Bobby Kennen gets first chance at North Florida basketball to replace Matthew Driscoll

Bud Beech knew exactly where to find the Nike shoebox that was given to his son Beau while being recruited out of Ponte Vedra High School by University of North Florida assistant coach Bobby Kennen .

It’s where it always was, on a closet shelf in his son’s room. And inside were 250 personal handwritten notes, ranging from humorous to informative to introspective that Kennen had written to Beau Beech during odd moments before packing them into the box and handing it to the promising young forward in hopes that he would find something in there that would help convince him to stay on the First Coast and play for the Ospreys .

“Here’s one card that promised Beau that his little brother Spencer could be a ball boy,” said Bud Beech, the former Ponte Vedra High coach, in picking the notes at random. “Another one says that Applebee’s by campus has a great two for $20 menu. There’s even a card in here joking about how many ducks and geese are in the ponds at UNF.”

And on and on the notes went:

“You will be a nightmare for other teams.”

“We have 180-degree breakaway rims on our court.”

And one that reached into Beau Beech’s soul: “UNF is on a journey to greatness that will be guided by our commitment to excellence, focus, relevance and accountability.”

Nothing will change about that last statement now that Bobby Kennen is the Ospreys’ head coach.

Bobby Kennen is the fifth basketball coach in UNF history

Kennen, 53, and a graduate of Ocala Forest and Palm Beach Atlantic became the fifth UNF coach on May 22 when Matthew Driscoll resigned after 16 years. Kennen has the job on an interim basis, but athletics director Nick Morrow said he won’t be conducting a search until after next season.

"Right now I'm focused on supporting (Kennen) and giving him the staff he needs to have success this year," Morrow said at the news conference on May 23. "I'm not going to be a distraction by talking to other coaches and search firms while they're competing and prepping for the season. It's not on my radar to have those right now."

Driscoll has the most victories (248) in UNF and ASUN history and Kennen was there for every one of them as the first assistant hired by Driscoll when he came to Jacksonville from Baylor.

UNF won three regular-season ASUN titles and the 2015 ASUN tournament championship, which led to the school’s only NCAA tournament berth to date. Driscoll also coached 120 ASUN Academic Honor Roll student-athletes.

The formula that led to that kind of success, both on and off the court, won’t change under Kennen. He will recruit “long, athletic players” who fit into Driscoll’s fast-paced offensive philosophy of looking for “dunks, layups and open 3-pointers.”

UNF has been among the national leaders in 3-point shots attempted and made throughout most of Driscoll’s career. Kennen sees no reason to change that — nor what's required in the classroom and how players conduct themselves in the community.

“The standard is the standard,” said Kennen, who also had college assistant coaching jobs at Jacksonville University, Campbell, Wichita State and Central Florida Community College, and coached Williston and Lantana Santaluces High Schools. “It’s my job to elevate it. As we move the program forward there’s a baseline.”

Kennen also knows there may be more pressure on him than what was expected from Driscoll when he was hired in 2009. Before that, the Ospreys had only three winning records in 17 years, had never won more than 15 games in a year and had beaten crosstown rival Jacksonville only once.

In UNF’s first four seasons as a Division I program, before Driscoll took over, the Ospreys were 20-96 overall (.172) and 7-63 in the ASUN (.100).

Driscoll, with Kennen at his side, led North Florida to its first 20-win season and ASUN title within four years.

“The difference with me standing here today and when Coach Driscoll stood here 16 years ago is that he was greeted with optimism and hope,” Kennen said. “I’m greeted with expectations because of what’s happened here and because of what’s come before me. I have a responsibility to every single player who’s walked through there to uphold that standard.”

Former players, Matthew Driscoll give Bobby Kennen given credit for helping elevate UNF

However, it’s not lost on anyone at UNF that Kennen played an active role in turning around the program’s fortunes.

“Coach Kennen was Coach Driscoll’s very first hire back in 2009 and he embodies many of the same values and qualities that made Coach Driscoll so special,” Morrow said during the news conference to formally announce Driscoll’s resignation to join Jerome Tang’s staff at Kanas State.

“The program’s success has been a shared effort, a testament to Coach Kennen and the dedicated, long-time staff who have worked tirelessly in his leadership,” Morrow went on. “Coach Kennen has earned this opportunity. He will continue to guide this program with integrity, hard work and a relentless commitment to excellence.”

Among those with little doubt that Kennen will keep the Ospreys relevant are former players and Driscoll himself.

“I think (the transition is) going to go extremely smooth,” said former All-ASUN forward Carter Hendricksen , who is tied for the most career games played in a UNF uniform. “He’s ready for this. He’s excited. His attention to detail is hand-in-hand with Coach Driscoll.”

Demarcus Daniels said what’s important about the UNF culture will not change.

There might be a different shift in personalities but as far as expectations for the team, structure in practice, all those things will look the same,” said Daniels, one of the key players on UNF’s NCAA run in 2015. “They might do a few little things different. They’re both great educators and great motivators.”

Driscoll said Kennen is ready.

“Number one, he has incredible integrity,” Driscoll said of Kennen. “He really understands what that looks like and how that operates. Number two, he is really, really special ... with relationships. And the third thing is he has an incredible personality and an incredible sense of humor.”

Bobby Kennen acknowledges difference in style

About that personality ... Kennen also has the task of following Driscoll’s out-sized personality, an aura that was equal parts carnival barker and street preacher.

Kennen knows that he’s not Matthew Driscoll in that sense, so he won’t be coming in trying to fabricate that kind of outward intensity.

“That’s part of the human condition ... we’re all different,” Kennen said. “Discipline, accountability, all those things that matter to Coach Driscoll matter to me. It’s just how we communicate that that may be a little bit different.”

But can Kennen motivate players anything close to Driscoll’s hard-driving style?

The player who suited up for the most games with Driscoll and Kennen on the bench is betting he will.

“There is no casual nature about Coach Kennen,” Hendricksen said. “He just exudes it in different ways than Coach Driscoll.”

Bobby Kennen comes from modest means

An understanding of his background should temper any tendencies to underrate Bobby Kennen. He’s been an underdog most of his life and always found a way.

Kennen is a native of New Jersey and the son of a plumber who moved his family to Florida when he was in elementary school.

Kennen loved basketball but as late as his junior year at Ocala Forest in 1987, he was just over 5 feet tall, weighed 95 pounds and was still buried on the Wildcats’ junior varsity.

He had a growth spurt over that summer — all the way up to 5 feet 7. But Kennen’s tenacity and refusal to let his size limit his opportunities warmed the heart of veteran coach Jim Haley and soon Kennen was running the offense as the point guard during his senior season.

Kennen also said Haley made him realize his academic potential.

“I’m a first-generation college graduate ... no parents, no aunts, no uncles, no cousins,” he said. “I’m it. And Coach Haley put me on that path.”

Palm Beach Atlantic offered the chance

Haley badgered small college coaches in Florida to come watch the plucky point guard run an offense and lead his team. Eventually, Palm Beach Atlantic coach Dan Ross (the Sailfish were in the NAIA at the time) came to scout Kennen in a summer all-star game and asked Kennen if he could make a home visit.

Kennen said his knowledge of college life was so lacking that when Ross mentioned how many credit hours athletes were required to take at PBA, Kennen turned to his father and asked him, “What’s a credit hour?”

“He said he had no idea,” Kennen said. “But he said you’re going to have a chance to play college basketball for free and I had an Aunt Patty who lived 20 miles from the campus so I could do my laundry and get a decent meal.”

Kennen was an immediate starter for the Sailfish and was the school’s athlete of the year in 1993. But times were tough at PBA during that time and Kennen played for Ross and Larry Olson, who combined to go 29-85 in four years.

Kennen was the team captain his last three years and when he left school, he held the PBA records for single-game assists (20), single season (294) and career (918).

Kennen felt he could have done more.

“Back then point guards didn’t shoot a lot ... you were supposed to run the offense,” he said. “I was very unselfish, but I was also competitive.”

However, the kid who didn’t know what a credit hour was became a four-time Academic All-Conference student-athlete and graduated Cum Laude with degrees in biology and physical education.

Coaching is in Bobby Kennen's blood

Bobby Kennen wasted no time in becoming a coach. His first teaching and coaching job was as the JV coach and assistant varsity coach at Santaluces High in Lantana, where they won a sub-regional title in 1993-94.

Kennen then went to Willison, where the Red Devils won three consecutive Suwannee Conference Championships. He was coach of the year in the conference all three years.

Kennen kept climbing the ladder: first to Central Florida Community College, then to Jacksonville University, where he worked under Hugh Durham for five years.

Kennen then went to Campbell for four years before coming to UNF on Driscoll’s staff.

No one can ever say Kennen didn’t pay his dues.

“If I wasn’t there, Bobby could handle whatever it was that was going on,” Driscoll said. “He’ll continue to do that here. He’s grown in basketball, he’s grown in his network, he’s grown in all the areas that are critical to being a head coach. He’s got all the intangibles.”

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: North Florida basketball's Bobby Kennen came from blue-collar stock