{"id":869,"date":"2012-03-27T20:12:46","date_gmt":"2012-03-27T20:12:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/?p=869"},"modified":"2012-03-28T18:52:53","modified_gmt":"2012-03-28T18:52:53","slug":"red-cup-rebellion-justify-your-existence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/red-cup-rebellion-justify-your-existence\/","title":{"rendered":"Red Cup Rebellion: “Justify Your Existence”"},"content":{"rendered":"

We are tired of a basketball team that only interests us enough to compel us to check Twitter during the games.<\/em><\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a>I remember well the day Andy Kennedy<\/strong> was introduced in a Tad Smith press conference complete with the familiar Ole Miss presented by BancorpSouth backdrop, roll-away stage, and just a handful too many decorative ferns (probably fake ones, and probably the same fake ones we\u2019ve used to introduce Kennedy, Orgeron<\/strong>, Nutt<\/strong>, Freeze<\/strong>, Black Bear<\/strong>, Dan Jones<\/strong>, et. al.). I remember that Ole Miss<\/strong> was the back-up plan for Kennedy after Cincinnati had gone with another guy, probably because the Bearcats had gotten close-but-no-cigar to the NCAA Tournament in Kennedy\u2019s one season as interim head coach (and that\u2019s called \u201cforeshadowing,\u201d remedial English students). I remember a mouthy old-guard fan, who leaned in real close to tell me what a blessing it was that Ole Miss finally had \u201ca white one,\u201d but I\u2019m sure she was talking about something else because I\u2019ve seen her explain, since then, on various Facebook pages that she\u2019s \u201cnot racist, but…\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"The thing I remember, though, that it relevant symbolically today, though, is the sight of Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy<\/strong>\u2014the latter of whom stares flat-footed into the former\u2019s bellybutton. They really are an interesting pair to look at because of that height difference. And doesn\u2019t that picture remind us all of Andy Kennedy\u2019s tenure, thus far, at Ole Miss? The peaks and valleys, standing next to, nay, seemingly permanently bound to each other?<\/p>\n

Most people will read this column while Kennedy\u2019s former team is still competing in the NCAA Tournament. That event is happening contemporaneously with the ongoing consideration by semi-retired athletic director Pete Boone<\/strong>, associate A.D. John Hartwell<\/strong>, and Chancellor Jones about whether or not Andy Kennedy \u2018s contract should be extended after five trips to the NIT\u2014which stands for both the \u201cNational Invitation Tournament\u201d and \u201cNot In the Tournament\u201d\u2014in six years, the latest of which ended in a first-round home loss to the Obscure Directional Midwestern State University\u2019s Nondescript Fighting Birds squad. Ole Miss fans who find sick and cynical humor in the athletics program\u2019s ability to trip over its own man-parts, metaphorically slight though those may be, are choking up self-deprecating obscenities at this reality. I am increasingly that type of fan.<\/p>\n

My tone seems harsh. Allow me to offer some platitudes as to not so blatantly bear my bias, as well as perhaps display a measure of reason in this column.<\/p>\n

Relative to his predecessor, Andy Kennedy has done a good job at Ole Miss. He has more than surpassed the last three years of Rod Barnes<\/strong>\u2019s tenure in even his worst season. He has won twenty games five times. He has shared SEC West Championships. And he has put a team that plays in one of the worst facilities in the country in the NCAA tournament conversation consistently. But he gets paid $1.3 million a year, which is more than 42 coaches who took their teams to the NCAA Tournament in 2011. And he is under contract for three more years, so why exactly, are we talking about letting a lame-duck Athletics Director extend that contract?<\/p>\n

We have been down this road before, albeit in a different sport, and we were burned and embarrassed like the Comedy Central Roast of Charlie Sheen<\/strong>. Maybe the real-world perspective where good-but-not-close-enough never earns you the contract extension is simplistic; it does not take into account effects of recruiting and athletic contract hamstrings set down by legislative fiat. But it\u2019s absurd that Ole Miss is actually thinking about re-negotiating this man\u2019s deal when it is on the eve of hiring his new boss. (editor’s note: Ole Miss announced Wednesday, March 21 that Western Kentucky University Athletic Director Ross Bjork<\/strong> will become the AD at Ole Miss sometime after mid-April.)<\/p>\n

We bloggeurs want Andy Kennedy to succeed. And we damn sure want him to take Ole Miss to the show in 2013. We are tired of a basketball team that only interests us enough to compel us to check Twitter during the games. We are tired at looking at a \u201cmust win\u201d type of situation for this program and immediately assuming a loss.<\/p>\n

And given Kennedy\u2019s good work thus far we are hopeful that he will deliver. But contract extensions for this type of work are for back-room deals among the good ole boys at multi-million dollar corporations where accountability is less than an afterthought. So, I\u2019m sure Andy Kennedy\u2019s contract will be extended.<\/p>\n

But, please, Ole Miss, at least think about making our basketball program justify its existence before you do it.<\/p>\n

Read more more Red Cup Rebellion at http:\/\/www.RedCupRebellion.com<\/a> and follow RCR on Twitter at http:\/\/www.twitter.com\/RedCupRebellion<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

(from TLV #152 :: http:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/LocalVoice-PDFs\/TLV-152-web.pdf<\/strong><\/a>)<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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