RICHMOND, Va. – Having spent a long career in a notorious bottom line business, Pat Kennedy was looking away from the bottom line on Friday. He pretty much had to do that considering his team had just ended a season where they didn’t win a single CAA game and have not won in 2011. It was a season that went nothing like the way anyone could have expected.
The Tigers’ loss to Drexel on Friday ended a season that was tough to figure anyone would go through. With a combination of an academic casualty, a transfer and a health issue, the Tigers lost three key players. That’s difficult to survive if you’re an elite program, although hardly impossible. If you’re a mid-major like Towson, it’s just about impossible. The record reflects it.
Yet, Kennedy seemed to enjoy this season a great deal from another standpoint.
“This is probably one of the top seven or eight teams I’ve ever coached,” Kennedy said. “It might sound ironic with the losses, but their attitudes, their work ethic and their ability to just keep fighting, and fighting and fighting was tremendous.”
Kennedy talked about a need for consistency before the season. He knew that was the biggest thing they had been missing during his tenure, mainly from a personnel standpoint as that was a constant source of issues. There have been injuries, sure, but there have also been transfers from both junior colleges and four-year schools, players who worked their way into and out of the starting lineup or rotation as well. In most of his seasons at the school, they have had to use a number of different starting lineups.
This season was no different in part with the aforementioned personnel losses, plus players battling nagging injuries. Kennedy used 11 different starting lineups, six of them just one time. As the season went along, the players seemed to play more freely, perhaps sensing they had nothing to lose. There has been speculation about Kennedy’s future at the school for the past year, which could easily bother a team. And although this Tiger team hasn’t won a game since the calendar turned over to 2011, they certainly had chances.
“I’d say in 15 of the 19 conference games, we were two or three possessions away from winning the game,” said Kennedy.
The season wasn’t lacking in bright spots. Isaiah Philmore had a fine season that got all-conference consideration. Brian Morris made the CAA All-Academic First Team, while RaShawn Polk made the second team and Danny Quinn got honorable mention. And although the winning wasn’t there, Kennedy felt fine about the basketball side of things from a human interest standpoint. One could be forgiven for thinking this season was extremely taxing on the soul for him and his staff. Not so, says the veteran mentor.
“It wasn’t nearly as tough as you might have thought it was because these kids were just phenomenal,” he said.
If nothing else, the Tigers appear to come away winners at the game of life this season. That would be some consolation for the lack of wins on the hardwood.
