I should preface this post by saying I have never been a fan of Kennedy. My following of Rebel basketball started mere years ago, but I have never really been a huge basketball fan. My dislike for Kennedy has developed out of the argument of him being the best coach in Ole Miss history; receiving a huge pass for only reaching the NCAA tourney in 8 (what could be 9) years. Kennedy might be the winningest coach at Ole Miss. His record since coming to Ole Miss rivals the top teams in the league. Hell, he's only had two seasons with under 20 wins. So, why can't he make the NCAA tourney? Here are my opinions backed by stats.
(The following RPI/stats pulled from CBSsports, they also include only regular season/SEC tourney records)
1) Kennedy is 183-107 at Ole Miss. Impressive, or at least for face value. He also has an SEC Tourney championship.
2) Kennedy has an SEC record of 78-72. 3 seasons above .500, 3 seasons at .500, and 3 seasons below .500. (Avg. 8.7-8)
But to those who say Kennedy does not have an overflated W-L record....
3) Kennedy coached teams are 51-83 vs. RPI 100 teams.
1-25 RPI: 8-26 (only one season with winning record, 2007-2008, worst 2011-2012 at 0-5)
26-50 RPI: 13-24 (one season with winning record, 2007-2008, worst 2010-2011 at 1-4)
51-100 RPI: 30-33 (four seasons with winning record, 06-07, 07-08, 12-13, 14-15, worst 08-09 at 3-7)
4) Kennedy coached teams are 132-24 against sub-100 RPI's.
5) RPI Average: 65. Highest RPI, 2007-08 and 2012-13 at 48. 3 RPI's lower than 80.
Simply put, Kennedy has a winning percentage of 0.380 against competitive, plausible tournament teams (NIT/NCAA). His winning percentage against teams not competitive for post season play is .846.
My dislike for Kennedy stems not from him, but the idea that he is not replaceable or it would be a huge mistake for Ole Miss to attempt to replace him. He has been slightly better than average in a more than average basketball conference. Outside of Marshall Henderson, and a miracle run (even McCready had him all but gone), Kennedy has proved to be nothing more than a sure bet for the NIT every two years. You could say perpetual bubble team, but who isn't on the bubble during conference tourney play? 9 years with one tourney appearance will never make a program. With a renewed sense of energy for the basketball program, it is time to make a decision. Is Kennedy the guy? History tells me no.
My bet is he gets a year to try, but then what? 5 seniors leave this season, with practically all contributors gone by next. We only have 2 FR and 3 SO on the roster, with none of those being guards. I feel this or next year would be the perfect time to make the decision? Commit to mediocrity long term until AK retires, or replace him with the understanding the next guy has 3 to 4 years to build a team from scratch. Just my take, but I am tired of pieced together transfer squads guaranteed for at least a few let downs each year (Marshall Henderson - MSU).
This post was edited on 3/13 12:26 AM by crw416
(The following RPI/stats pulled from CBSsports, they also include only regular season/SEC tourney records)
1) Kennedy is 183-107 at Ole Miss. Impressive, or at least for face value. He also has an SEC Tourney championship.
2) Kennedy has an SEC record of 78-72. 3 seasons above .500, 3 seasons at .500, and 3 seasons below .500. (Avg. 8.7-8)
But to those who say Kennedy does not have an overflated W-L record....
3) Kennedy coached teams are 51-83 vs. RPI 100 teams.
1-25 RPI: 8-26 (only one season with winning record, 2007-2008, worst 2011-2012 at 0-5)
26-50 RPI: 13-24 (one season with winning record, 2007-2008, worst 2010-2011 at 1-4)
51-100 RPI: 30-33 (four seasons with winning record, 06-07, 07-08, 12-13, 14-15, worst 08-09 at 3-7)
4) Kennedy coached teams are 132-24 against sub-100 RPI's.
5) RPI Average: 65. Highest RPI, 2007-08 and 2012-13 at 48. 3 RPI's lower than 80.
Simply put, Kennedy has a winning percentage of 0.380 against competitive, plausible tournament teams (NIT/NCAA). His winning percentage against teams not competitive for post season play is .846.
My dislike for Kennedy stems not from him, but the idea that he is not replaceable or it would be a huge mistake for Ole Miss to attempt to replace him. He has been slightly better than average in a more than average basketball conference. Outside of Marshall Henderson, and a miracle run (even McCready had him all but gone), Kennedy has proved to be nothing more than a sure bet for the NIT every two years. You could say perpetual bubble team, but who isn't on the bubble during conference tourney play? 9 years with one tourney appearance will never make a program. With a renewed sense of energy for the basketball program, it is time to make a decision. Is Kennedy the guy? History tells me no.
My bet is he gets a year to try, but then what? 5 seniors leave this season, with practically all contributors gone by next. We only have 2 FR and 3 SO on the roster, with none of those being guards. I feel this or next year would be the perfect time to make the decision? Commit to mediocrity long term until AK retires, or replace him with the understanding the next guy has 3 to 4 years to build a team from scratch. Just my take, but I am tired of pieced together transfer squads guaranteed for at least a few let downs each year (Marshall Henderson - MSU).
This post was edited on 3/13 12:26 AM by crw416
