UAB head coach Andy Kennedy responds to West Virginia rumors
Every option is on the table for West Virginia as they try and go about replacing Bob Huggins, who resigned as head coach last week, the best way that they can. However, it appears that Andy Kennedy will not be amongst the options available to the Mountaineers.
The UAB head coach responded to his reported candidacy in Morgantown in a tweet on Wednesday night. It suggested to everyone to not believe what they hear as it’s ‘fake news’ considering his commitment to the Blazers in Birmingham.
Kennedy has spent the past three seasons at the helm of UAB. In that time, the program has been a mid-major powerhouse with a combined record of 78-25 (0.757) with one NCAA Tournament appearance to show for it.
Before that, Kennedy spent 12 seasons at Ole Miss. In that time, the Rebels went 245-156 and made a pair of NCAA Tournaments. He also started his career at Cincinnati with a record of 21-13 in ’05-’06.
The connection comes from Kennedy’s previous relationship with Huggins. He was an assistant for Huggins back in Cincy 2001-2005. Kennedy then replaced him once he left for Kansas State and, eventually, West Virginia.
Again, the Mountaineers are going to exhaust every avenue considering the circumstances that they find themselves in following Huggins’ matter and resignation. With that said, with all kinds of rumors swirling, Kennedy made sure to set his own record straight regarding where he’d be coaching next season.
Report: Dusty May has had ‘no contact’ with West Virginia
West Virginia surprisingly finds itself with a head coaching vacancy. Bob Huggins recently resigned after a troubling offseason — one that included a DUI arrest and him using a homophobic slur on a Cincinnati radio show. Now, the Mountaineers are looking for someone to lead the program and maintain what should be a talent roster.
As of right now, FAU‘s Dusty May is not expected to be the guy. According to Stadium’s Jeff Goodman, May has not been in contact with West Virginia. Goodman says May is in Boca Raton right now, overseeing summer workouts and preparing his team to make another deep run in the NCAA Tournament.
“Source told @stadium FAU coach Dusty May has had no contact with West Virginia and is on campus in Boca Raton for camp and summer workouts,” Goodman said. “May has just about everyone back from last year’s Final Four team and just got a new contract.”
FAU is off the backs of a dream run — both regular season and in the NCAA Tournament. May saw his teams just lose four games all year. They won the Conference USA regular season and tournament championship before making the Final Four in the big dance. Power conference opponents Tennessee and Kansas State were taken down along the way.
Under normal circumstances, May would have been the hottest coaching name in the country. He has decided to stay true to FAU though, signing a contract extension this offseason. The Owls return a ton of key pieces and will be highly ranked to begin the 23-24 campaign.