Ole Miss Basketball: Andy Kennedy Wins #200

Andy Kennedy, already the winningest coach in Ole Miss basketball history, has now won 200 games as a head coach.

I can’t quite figure out the venom that Ole Miss fans spew in the direction of Andy Kennedy.  He has delivered the most consistent basketball program has had in ages.  His biggest problem may be that he is becoming a victim of his own success.

Andy Kennedy became the winningest coach in Ole Miss basketball history on February 23, 2013 by defeating Auburn by a score of 88-55.   He has won at least 20 games every year he has been in Oxford except twice.  Kennedy owns a .633 win percentage during his time coaching the Rebels.  He has made two NCAA tournament appearances and has won over half of his conference games.

While that may not seem overwhelmingly impressive, let’s also consider the state of Ole Miss basketball when Kennedy took over.

Beginning in 1940, Ole Miss fielded teams that compiled losing records every single decade through the 1980s.  Ole Miss basketball then managed to be 1 game better than .500 in the 1990s.  We’ll skip the 2000s since Andy Kennedy arrived about halfway through that decade.

How is Ole Miss basketball faring this decade?

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The Rebels are on pace for their best winning percentage (.626) since the 1920s (.634).

Again let me state that I am not sure where all the animosity for Andy Kennedy comes from.  If you were to poll Rebel fans, many would call for Kennedy to be fired.  They would cite his lackluster recruiting and unimpressive SEC win percentage (.520).  Both are fair to a degree.

Kennedy has landed very few elite prospects in his time at Ole Miss.  The only real basketball power in the SEC is Kentucky.  For a coach to have had so much success in building a program in a weak basketball conference, one would assume it would eventually pay off in top end talent and a superb in-conference record.

And there comes the rub.  Andy Kennedy has transformed the Ole Miss basketball program.  Now fans are ready for more, though, and they’re not sure if Kennedy can ever deliver it.

Next: SEC Heisman Hopefuls: The Dynasty Continues

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