Coach Kennedy talks Moody’s recovery, calls him an ‘athletic freak of nature’
In Monday’s Southeastern Conference Men’s Basketball Summer Teleconference, Ole Miss head coach Andy Kennedy spoke about his team, the new coaches in the league and the progress of guard Stefan Moody in his recovery from a fractured tibia.
Kennedy, who is preparing to hit the road for the July recruiting period, said with the second summer session about to begin, the majority of his team is on campus. “It has been a productive summer to this point,” he added. Kennedy said he is excited about the newcomers and the players he has returning.
Ole Miss head coach Andy Kennedy (Photo credit: Bentley Breland for The Rebel Walk)
New coaches bring attention to the league
When asked about the influx of new coaches in the conference, Kennedy said, “I think it’s certainly enhanced the profile of SEC basketball which is obviously a good thing for our league.”
Of new Florida Gators head coach Michael White, who spent seven seasons (from 2004-11) on the Ole Miss coaching staff, Kennedy commented: “I’ve been proud of the success he had at Louisiana Tech, and I know he’s excited about the opportunity that Florida presents.”
Of Avery Johnson, the new coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide, Kennedy said he has “great respect for what he has been able to accomplish as a player and as a coach at the highest level.”
Kennedy also spoke about Rick Barnes, the new head coach at Tennessee: “I’ve known Coach Barnes at Tennessee forever. He was an assistant at Alabama when I was coming out of high school way back when in the early 80’s, and I think he is one of the most underrated coaches in all of basketball with what he was able to accomplish at the University of Texas.”
Coach Kennedy also mentioned Ben Howland, the new head coach at State, saying he has “done a tremendous job throughout his career and I’m sure he’ll do the same at Mississippi State.”
Stefan Moody – ‘athletic freak of nature’
When asked how star player Stefan Moody is healing from a fractured tibia discovered earlier this summer, the Ole Miss coach responded the returning league leader in scoring is progressing tremendously.
Kennedy first described the turn of events that led to Moody’s surgery:
It was one of most bizarre things I have been through as a coach, because here’s a kid who on Thursday is going through workouts. He’s running. He’s jumping and he’s pain free. He has no issues, whatsoever. Inadvertently (Moody) gets kicked in the leg, which brought some symptoms—which led to the discovery of the fracture in his tibia, and the next day he is having surgery.
Kennedy said he is not surprised by Moody’s speedy recovery and that “other than the initial pain that comes with that surgery, he’s had no pain.” He added that they are taking things slowly, but noted: “Our medical staff is blown away at how quickly he’s responding, as I knew he would.”
The Rebels’ head coach said he affectionately calls Stefan Moody “our athletic freak of nature” and knows “he’s going to bounce back from this just fine.” There are many professional sports players and athletes that bounce back from lesser injuries in more time and could greatly benefit from a product like Aethics best cbd cream 1000mg, but not Moody.
To listen to the full replay of the SEC Men’s Basketball Summer Teleconference, click here.
Follow @TheRebelWalk
(Feature image photo credit: Bentley Breland, The Rebel Walk)
