Among all of the head coaches in NCAA Division I men’s basketball, only one can accurately say he’s been in the same situation as North Florida’s Bobby Kennen, who is serving as the Ospreys’ full-season interim.
In March 2019, Brian Barone was elevated from assistant coach at SIU-Edwardsville (Illinois) to full-season interim coach when his boss, Jon Harris, didn’t have his contract renewed.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementSix-plus years later, Kennen was elevated to replace Matthew Driscoll, who joined Kansas State as an assistant. Having known Barone for more than two decades, Kennen called him for advice on how to approach this unique set of circumstances.
“That was cool (to get the call),” Barone said during a phone interview. “It was an honor because I respect the heck out of Bobby.”
Acquainted since 2001, Barone and Kennen will see their teams play each other when SIU-Edwardsville visits North Florida on Tuesday, Dec. 2 (7 p.m.). SIUE is 5-3 and UNF 2-5.
Last year, the Ospreys traveled to Illinois for a 78-73 win.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementKennen should hope his path follows the one Barone experienced; he was made the full-time coach at SIU in November of his interim year and has a career 91-106 record at the school.
Barone recalls 'unique' deal
Barone and Kennen met in 2001.
Barone, in first coaching job, was an assistant at Central Florida Community College. Kennen was on the staff at Jacksonville and made a recruiting visit to the school.
“And we’ve always kept in touch,” Barone said. “I was 22 and had no right doing all of the stuff I was doing and Bobby took me to lunch after recruiting one of our practices and kind of got my head right by saying, ‘Here’s what you’re going to do and it’s going to be tough.’”
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementMore: More from O'Halloran: New North Florida basketball coach Bobby Kennen grants T-U all-access for debut at Florida
Barone moved onto to Garden City (Kan.) Community College, Illinois State, Green Bay and Butler County (Kan.) Community College and Kennen went from JU to Campbell to UNF.
Barone was hired as an assistant at SIU-Edwardsville ahead of the 2018-19 season. Months later, he thought he was out of a job along with Harris.
“My deal was very unique,” Barone said. “We all thought we were walking into the office and would be putting our stuff in boxes in 10 minutes.”
Instead, Barone was asked to be Edwardsville’s full-season interim.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“It was a little difficult because I was a new coach and was on the staff (for only a season), but the thing that helped was I understood the day-to-day of SIUE so I was able to focus on the basketball side of it and our staff was able to navigate other things,” Barone said.
Barone ignored one piece of advice once he became the interim.
“A lot of people told me, ‘Go get junior college guys. Go get the best player and don’t care about anything other than if they can win enough games to help you keep your job,’” Barone said.
Barone embraced one piece of advice.
“I had enough people around me who said, ‘This is your one shot so you have to do it the way you feel the most comfortable because if you’re not comfortable, you won’t do a good job,’” he said.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementWas blocking out the future (will I get the full-time job) a difficult challenge?
“It was tough, but I really took the approach of, ‘I’m not supposed to keep this job. Nobody is expecting me to,’” Barone said. “If you’re tight as the head coach, your team will feel that pressure and play that way. I said, ‘I get to be a head coach. A lot of people who I have a ton of respect never got this opportunity.’”
Like Kennen, Barone had a full offseason to install his system and instill his non-negotiables. The season started and Barone had his interim tag removed in late November 2019.
“I got hired and my athletic director retired a month later and then we had an interim AD for 2-3 months before they hired the new AD (Tim Hall),” Barone said. “For him to come in and observe what I was doing and not be close-minded and say, ‘Hey, he’s the interim. If we don’t have success, I don’t have to sign this guy.’”
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementHall lifted the interim tag and Barone has a career record of 91-106 at SIU-Edwardsville, including 22-12 last year and a NCAA Tournament berth. Barone went 8-23, 9-17 and 11-21 in his first three years.
University of North Florida associated head basketball coach Bobby Kennen will be elevated to interim coach for the 2025-26 basketball season after the resignation of Matthew Driscoll.Rooting for Kennen
After Kennen’s initial phone call last summer to Barone, the two met up in Atlanta.
“Bobby asked just about how I approached (being the interim),” Barone said.
Barone was impressed how Kennen was able to retain his entire UNF roster after the coaching change and didn’t reach for players who may not fit the UNF style of play and culture.
“That says a lot about Bobby and the relationships he had with those players as an assistant coach,” Barone said.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementA win over the defending Ohio Valley Conference Tournament champions would be a cool resume-builder for Kennen. Regardless of the result, Barone is rooting for him.
“I hope Bobby gets the job long-term,” Barone said. “He’s a good coach. He’s done it the right way. I’ve seen in the gym early in the morning and late at night (recruiting players). He’s a guy who is doing his job and not working for his next job.”
Contact O’Halloran at [email protected]
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: UNF's Kennen, SIU-Edwardsville's Barone have interim tag in common
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