2020: Andy Kennedy (UAB)
Maybe it was due to the pandemic, but there wasn’t a flurry of exciting hires back in 2020, and we’ve got slim pickings this time around. We could laud Rick Pitino’s work at Iona, but the Gaels were already the best program in the MAAC before his arrival. There’s also what Bryce Drew has done in his first three years at Grand Canyon, with a pair of Tournament appearances, but we’ll keep our focus in the state of Alabama.
Kennedy played his college ball at UAB and worked there early in his coaching career. He was a part of Bob Huggins’s staff at Cincinnati and spent a year as interim head coach after Huggins stepped away. Kennedy got his first full-time head coaching gig at Ole Miss, spending 12 decent seasons leading the Rebels to a pair of Tournaments and numerous trips to the NIT. After two years out of coaching, Kennedy’s alma mater brought him aboard and certainly doesn’t regret that decision.
UAB has taken a certain step forward since Kennedy’s arrival, averaging 26 wins a season in these first three years. He got the Blazers back to the NCAA Tournament last year and led them to the championship game of the NIT this year as well. You can certainly argue that Pitino, Drew, or another coach have done more (making an additional trip to the NCAA Tournament), but Kennedy is the one who’s made considerable strides at a program trending in the wrong direction.