Lehigh men’s basketball coach brings his love of the game to the South Mountain

From the moment he could pick up a ball, basketball has been in Brian Kennedy’s blood. 

Whether it’s through playing, coaching or running a business, he said the game is all he’s ever known. 

Kennedy played collegiate basketball at Princeton University and Monmouth University before becoming a coach at DePaul University for six years and the New Jersey Institute of Technology for 12 years. He also co-founded Hoop Group, one of the most famous grassroots basketball organizations in the country.

His most recent venture within the sport is coaching the Lehigh men’s basketball team, a position he took on in fall 2024 and brings a depth of experience to. 

Kennedy said his family has been involved in the business side of basketball for several decades.

In 1963, his father, Robert, founded one of the first basketball camps in the country. This led Kennedy and his brother, Rob, to expand on their father’s vision and purchase the Eastern Invitational, an NCAA recruiting camp. 

To bring the different camps, tournaments and events together under one name, the Kennedy brothers then came up with Hoop Group.

“The inspiration was to provide student athletes various means of exposure to college coaches through camps while staying true to my father’s underlying fundamental vision of teaching kids the game of basketball,” Kennedy said.

Hoop Group is a family legacy, and Kennedy said his family strives to make it the best it can be. The organization has produced some of the biggest names in basketball, including Magic Johnson and Kevin Durant. 

But, Kennedy said its impact goes beyond developing star players. 

“People from all walks of life have come through Hoop Group, all connected by the game of basketball,” Kennedy said. “Some of my best friends in life came through Hoop Group, and it’s about helping people, no matter what they go on to do, and making a positive contribution in everything they do.”

Two members of the Lehigh men’s basketball team — senior Tyler Whitney-Sidney and junior Tommy Conniff — grew up playing in Hoop Group events. 

Whitney-Sidney said the program is an incredible platform for basketball players. 

“If you’re not playing on an Adidas or Under Armour sponsored team, Hoop Group gives you a chance to be seen,” Whitney-Sidney said. 

Kennedy said coaching is what truly drew him to the game because of the relationships it can build with fellow coaches, families and student athletes. 

“I love when a group of people have worked tremendously hard together to reach a goal and the trials and tribulations that go along with that journey to reach the end,” Kennedy said. 

He also said he tries to instill authenticity in every player he coaches, often telling them, “Be yourself, because everyone else is taken.”

Conniff said Kennedy is good at connecting with different people in special ways, and he’s built a relationship with each member of the team since he came to Lehigh earlier this season. 

“He has helped me look at the game through a different lens and see things I hadn’t noticed before, especially on the offensive end,” Conniff said. 

Conniff also said the first thing Kennedy told the Lehigh men’s basketball team was, “Let’s go win a championship.”

Whitney-Sidney said it’s great to have Kennedy on staff and benefit from all of his experience. 

He also said Kennedy seems to be fully invested in the team. 

“He has given everything he has to basketball, and being a head coach before, he’s not trying to prove anything here,” Whitney-Sidney said.

Although Kennedy is no longer involved in the daily operations of Hoop Group, as his brother is now the president of the organization, he said he applies everything he has learned there to his coaching at Lehigh. 

This includes basketball fundamentals and skills, as well as the foundation for everything he knows about the game, Kennedy said.

The most rewarding part of coaching, Kennedy said, is working with student athletes every day.

“I love the minutiae — the practice, taking the daily ‘vitamins’ of getting better each and every day,” he said. “It’s about making sure our student athletes can perform at their best and achieve what they came to Lehigh to accomplish, both on and off the court.”