Men's Basketball
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Phone:
- (270) 809-6804
Billy Kennedy begins his fifth season as Murray State University’s head men’s basketball coach and the Racer program could not be in a better position than it is right now.
After numerous close calls and three-straight second- place finishes, the Racers won both the Ohio Valley Conference regular season and tournament championship in the 2009-10 season. The Racers capped it off with the program’s second win in the NCAA Tournament when they took down Vanderbilt in San Jose, Calif.
MSU’s season is in the books as the best all-time in 85 seasons of this storied program. 31 wins and a 17-game winning streak were just two of several MSU records that fell during the Racers’ run to their 21st OVC championship and 14th trip to the big dance.
Kennedy has acheived a lot in his profession, especially in the last six seasons where his teams have averaged 23 wins per season and have earned three conference championships and two trips to the NCAA Tournament.
KENNEDY’S OUTLOOK
Has Kennedy enjoyed coaching more than he is right now as he heads into his 26th season in the game and 13th as a head coach?
“No, especially from an X’s and O’s standpoint,” Kennedy said. “We’ve got such a good group that we don’t have to come in everyday and jack them up and coach effort and that’s why we had a great season. When you get that, you can win, and we’re hoping to do it again.”
Kennedy has developed his own unique philosophy from the coaches he served with as an assistant and the time he has been a head coach.
His view on how to run a college basketball program is simple…it’s all about the student-athletes and the relationship he has with them once they decide to join the Murray State family.
“We have a goal in our program and that is to train young men physically, mentally and spiritually,” Kennedy said. “And to display toughness and character on and off the court.”
Kennedy’s love for college basketball is very evident.
“I thought I’d be a head coach some day, but I was never caught up in thinking I had to be a head coach,” He said. “I love college basketball, I love what I do and I’m blessed to be doing what I do. Just to be a part of this great game has been fun.”
THE KENNEDY ERA AT MURRAY STATE
When Billy Kennedy arrived for his first season in 2006-07, he quickly realized he had a rebuilding project, but he didn’t have the luxury of time, the program demanded winning now.
Already thin on personnel, Kennedy deserved to be OVC Coach of the Year after he took a patchwork roster and still managed a winning season at 16-14.
In that season, MSU was inexperienced with only two players (Shawn Witherspoon and Tyler Holloway) who had seen significant playing time. Still MSU managed a second-place showing in the OVC.
“When I look back on the time leading up to our first season here, it’s amazing what we accomplished,” Kennedy said. “I remember looking at the roster and we only had five guys, but we added Danero Thomas, Ed Horton, Bruce Carter and Dwayne Paul and did a lot more than what people thought we would do.”
The building continued in the 2007-08 season when MSU had accomplished another second-place OVC finish and an 18-13 mark.
Again in 2008-09, the Racers were in the OVC title hunt and finished in second place with an overall 19-12 mark.
The report card for Kennedy’s first three seasons showed three winning seasons and three near misses for the league title. The foundation had been set for the 2009-10 season, and it was a great ride as MSU started knocking off foes.
The Racers turned heads in the season opener when they took ranked California down to the wire and that led to three straight wins in Miami, Fla. at the Coaches vs Cancer Classic.
MSU ripped through the OVC with a 17-1 mark and wrapped up the regular season title before the final weekend.
After beating Tennessee State, Eastern Illinois and Morehead State to win the OVC Tournament, the Racers took down Vanderbilt in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in San Jose, Calif., 66-65 to score the first win for the program in the Big Dance since 1988.
Kennedy had been part of winning NCAA games as an assistant, but this was his first win as a head coach.
After the Racers just missed going to the Sweet-16 in a two-point loss to eventual national runner-up Butler, MSU had a 31-5 season and the admiration of fans and all of college basketball.
Kennedy was named the OVC Coach of the Year and NABC District-19 Coach of the Year. He was also a finalist for the Skip Prosser Award and Hugh Durham Award.
The Racers were also honored with the OVC Men’s Basketball Sportsmanship Award in voting by the leagues’ head coaches.
“We have developed continuity of having a great staff,” Kennedy said. “Steve Prohm has been with me 12 of the 13 years of my time as a head coach. Isaac has been here three seasons and Amir played for me and now coaches with me, so we do have a staff that has been together for a while.”
RACERS PERFORM OFF THE COURT
Not only have the Racers won many basketball games, they’ve performed in the classroom and won the OVC’s Team Academic Award for men’s basketball for the 2008-09 school year.
“We feel that our program is going in the right direction, and we’re pleased with the progress we’ve made,” Kennedy said. “Our student-athletes are doing it the right way. “
In addition to academic achievement, MSU is also about winning championships and that is where Kennedy wants to be.
“That’s what we’ve been striving and building for since I came here,” Kennedy said. “My staff and I want to get it done and so does our team.”
THE KENNEDY BASKETBALL FOCUS
Kennedy’s basketball philosophy starts with a rock-solid foundation of tough, in-your-face defense.
In the 2009-10 season, Kennedy’s Racers dominated the court on defense and were part of a group of only eight teams that led their conference in overall field goal percentage (.499) and field goal percentage defense (.387).
The Racers led the OVC in scoring defense, field goal percentage defense, three-point percentage defense, blocked shots and steals plus they held the opponent’s leading scorer under his average in 31 of 36 games.
Under Kennedy’s watch, the Racers have led the league in defending the three-point shot for the fourth straight season (.333) and field goal percentage defense (.387) for the third time in his four seasons. MSU has now led the league in scoring defense (60.4) in the last two seasons.
“When I was a player that’s how I played.” Kennedy said. “I wasn’t a great offensive player, but I could play defense, and I think that if I could do it then anybody can.”
When he became a head coach, Kennedy made a commitment to making defense the calling card of his teams.
“Everyone knows that’s what we do at Murray State,” he said. “We just need to make sure that we keep that as the main focus of our team. It’s easy to get distracted by the success we’ve had, to think about making the threes and all the pretty stuff. We’re a blue-collar team, and that’s the way we will be.”
KENNEDY’S COACHING LEGACY
Kennedy’s road to Murray State began April 12, 2006 after six years as the head coach at Southeastern Louisiana University and one season as an assistant at the University of Miami (Fla.). In his final two seasons at SLU, Kennedy guided the Lions to a 44-18 record, two Southland Conference regular season titles and the school’s first ever trip to the NCAA Tournament.
He was named Coach of the Year by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association, the Louisiana Association of Basketball Coaches and the National Association of Basketball Coaches (In District-8) in back-to-back years.
In 2004-05, Southeastern posted a 24-9 record, the best in school history, won its second consecutive Southland Conference title with a 13-3 league mark, claimed the school’s first conference tournament championship and advanced to face Oklahoma State in the NCAA Tournament.
In his one season assisting Frank Haith at Miami, Kennedy helped lead the Hurricanes to the quarterfinals of the National Invitational Tournament with an 18-16 record. Miami had wins over North Carolina, Maryland and Oklahoma State.
Prior to taking over at SLU, Kennedy spent two seasons (1997-99) as head coach at Centenary College where he was able to turn the program around in just two seasons. Centenary went from only six wins in 1997-98 to a 14-14 mark in his final season.
The Metairie, La., native spent 11 seasons as an assistant coach at seven Division I schools, including New Orleans, Wyoming, Northwestern State, Tulane, Texas A&M, Creighton and the University of California. He helped lead New Orleans to the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 1987. UNO was a 13-seed when they upset 2-seed BYU and then lost to Alabama. Kennedy also assisted Wyoming’s run to the NCAA Tournament in 1988. During his four seasons at California, the Golden Bears had two 20-win seasons and made three appearances in the NCAA Tournament and one trip to the Sweet 16.
He earned a solid reputation as a recruiter early in his career while an assistant at California where three of his classes were considered among the best in the nation. Kennedy recruited Shareef Abdur-Rahim and Tony Gonzalez to the Cal program.
KENNEDY’S EDUCATION-FAMILY
Kennedy, 45, received his bachelor of arts degree in social studies education from Southeastern Louisiana University in 1986. He was a star basketball player at Holy Cross High School in New Orleans before attending Delgado Community College where he earned an associate of arts degree in general studies in 1984.
He is still a big fan of his hometown team, the New Orleans Saints, and was thrilled to see the Saints win the Super Bowl. The fact that it coincided with the Racers’ run to the NCAA Tournament was just icing on the cake.
Kennedy is married to the former Mary Ethredge, and he has four children, Will (22), Lexie (20), Brooks (15) and Anna Cate (6).
After numerous close calls and three-straight second- place finishes, he feels the 2009-10 season might be the one for the Racers.
KENNEDY'S OUTLOOK
“I like where we are in our program,” Kennedy said. “We’ve gotten better each season. I expect a special year and look forward to the start.”
In his 25th season on the collegiate level, Kennedy has developed his own unique philosophy from the coaches he served with as an assistant and the time he has been a head coach.
As Kennedy begins his 12th season as a head coach his view on how to run a college basketball program is simple…it’s all about the student-athletes and the relationship he has with them once they decide to join the Murray State family.
“Our goal is not only to win championships, but to develop young men,” Kennedy said. “I want to help them be tremendous person of character and see them be successful in life beyond basketball.”
For Kennedy, his desire to coach basketball has been something he has always had and always loved to do.
“I recognized a long time ago how fortunate I am to be able to do something I love doing, coaching basketball,” Kennedy said. “There is not a day that goes by that I don’t feel blessed to be coaching.”
Kennedy continues to build a program at Murray State that is among the finest in the nation.
ARRIVING AT MSU
To see how far the Racers have come, you have to go back to the start…Kennedy’s first season in 2006-07.
First, he set his sights on a thin roster.
At the beginning of the that season, MSU was inexperienced with only two players (Shawn Witherspoon and Tyler Holloway) who had seen significant playing time. MSU still managed a 16-14 season and a second-place showing in the Ohio Valley Conference.
The building continued in the 2007-08 season when MSU was still lacking any significant D-I experience on its roster and yet still accomplished another second-place OVC finish and an 18-13 mark.
Last season, the Racers were again in the title hunt and finished in second place with an overall 19-12 mark, and secured the program’s 22nd straight winning season.
Kennedy’s first three seasons at the helm of the storied MSU program have been marked by steady progress on and off the court.
Kennedy’s Racers have won 53 games total and 39 league games, near the top in the OVC.
Not only have the Racers won many basketball games, they’ve performed in the classroom and won the OVC’s Team Academic Award for men’s basketball for the 2008-09 school year.
“We feel that our program is going in the right direction and we’re pleased with the progress we’ve made,” Kennedy said. “Our student-athletes are doing it the right way. “
However, MSU is about winning championships and that is where Kennedy wants to be.
“That’s what we’ve been striving and building for since I came here,” Kennedy said. “My staff and I want to get it done and so does our team.”
Kennedy’s basketball philosophy starts with a rock-solid foundation of tough, in-your-face defense – proved by leading the OVC in field-goal-defense percentage in his first two seasons. The Racers were second last season, but still led the OVC in scoring defense only giving up 61.1 points per game.
“I really feel our program is now on solid ground and we know that it all starts with our play on the defensive end of the floor.” Kennedy said. “I believe that if you play great defense, you can still win games when the shots aren’t falling.”
Kennedy’s road to Murray State began April 12, 2006 after six years as the head coach at Southeastern Louisiana University and one season as an assistant at the University of Miami (Fla.). In his final two seasons at SLU, Kennedy guided the Lions to a 44-18 record, two Southland Conference regular season titles and the school’s first ever trip to the NCAA Tournament.
KENNEDY'S COACHING LEGACY
He was named Coach of the Year by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association, the Louisiana Association of Basketball Coaches and the National Association of Basketball Coaches (In District-8) in back-to-back years.
In 2004-05, Southeastern posted a 24-9 record, the best in school history, won its second consecutive Southland Conference title with a 13-3 league mark, claimed the school’s first conference tournament championship and advanced to face Oklahoma State in the NCAA Tournament.
In his one season assisting Frank Haith at Miami, Kennedy helped lead the Hurricanes to the quarterfinals of the National Invitational Tournament with an 18-16 record. Miami had wins over North Carolina, Maryland and Oklahoma State.
Prior to taking over at SLU, Kennedy spent two seasons (1997-99) as head coach at Centenary College where he was able to turn the program around in just two seasons. Centenary went from only six wins in 1997-98 to a 14-14 mark in his final season.
The Metairie, La., native spent 11 seasons as an assistant coach at seven Division I schools, including New Orleans, Wyoming, Northwestern State, Tulane, Texas A&M, Creighton and the University of California. He helped lead New Orleans to the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 1987. UNO was a 13-seed when they upset 2-seed BYU and then lost to Alabama. Kennedy also assisted Wyoming’s run to the NCAA Tournament in 1988. During his four seasons at California, the Golden Bears had two 20-win seasons and made three appearances in the NCAA Tournament and one trip to the Sweet 16.
He earned a solid reputation as a recruiter early in his career while an assistant at California where three of his classes were considered among the best in the nation. Kennedy recruited Shareef Abdur-Rahim and Tony Gonzalez to the Cal program.
KENNEDY'S EDUCATION-FAMILY
Kennedy, 45, received his bachelor of arts degree in social studies education from Southeastern Louisiana University in 1986. He was a star basketball player at Holy Cross High School in New Orleans before attending Delgado Community College where he earned an associate of arts degree in general studies in 1984.
He is still a big fan of his hometown team, the New Orleans Saints.
Kennedy is married to the former Mary Ethredge and he has four children, Will (21), Lexie (19), Brooks (14) and Anna Cate (5).
