedy’s Centenary teams not only progressed in the win column, each year the team had a cumulative grade point average of over 3.0.
A native of Metairie, La., and a graduate of New Orleans’ Holy Cross High School, Kennedy spent 11 seasons as an assistant coach at seven Division I schools, including stops at Tulane, New Orleans, Northwestern State, Wyoming, Texas A&M, Creighton and the University of California.
Kennedy earned a solid reputation as a recruiter while an assistant at California where three of his classes were considered among the best in the nation. Kennedy recruited Shareef Abdur-Rahim, who went on to be a lottery pick by the Vancouver Grizzlies and is now an NBA All-Star with the Portland Trailblazers.
While with the Golden Bears, Kennedy coached Tony Gonzalez, a Pro Bowl tight end with the Kansas City Chiefs and Jason Kidd, a perennial NBA All-Star who led the New Jersey Nets to a pair of NBA Finals appearances.
Kennedy was a star basketball player at Holy Cross, and played one year at Delgado Community College in New Orleans before transferring to Southeastern Louisiana where he received his Bachelor’s Degree in Social Studies in 1986. He began his coaching career at Southeastern Louisiana as a student assistant in 1985-86. The following season he served as a volunteer assistant at the University of New Orleans, when the Privateers advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament.
Kennedy is married to the former Mary Ethredge and has four children.
