City of Basketball Love

Rich Flanagan (@richflanagan33) 

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Dior Kennedy accomplished two lifelong dreams in a 10-day span, one from pure determination and dedication to his craft and the other out of pure luck. 

Regardless of whether they were achieved deliberately or serendipitously, Kennedy is realizing them all the same and living out dreams he has had since he was able to hold a basketball in his hands.

“It’s really a blessing,” Kennedy said. “It’s a dream come true because growing up in Coatesville, I’ve been through a lot of trial and tribulation especially during my high school career. Being blessed with the opportunity to play Division I now, it’s surreal.”

The Coatesville native announced his commitment to the University of New Haven on April 27, which marked the end of a recruitment that had failed to gain much momentum despite tremendous success with the Coatesville Area Senior High School then Hargrave Military Academy (Va.) where he played on a loaded program that qualified for the National Prep Championship Tournament.

His commitment was the beginning of a string of momentous events that has set him on a course to play college basketball at the Division I level, something he was told could happen but never imagined it would materialize. 

“I had looked into New Haven because they’ve been invited to the [Northeast Conference],” Kennedy said. “We just didn’t know when it was going to happen. The staff knew it was a possibility to happen but no one knew it was going to happen this year or even next year.”

Kennedy was part of a rotation at Hargrave Military Academy that included four-star recruit Shane Pendergrass, Brooklyn Vick (North Carolina A&T), Cedric Horton (Texas A&M-Corpus Christi), Malchiah Marable (Central Arkansas) and Donovan Morris (Emory & Henry University) under the direction of head coach Ben Veshi.

Hargrave Military Academy is a program that has developed such NBA players as former Dallas Mavericks guard Josh Howard, former Philadelphia 76ers forwards Mike Scott and Marreese Speights, who won a title with the Golden State Warriors in 2015, and former NBA Sixth Man of the Year Montrezl Harrell.

Despite helping the program to a 36-10 overall record while averaging 10 ppg, 3 rpg, 4 apg and 2 spg on a loaded and deep roster, the 6-4 combo guard’s recruitment never ascended and it wasn’t until New Haven assistant Derrick Seldon, who had been recruiting Kennedy going back to his days at Coatesville, texted him late in the year.

Apparently, Seldon “had been recruiting me for three years and didn’t think [New Haven] would have a chance to get me after I went to Hargrave,” he stated. Kennedy traveled to the campus in West Haven, Conn. and described “it had amazing facilities and really was a hidden gym campus that not a lot of people know about.”

Shortly after his visit, head coach Ted Hotaling reached out “after watching my Hargrave highlights.” Hotaling came and visited Kennedy in his home and after getting to know the Coatesville native, he offered him a full scholarship “in front of my family.”

The outreach of the coaching staff coupled with the potential of playing college on a scholarship were so enticing that after Hotaling had left, Kennedy called him within a few hours of his departure.

“With the transfer portal numbers the way they were, I was just happy to find a home,” Kennedy said. “I called him back two hours later and said, ‘Coach, I’m really excited to commit to the University of New Haven.’ 

Before playing his lone season at Hargrove, Kennedy played four seasons at Coatesville with his final two high school seasons being under the leadership of former Red Raiders great John Allen, who scored 2,372 career points in a Coatesville uniform and was the all-time leading scorer until former La Salle and Villanova guard Jhamir ‘Jig’ Brickus, who is Kennedy’s cousin, surpassed him in 2020.

Allen, the former Parade Second team All-American in 2001 with the likes of T.J. Ford and LeBron James, played four seasons at Seton Hall, scoring 1,466 points and led the Pirates to the 2004 NCAA Tournament where they lost to Lakers head coach J.J. Redick and Duke in the second round.

Those two seasons under Allen saw Kennedy’s game take off as Coatesville won 42 games and made consecutive PIAA Class 6A Tournament quarterfinal appearances. Allen called his former pupil a week after his commitment to New Haven with some truly monumental news. The University of New Haven accepted a full membership invitation from the Northeast Conference (NEC) and will officially join on July 1. The Chargers will begin their transition to NCAA Division I during the 2025-26 academic year and attain full D-I membership in the 2028-29 following the NCAA-mandated reclassification period. 

Kennedy can vividly recall the conversation still taking in the fact that he was heading to play college basketball after being overlooked by so many programs and now joining a Division I program when he didn’t think he would ever reach that level. 

“He said, ‘Congratulations kid, you’re a Division I player,’” Kennedy said. “I just said, ‘Wow’ and my heart dropped because it’s always been my dream to be a Division I basketball player. Since it happened like that, it’s just a true blessing. I always tell Coach Rosinski and Coach Hotaling every time I talk to them about how grateful I am that they took this chance on me because when so many schools passed on me, they stuck with me.”

He believes New Haven took a chance on him but all Kennedy has done over the course of his playing career is prove people wrong.

He began his high school career in the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic and as a freshman at Collegium Charter School, the school chose to cancel the season. As a result, the PIAA stepped in and allowed players in the area to play at a different school, thus he chose Coatesville. Unfortunately, Coatesville’s season was shut down early on even as Kennedy began his career on JV then was pumped up to varsity and logging minutes as a freshman.

As a sophomore, his previous head coach Marc Turner, who won six District 1 titles at Church Farm School and took the program to nine PIAA state tournament appearances, left in the middle of the season and the Red Raiders missed the district playoffs. Kennedy didn’t sugarcoat it when stating “Coatesville basketball was chaotic.”

In comes Allen and the entire outlook for Kennedy and the program shifted almost overnight as Allen is “legendary at Coatesville and in Chester County,” according to Kennedy. Allen had coached Kennedy at Collegium as far back as fifth grade and their previous relationship helped the team gel beautifully over Kennedy’s junior and senior seasons. Kennedy avg. 17 ppg, 6 rpg, 4 apg and 3 spg while making 34 three-pointers on his way to First Team All Ches-Mont League as a senior. Coatesville secured the Ches-Mont League title that season and despite his individual success and the resurgence of the Red Raiders, Kennedy’s recruitment never reached the level he hoped and interest in him waned during portions of his career. 

After his freshman season while playing with WeR1 on the Under Armour Association circuit, Kennedy was receiving interest from La Salle but it never materialized into more than that. He actually received an offer from NJIT in May 2023 and “they didn’t take a chance on me.” He also heard from Mercyhurst as well as D-II programs like East Stroudsburg, Jefferson University and California University of Pennsylvania.

That’s what made the New Haven offer and his eventual commitment that much more meaningful. A program finally saw him for what he is as a player and person and former Coatesville standouts joined Allen in congratulating Kennedy on the stage in his basketball journey.

“My Coatesville homies like AJ Hoggard, Jig and Deuce Turner all hit me up and said, ‘It’s go time, kid. You got your opportunity,’” Kennedy said. “When they hit me up, I remembered watching them as a kid and seeing them dominate Chester County then also on the AAU level. Jhamir is my first cousin so I’ve been watching him and under his wing since I was a kid. He was at my signing day and kept me motivated throughout the process. It’s all motivation and I’m ready to put in the work that’s necessary.”

New Haven is coming off a 12-17 record (7-13 Northeast-10 Conference) and its two leading scorers, junior guard Jah’Likai King (15.8 ppg) and St. Joseph Metuchen (N.J.) product Ethan Simmon (12.5), both entered the transfer portal, leaving the Chargers without a double-digit scorer from this past season. This presents Kennedy with an opportunity to log minutes in his first season. Kennedy noted that New Haven “really loved my energy” and that his “mid-range game is elite.” Even more so, Hotaling and his staff want Kennedy to be a major contributor defensively. “I love to play 94 feet and love to pick up defensively 94 feet.”

Kennedy’s road to New Haven has presented one obstacle after the next and he continued to stay the course and control what he could. That desire to excel and his composed demeanor not only paid off but also presented two momentous, life-altering changes in the process. He’s headed to a program that wants him and is playing at the level he was always destined to play at.

“It’s about staying focused and keeping the main thing the main thing,” Kennedy said. “Never get too high or too low. Stay humble. I don’t like to talk about my accomplishments and I like to be a very humble kid. Just keep working and trust the process. There will be good days and bad days but the key is knowing that I have to keep working and look to the next play.