A lot to like about the Billy Kennedy hire

It looks like the coaching carousel may, finally, be coming to a close this off-season.

Over the weekend, the news became official that Billy Kennedy of Murray State would be taking over for the departed Mark Turgeon at Texas A&M.

For Aggie fans, the hiring of Kennedy is not a blockbuster. Its not Buzz Williams, the current Marquette head coach with ties all over the state of Texas. He was too expensive to lure away from the new contract he signed with the Golden Eagles. Its not Josh Pastner, either. Pastner grew up coaching AAU basketball in Houston, but his current gig with Memphis is a better job than A&M.


Kennedy is not a sexy hire, so to speak. But it is a smart hire, and will likely end up being a winning hire.

Kennedy, who was an assistant with the Aggies in the 90's, was a winner at Murray State. He went 107-53 in his five seasons there, including a 31-win season in 2009-2010 when the Racers knocked off No. 4 seed Vanderbilt in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. He coaches a brand of basketball that is perfectly suited to the personnel the Aggies have returning. Kennedy preaches defense, a controlled pace, offensive execution, and a balanced scoring attack.

Sounds pretty similar to Turgeon, doesn't it? And, for that matter, it sounds pretty similar to the guy that Turgeon replaced -- Billy Gillispie.

And with five of their top seven returning -- including Khris Middleton, the Aggies' leading scorer and star perimeter player, and David Loubeau -- Kennedy won't be walking into a situation where the cupboard is empty.

On another note, VCU is widely considered the premiere breeding ground for future head coaches. Jeff Capel went from VCU to Oklahoma. His replacement, Anthony Grant, is now the head coach at Alabama. Shaka Smart took VCU to the Final Four this past season, opting to remain at the school instead jumping at one of the many high-major offers he received after the reason.

Murray State isn't that far behind, however. Mark Gottfried made his name with the Racers before heading on to Alabama. Mick Cronin did the same before heading to Cincinnati, where he has the Bearcats back near the top of the Big East. Now Billy Kennedy is headed to Texas A&M.

It will be interesting to see who Murray State gets next.