SEC Basketball: Top 10 head coaches of the century (2000-20)

By Joey Loose | Jul 1, 2020

NASHVILLE, TN - MARCH 13: Head coach John Calipari (R) of the Kentucky Wildcats is congratulated by head coach Bruce Pearl of the Tennessee Volunteers after Kentucky won 74-45 during the semirfinals of the SEC Men's Basketball Tournament at the Bridgestone Arena on March 13, 2010 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

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BATON ROUGE , LOUISIANA – FEBRUARY 26: Head coach Billy Kennedy of the Texas A&M Aggies (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images) /

9. Billy Kennedy – Texas A&M (2012-2019)

Long before he arrived at Texas A&M in 2011, Kennedy had already accomplished quite a lot in his coaching career. He had been an assistant at more than half a dozen D1 schools and had led both Southeastern Louisiana and Murray State to the NCAA Tournament. After a rough first season, he helped lead the Aggies to the SEC in 2012, helping to make this new entrant compete in the conference.

Texas A&M slowly improved as they adjusted to the conference, culminating in a regular-season title in 2016. Kennedy led the Aggies to a pair of NCAA Tournament bids that both ended with Sweet Sixteen runs. That 28-win season was the clear highlight of his tenure, but there’s nothing unimpressive about his 137-98 mark either.

Kennedy was fired after a struggling final season in 2019, but a pair of Sweet Sixteens is clearly reason for praise. He couldn’t build consistency, but that’s no reason for disappointment. He brought success back to Texas A&M, even if he wasn’t as consistent as a few of his predecessors. He’s set up the program for the future, and those two second-weekend runs are clearly something to build off.

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