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Ole Miss Basketball: 5 Reasons Rebel Hoops Will Win The NIT

By Daniel Skipper

Nov 27, 2015; Brooklyn, NY, USA; A general view of the tip of between the Villanova Wildcats and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets during the Championship game at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 27, 2015; Brooklyn, NY, USA; A general view of the tip of between the Villanova Wildcats and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets during the Championship game at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jan 17, 2017; Oxford, MS, USA; Mississippi Rebels head coach Andy Kennedy during the first half against the Tennessee Volunteers at The Pavilion at Ole Miss. Mandatory Credit: Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 17, 2017; Oxford, MS, USA; Mississippi Rebels head coach Andy Kennedy during the first half against the Tennessee Volunteers at The Pavilion at Ole Miss. Mandatory Credit: Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports /

Coach Andy Kennedy

How can you not appreciate the longest tenured basketball coach in the SEC? Yes, in fact AK has also been Ole Miss basketball head coach longer than any SEC football coach. Only a few baseball coaches in the SEC, including Ole Miss skipper Mike Bianco, have longer tenures. Coach Andy Kennedy has been the leader of some incredible Rebel teams and Rebel players, and yet, still faces backlash.

Sure, Kennedy has had a few hiccups in his career, but at Ole Miss he has been an outstanding leader for Ole Miss basketball. In his 11 seasons in Oxford, he has just completed his 9th 20 win season. Prior to Coach Andy Kennedy, the entire history of Ole Miss basketball had only seen 7. Seven 20 win seasons, that’s it!

AK Has Commitment

How can you not love AK? I mean this guy has the charisma and charm we all wish we could claim. Andy Kennedy is the kind of guy who we are really lucky to have kept in Oxford. Trust me, in a day and age where coaches change faster than bulldog excuses, Andy Kennedy has stuck around. He has had a commitment to the mindset, Ole Miss can be special. All he has ever wanted is to make Ole Miss basketball great. For most Rebel fans he has done just that.

Accordingly, there are still those fans who Andy Kennedy just rubs the wrong way, like the ones below us.

"“There’s 351 Division I basketball teams. Sixty-eight go to the NCAA. Thirty-two go to the NIT. That’s 100 out of 351. My math’s not great, but that tells me you finished in the top half of college basketball. It’s not easy. Since I’ve been following it, growing up in SEC country, I’ve never seen a football team turn down a bowl. I’ve never seen it. There’s so many bowls, they’re looking for teams to fill ’em. We had one pretty close to our situation that gets in at 5-7.” -AK"

Of course, AK is always fun to watch and there is absolutely no telling what kind of highlights we can get from Kennedy.

Kennedy Has NIT Cred

For you Ole Miss basketball fans who have been lost in space, during the AK era, or the dozen or so fans calling for his head, he has an NIT history. Andy Kennedy coached the Rebels to their only two NIT Final Four games in program history. In his 11 seasons, AK has coached the Rebels into post season on 9 occasions.

It’s only been a matter of time until Rebels fans, who like him or not, could relish in the limelight of a championship. Coach Andy Kennedy will be the man cutting down the nets in Madison Square Garden when his Rebel run through this NIT. However, Kennedy has the team to do it now. It all starts with Saiz.

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