Kenny Blakeney enters his fourth season as an assistant coachwith the Harvard basketball program and brings a wealth ofexperience and coaching success to the Crimson.
Harvard reached new heights in 2010-11, as the team earned aprogram-record 23 victories and went 12-2 in the Ancient Eight,marking the most conference victories in school history. TheCrimson earned a share of its first Ivy title and played in the NITfor the first time, facing Oklahoma State. Harvard also owned a14-0 record at Lavietes Pavilion.
During his third year with the Harvard program, the Crimson won 21games and posted a 10-4 record in Ivy League games. Harvardwas rewarded with a spot in the CollegeInsider.com Tournamentfollowing the regular season.
Blakeney, a 1995 Duke University graduate with a degree inhistory, comes to Harvard after spending one season at MarshallUniversity. With the Thundering Herd, Blakeney was responsible forrecruiting, player development, practice planning and game coachingin addition to several off-court initiatives such as housing andsocial development. Under Blakeney, the Herd registered a big upsetvictory with a 59-58 decision against Virginia Tech, which advancedto the second round of the NCAA Championship.
Prior to his one season at Marshall, Blakeney served as anassistant with the University of Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens forfour seasons - an appointment that would be his second stop at theNewark, Del., school. After being appointed to head assistantstatus in 2005, Blakeney became responsible for all travel and gamescheduling. He was the program's recruiting coordinator androutinely produced the top classes in the Colonial AthleticAssociation. His 2003-04 class included Harding Nana who was atwo-time first team all-conference performer.
Blakeney conducted coaching clinics and lectured in Senegal andTurkey as part of an educational sports exchange program created bythe U.S. State Department and the University of Delaware, inconjunction with the NBA and the Sengalese and Turkish basketballfederations.
Blakeney made a brief stop at Saint Bonaventure University in2001-02, helping the Bonnies to an NIT appearance. Prior to that,Blakeney spent one year in private industry, founding World OneSports Academy in Dallas, Texas, with former Duke teammate ThomasHill. A four-year participant in the program was Chris Bosh, thefourth-overall selection in the 2003 NBA draft (Toronto Raptors)and current all-star and Olympic Team gold medalist.
His first stint as an assistant at Delaware, under current NotreDame head coach Mike Brey, saw the Blue Hens capture two AmericaEast championships, a pair of NCAA tournaments and the school'sfirst NIT bid. While there, he was responsible for recruiting suchplayers as Ndongo Ndiaye, who set the single-season school recordfor blocked shots, all-conference player Billy Wells and formerMcDonald's All-America selection Ajmal Basit.
Blakeney's coaching career began in 1995-96 as an assistant toLefty Driesell at James Madison. After one season, he moved on toLa Salle. Assisting with all aspects of recruiting, Blakeney helpedsign 1,700-point scorer Victor Thomas and Rasual Butler, whoeventually became the Explorer's fourth all-time scorer as well asa 2002 NBA draft pick of the Miami Heat. Butler is currently in hisfourth season with the New Orleans Hornets.
Blakeney was a five-year member of the Duke basketball team. Hewas a redshirt member of Duke's 1990-91 national championship teamand was a key player on Duke's 1991-92 NCAA title team that went34-2. As a sophomore, Blakeney appeared in 30 games in 1992-93 andhelped the team reach the second round of the NCAA tournament. In1993-94, he played in 27 games en route to an NCAA finalsappearance. He was a team captain in 1994-95 and averaged 5.4points per game. During his four playing seasons, Duke was acombined 99-34, including three 20-win seasons.
While at Duke, Blakeney was also active in numerous communityand campus programs. He worked for five years with the Children'sMiracle Network, the Duke mentor program, while also performingservice at Martha's Kitchen for the Homeless.
A Washington, D.C., native, Blakeney played high schoolbasketball at famed DeMatha Catholic under legendary coach MorganWootten. At DeMatha, Blakeney was selected as the Gatorade Playerof the Year for the state of Maryland and the District of Columbiain 1989?90. He was selected to the Capital Classic and GreatWestern Shootout All-Star Games and was a member of the ConverseAll?American Team. He averaged 18 points, seven rebounds and fourassists per game as a senior. A three-year varsity member, Blakeneywas a first team Prince George's Journal All-Countyselection and a first team Washington Post All?Metropick.
His connections with the Washington, D.C., area promises tobolster what has been a hotbed of talent for Harvard with formerand current names such as James Brown, Bob Ferry, Pat Smith, TimHill, Kenyon Churchwell, Max Kenyi and Christian Webster.
