Kenneth L. Blakeney (born November 29, 1971) is an American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

coach. He is the head coach of the

Howard Bison men's basketball The Howard Bison men's basketball team is the basketball team that represents Howard University in Washington, DC, United States. The school's team currently competes in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and is coached by Kenny Blakeney. Hi ...

team.

Playing career

After a high school playing career at

DeMatha Catholic High School DeMatha Catholic High School is a four-year Catholic high school for boys located in Hyattsville, Maryland, United States. Named after John of Matha, DeMatha is under the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington and is a member of the Washington Ca ...

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Morgan Wootten Morgan Bayard Wootten (April 21, 1931January 21, 2020) was an American high school basketball coach for 46 seasons at DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville, Maryland. He led the Stags to five national championships and 33 Washington Catholi ...

, where he was named the

Gatorade Player of the Year The Gatorade Player of the Year awards are given annually to up and coming high school student-athletes in the United States. They are given for boys' baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine playe ...

in the state of Maryland, Blakeney played collegiately at

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...

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Mike Krzyzewski Michael William Krzyzewski ( ; born February 13, 1947), nicknamed "Coach K", is an American former college basketball coach. He served as the head coach at Duke University from 1980 to 2022, during which he led the Blue Devils to five natio ...

where he was part of the Blue Devils' 1991 NCAA Championship season as a redshirting freshman, and the 1992 NCAA Championship season. He also served as team captain his senior year.

Coaching career

Upon graduating, Blakeney landed his first assistant coaching position under

Lefty Driesell Charles Grice "Lefty" Driesell (born December 25, 1931) is a retired American college basketball coach. He was the first coach to win more than 100 games at four different NCAA Division I schools, Driesell led the programs of Davidson College, t ...

James Madison James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father. He served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for hi ...

, where he stayed for one season before another one-year stop at La Salle. Blakeney joined former Duke assistant coach

Mike Brey Michael Paul Brey (born March 22, 1959) is an American college basketball coach. He has been the men's head coach at the University of Notre Dame since July 14, 2000. Early life and education Brey, the son of Olympic swimmer Betty Brey, graduate ...

's staff at

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

, where he stayed from 1997 to 2001. During the 2001–02 season, Blakeney served as an assistant coach at

Seton Hall Seton Hall University (SHU) is a private Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Seton Hall is the oldest diocesan u ...

before returning to Delaware for a second assistant coaching stint. In 2006, Blakeney became an assistant coach at

Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia * Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Islands * Marshall Islands, an i ...

before joining another former assistant coach from his playing days, working with

Tommy Amaker Harold Tommy Amaker Jr. (; born June 6, 1965) is an American college basketball coach and the head coach of the Harvard University men's basketball team. He has also coached for the University of Michigan and Seton Hall University. He played po ...

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

. In 2011, Blakeney left coaching for the private sector, working at

Under Armour Under Armour, Inc. is an American sports equipment company that manufactures footwear, sports and casual apparel. Under Armour's global headquarters are located in Baltimore, Maryland, with additional offices located in Amsterdam (European hea ...

in the company's marketing division. He returned to coaching in 2018, joining the staff at Columbia. On May 6, 2019, Blakeney was named the 10th head coach in Howard men's basketball history, replacing

Kevin Nickelberry Kevin Nickelberry (born October 15, 1964) is an American college basketball coach and current assistant coach at Georgetown. Nickelberry is the former head men's basketball coach at Howard University, as well as at Hampton University. Head coa ...

. Blakeney signed the top recruit in Howard history,

Makur Maker Makur Maker (born 4 November 2000) is a South Sudanese-Australian professional basketball player for the Capital City Go-Go of the NBA G League. A consensus five-star recruit, he committed to play college basketball for Howard University, becomi ...

, on July 3, 2020.

Head coaching record

References