Andy Kennedy Deserving of Extension with Ole Miss Basketball

By Tim Letcher
Spruce Derden, USA TODAY SPORTS
Spruce Derden, USA TODAY SPORTS

The Ole Miss Rebels have extended the contract of head coach Andy Kennedy, it was announced on Wednesday. The four-year extension, the longest allowed by Mississippi law, will keep Kennedy in Oxford through at least 2019.

This decision was an absolute no-brainer. Athletic Director Ross Bjork needed to make the move to keep Kennedy, who has led the Ole Miss program to unprecedented success during his nine years in Oxford.

Kennedy’s teams have had winning seasons in each of his nine years at Ole Miss and his teams have been consistently competitive in the SEC. The Rebels mad the NCAA Tournament in 2015 and played one of the tournament’s most memorable games. Ole Miss rallied from a huge first-half deficit by scoring 62 points in the second half to top BYU in the first round.

From a historical perspective, no coach in Ole Miss basketball history has had the kind of success that Kennedy has had. He’s the only Ole Miss coach to have at least seven 20-win seasons, and he has taken his teams to an Ole Miss record seven postseason appearances (two NCAA Tournaments, five NITs).

While the Rebels lost five seniors from this year’s team, they will have All-SEC guard Stefan Moody coming back next season. Anyone who wants to know how good Moody is should ask the Kentucky Wildcats, whom he torched for 25 points in Rupp Arena in January.

This move was also important for the Ole Miss program because the Rebels are slated to play in a new arena beginning this fall. The Pavilion at Ole Miss should open in December of this year.

Overall, this is a solid move by the Ole Miss administration. Kennedy has earned the extension and he should be in Oxford for many years to come.

Tim Letcher is a Featured Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @TimLetcher , on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.

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