From Student Manager to Assistant...

Michael Kenney Jr.'s post:

In my 4 years at the University of Dayton, I would look back and say my final two years as a student manager would be the best time as a student manager. I joined the Dayton basketball team in the spring of 2009. Getting this position was all about "contacts". I graduated with a degree in Sports Management and in our Intro class we had to decide exactly what profession we wanted to go into. I narrowed it down to Sports Broadcasting and Coaching.

Then from there, we were instructed to contact three people within that profession and ask them a few questions. I was lucky enough to get a hold of three ESPN Sportscenter anchors, Kenny Maybe, Try Wingo, and Neil Everart. These guys all have me the same advice in that I need to be good at writing and practice it a lot to be a great sports anchor. This was a big red flag for me because I was awful at writing and I didn't like it that much!!!

Next, I began to contact three coaches in the college coaching industry. I came in contact with two Division III coaches, which I enjoyed talking to. But I got to talk to another up and coming star in the coaching profession, Villanova Head Coach Jay Wright. He wowed me with his knowledge and his passion for the game of basketball. I really took what he said to the heart and I knew this is what I wanted to do.

My next step was to figure a way to get into college coaching by "getting my foot in the door." Low and behold I get a hold of one of my dad's cousins, who worked for a local TV station in Dayton. He helped me branch out into my family tree to realize that coaching did run deep in my family roots. He introduced me to my grandpa's cousin, Joe Petrocelli head varsity basketball at Alter High School, who has over 800 and counting career wins as a high school coach at ONE high school. So this was my in to coaching right there. Coach Petro offered me a high school coaching job, but also put a call into the coaches at Dayton for me. Low and behold I got a call from the DOBO at Dayton and my mind was made up. I would be a Dayton Flyers Men's Basketball Student Manager.

My two years as a student manager were fun because of the numerous experiences I got to do. But everything that I learned from the coaching staff at Dayton has helped me with my new position as Assistant Men's Basketball Coach at Marietta College. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think of the many hours I put in as a manager and how they translate to what I do now as a coach.

I have a lot of great memories from winning the NIT Championship in 2010.