1 on 1 with: Andy Kennedy

This Q and A with the Ole Miss men's basketball coach may get edited and/or shortened for the print edition that will appear in Thursday's Madison County Herald. But thanks to the power of the Internet, here's the full version for all you Rebel fans...

OK, so I know there's probably not a lot of Rebel fans reading this site, but I'm a small-time reporter that got a couple of minutes with a college coach. Yes, I know that fat people get that all the time, but I don't so here's my five seconds of fame...

By Martin Kester
mkester@mcherald.com

Kevin Myers’ friendship with Andy Kennedy was instrumental in drawing the Ole Miss men’s basketball coach to a fund-raising effort for the girls athletic programs at Tri-County Academy. On Monday night, Kennedy spoke with supporters of the Rebels from Oxford and Flora.
We asked him about becoming a Parade All-American basketball player at Louisville High in 1986, just two years removed from suiting up at Winston Academy.

AK: At the time, Winston Academy was Academy A. It was a small school and the obvious difference in levels of competition, difference in levels of resources as you’re talking private monies versus public state monies.
For me, it was about having the opportunity to take that next step and challenge myself from an athletic standpoint.

MCH: Is that why you transferred to Louisville High before your junior year?

AK: We had a coaching change. Les Triplett, who is here tonight, left to come to Jackson Prep. It was a new coach anyway and I wanted an opportunity to experience something else and try to expand my horizons.

MCH: Triplett is now the director of activities for the MPSA and after a successful college career at North Carolina State and the University of Alabama-Birmingham, where he became the school’s No. 2 all-time leading scorer with 1,787 points (18.8 points per game), Kennedy became a coach himself.
After stints at South Alabama (1994-95), UAB (1996-2001) and Cincinnati (2001-05), Kennedy was named the interim coach after Bob Huggins resigned. He led the Bearcats to a 21-13 record and the quarterfinals of the National Invitational Tournament. Kennedy was hired by Ole Miss and duplicated his 21-13 record, including a Southeastern Conference Western Division title and another trip to the NIT.
With only one year to recruit the Magnolia State as the Rebels coach and only one player from Mississippi on the current roster, what are you looking for in a possible recruit?

AK: Everyone recruits to a philosophy and first, you have to address the needs of your team. Then you go about trying to fill those needs. For us, it has to be a win-win for everybody.
There may be a situation where we have limited scholarships, need an interior guy and there’s a very good guard available. We’re not recruiting him because it’s not what our program needs.
There’s a lot of things that go into it. It can’t just be “Oh, the kid’s from Mississippi. Let’s recruit him.” It has to fit the need because we only have 13 scholarships and with those 13, the pieces of the puzzle better fit because you have very little margin for error.

MCH: With the limited chances for players to showcase their abilities to college coaches, would you suggest to players at small schools like Tri-County Academy to do what you did and transfer to a MHSAA school to have a better chance to be recruited?

AK: Not necessary, I think each situation is totally different. For me, it made sense based on a lot of factors (and) things have totally changed over the last 20 years.
I think good players because of the exposure kids get in the summer, that’s really where the exposure starts. There’s a lot of kids that play at private schools that get that same exposure in the summer which then gives them the stage by which people know who they are.

MCH: People know who you are, mostly because it’s hard to miss anyone standing at 6-foot-8. With the recent hiring of Houston Nutt to the football program, people can also find out your salary since it’s a public record.
Your thoughts on the increasing salaries in all functions of the athletic department?

AK: The money has gotten to where it’s eye-opening at say the least. Honestly, it’s the same thing that drives any other business — the market.
If you go down to the local restaurant and they’re charging $8 for a hamburger, it’s because it’s what the market demands. When you go fill your car up and it’s $3.07 today, $3.02 tomorrow, it’s because that’s what the market demands.
In big-time collegiate athletics, that’s what the market demands and if you want to play in the SEC, you have to play at market value and I think that’s what you’re seeing.
I grew up a blue-collar family. My father is an electrician, my mother was a school teacher. I don’t say it gets disproportionate or not, but we’re dealing in a different age now and I think with that comes a lot of scrutin and a lot of expectation and coaches are right in the center of that.

MCH: Coaches fall under scrutiny for failing to produce and are expected to win, regardless of the circumstances whether it’s fair or not. You were able to take a Rebels team from the basement of the conference to a division title, so what are your expectations for this year?

AK: When I took the job, my goal was to win an SEC championship. With what Billy (Donovan) has done at Florida and the tradition of a lot of schools in our league, if you’re putting yourself in position to win an SEC Championship, you’re in essence putting yourself in position to win a National Championship.
So if you’re not working daily towards that, then quite frankly you’re wasting your time.