TK back in the 'D'

Mott's Thomas Kennedy signs with the University of Detroit

By Jared Field

28 April 2008

greatlakeshoops.com

Thomas Kennedy was practically doing the splits back in the fall of 2006 when he first came to Mott Community College on a basketball scholarship.

The 6-7 small forward had his feet at opposite ends of the I-75 corridor—stretching from the Motor City to the Vehicle City.

He was, admittedly, just going through the motions early on, not 100 percent sure that Flint was where he wanted to be.

“He didn’t like it when he first got here,” said Kennedy’s coach, Steve Schmidt. “At Thanksgiving I gave him an ultimatum. I told him that if his heart wasn’t here, he should stay home. I felt like his heart was still in Detroit.

“But he was a different player after that and was a fixture in our lineup from then on. I was willing to take the risk of losing him if it was going to make him a better player.”

Now Kennedy, a second team All-American as a sophomore, is returning home to finish out his college career.

Kennedy signed with the

University of Detroit Mercy on Sunday night, spurning numerous courtiers including Kent State, UMass, Valparaiso and Virginia Commonwealth.

“I wasn’t taking things seriously back then,” said Kennedy, who played his high school ball at Detroit Southeastern alongside future UDM teammate Eulis Stephens. “I didn’t realize what I had at stake. He told me to straighten up or not come back at all.”

Kennedy got his head right and, like so many players under Schmidt’s watch have, became the player he always knew he could be.

“I’m twice the player now than I was back then,” said Kennedy, who averaged 14.5 points and 7.7 rebounds en route to the Bears' second consecutive national championship. “I really worked on shooting and handling the ball. I gained a lot of confidence in my game.

“When (Coach Schmidt) was recruiting me he said that if I really worked things could happen for me, and I really wanted expand my game.”

Kennedy becomes the first signee of UDM’s new head coach, Ray McCallum, who recently replaced Perry Watson, the Titans’ veteran coach.

“I’m excited because I think Detroit is the place where Thomas always wanted to go,” said Schmidt. “Even with the coaching change, he was still a priority. Even in transition they did not hesitate to recruit him.

“And selfishly I’m happy because I can continue to watch him because he’ll be so close.”

Kennedy relishes the opportunity to be a part of what he hopes will be a renaissance, of sorts, at a once-proud program that has certainly seen better days.

“It’s incredible thinking about being able to help start something new,” said Kennedy, who will join Northern’s Eugene Blue who signed late last year after spending two seasons at a junior college in Florida. “It’s a challenge that I’m willing to accept and to do something great with. It will be a challenge to show people that I can play at that level and winning games will be a challenge in and of itself.”

Kennedy won two national championships at Mott and lost only five games in his career. He is just what the doctor ordered for a program coming off a woeful seven-win season.

“I don’t think he will miss a beat,” said Schmidt, who hopes Kennedy will help restore the pride in UDM basketball that used to keep Detroit players in Detroit. “He will be a breath of fresh air for a program that needs it. He’s a winner and I think that can only help to jumpstart that program.”

Sending Kennedy back home is bittersweet for Schmidt, who laments the shortened timetable that is junior college basketball.

“That’s one part of the job that I just cannot get used to,” he said. “Losing these players is tough on a coach. But I just cannot say enough about him as a player. He has been consistent and fun to coach. I challenged him, and at the end of the two years I can honestly say he has been one of my favorite players that I have ever coached. And with his ability to play inside and outside, he is going to be a monster match-up problem at that level.”

Kennedy becomes the fourth of Mott’s six sophomores to sign or verbally commit to four-year schools. Most recently, Mott’s point guard Alvin Pegues signed with division one Bethune-Cookman (Daytona Beach, Florida). Jeremie Simmons, the NJCAA national player of the year, is set to sign with Ohio State on Friday.