Cincinnati's Kennedy hired as Mississippi's coach
By
Posted 9:41PM on Thursday, March 23, 2006
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) Mississippi hired Andy Kennedy as its basketball coach on Thursday night, athletic director Pete Boone told The Associated Press.<br>
<br>
The former interim coach at Cincinnati was to be introduced at a news conference at noon Friday in Oxford, Boone said.<br>
<br>
``The way he handled himself in adverse circumstances showed me his head coaching instincts, and there's no question that he's been a great recruiter over the years,'' Boone said.<br>
<br>
It caps a three-day whirlwind for Ole Miss officials who interviewed four candidates in two days before centering their sights on Kennedy as the replacement for Rod Barnes.<br>
<br>
Barnes, a former national coach of the year, was told last month that he would not return to the Rebels next year after his fourth straight losing season.<br>
<br>
The hiring returns the Louisville, Miss., native to his home state for his first full-time head coaching job at the college level.<br>
<br>
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
