Coaches
Joe Kennedy
Joe Kennedy is in his second season as an assistant men’s basketball coach at the College of the Holy Cross in 2016-2017. Last year, Kennedy helped the Crusaders to their first NCAA Tournament victory since 1953 and their first Patriot League Tournament title since 2007. Holy Cross also won all four of its Patriot League Tournament games on the road, becoming the first team in conference history to accomplish that feat.
Kennedy is a 2007 graduate of Northwestern with a bachelor’s degree in education and social policy. He was a four-year letterman on the Wildcats’ basketball team, was named a team captain his senior season and received Academic All-Big Ten recognition three times. His father, Pat Kennedy, was a head coach for 33 years at Iona, Florida State, DePaul, Montana, Towson and Pace.
Prior to returning to Northwestern as director of basketball operations, Kennedy was a special assistant for the Office of Public Engagement at the White House from January 2009 to October 2010, where he served as a liaison to key national advocates and organizations that helped promote and implement the administration’s legislative priorities. It primarily focused on outreach to youth, students, amateur and professional sports organizations, including individual athletes and their representatives, sports agencies, teams and the commissioner’s offices.
From April 2007 to January 2009, Kennedy worked for the Obama for America and Obama Transition Team where he coordinated logistics and event planning for the Office of Public Liaison and Intergovernmental Relations. He was the regional director in Polk County, Iowa, where he managed the daily operations of four campaign offices and a full-time staff of 16 people
Freddie Owens
Freddie Owensis in his second season as an assistant men’s basketball coach at the College of the Holy Cross in 2016-2017. Last year, Owens helped the Crusaders to their first NCAA Tournament victory since 1953 and their first Patriot League Tournament title since 2007. Holy Cross also won all four of its Patriot League Tournament games on the road, becoming the first team in conference history to accomplish that feat.
Owens, who came to Holy Cross with eight years of collegiate coaching experience, has now been a part of eight NCAA Tournament teams as either a player or a coach. During the 2014-2015 season, Owens served as an assistant coach at Utah Valley University. He was previously an assistant coach at Oregon State during the 2013-2014 campaign, helping the Beavers to an overall record of 16-16 and a trip to the College Basketball Invitational.
Prior to his time at Oregon State, Owens served as an assistant coach at Montana for four seasons from 2009-2013. He helped the Grizzlies to four straight 20-win seasons and a total of 93 victories, with the team winning three Big Sky Conference Tournament titles and making three trips to the NCAA Tournament (2010, 2012 and 2013). Montana also played in the College Basketball Invitational in 2011.
Before becoming an assistant coach at Montana, Owens served as a graduate assistant at Iowa State University during the 2008-2009 season. He was also an assistant coach in 2007-2008 at Adams State College in Alamosa, Colo., and helped the team go 18-10, its most wins in a season since joining the Division II ranks.
As an undergraduate, Owens was a two-year starter and four-year letterwinner at the University of Wisconsin, with the team advancing the NCAA Tournament in each of his four seasons. During his career, he scored 796 points and helped the Badgers win two Big Ten regular season championships (2002 and 2003) and one Big Ten Tournament title (2004). Owens made a game-winning three-pointer against Tulsa at the buzzer in the NCAA Tournament as a junior in 2003 to send the Badgers to the Sweet 16.
After college, Owens played professionally in Europe for the Riga Barons in Latvia in 2005-2006 in the Euro Cup and Baltic Leagues. His first coaching stint was with Stay In The Game AAU in 2006-20
Joe Scott
Joe Scott in his first season as an assistant men’s basketball coach at the College of the Holy Cross in 2016-2017.
Scott came to Holy Cross from the University of Denver, where he served as the head coach from 2007-2016. The Pioneers went 146-132 overall during Scott’s nine seasons, while setting a school Division I record with 22 victories in both 2011-2012 and 2012-2013. During the 2012-2013 season, his team shared the Western Athletic Conference regular season title, earned a bid to the National Invitation Tournament and posted the first postseason victory in school history with a 61-57 win over Ohio in the NIT first round. Scott was also a finalist for the 2012 Hugh Durham Award as the top mid-major coach in the nation.
Prior to his time at Denver, Scott spent three seasons as the head coach at Princeton from 2004-2007. His team led the nation in scoring defense during the 2006-2007 season at 52.9 points per game, while his 2005-2006 squad placed second in the Ivy League with a 10-4 conference record. Scott previously spent four seasons as the head coach at Air Force from 2000-2004. He earned Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year honors in 2003-2004, after leading the Falcons to an overall record of 22-7, the Mountain West regular season title and the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance in 42 years. His career head coaching record stands at 235-240.
From 1992-2000, Scott served as an assistant coach at Princeton, including four years under Carmody from 1996-2000. The Tigers posted an overall record of 163-61 during those eight seasons, while winning three Ivy League championships and five consecutive postseason appearances. Scott began his coaching career as an assistant at Monmouth during the 1991-1992 season.
A 1987 graduate of Princeton with a bachelor’s degree in history, Scott was a three-year starter at point guard for the Tigers and earned second team All-Ivy League honors as a senior captain. He went on to earn his law degree from Notre Dame in 1990, and worked for the law firm of Ribis, Graham & Curtin before beginning his coaching career.
Dave Metzendorf
Dave Metzendorf is in his first year as the director of men’s basketball operations at the College of the Holy Cross in 2016-2017. His primary responsibilities include serving as the team’s travel and video coordinator, in addition to assisting with recruiting efforts, summer camps and day-to-day office duties.
Metzendorf came to Holy Cross after spending the previous three years on the staff at Cornell University. He served as an assistant coach for the Big Red for the last two seasons and was instrumental in the school’s recruiting efforts, after spending the 2013-2014 campaign as a special assistant to the head coach. During the 2015-2016 season, Metzendorf coached Cornell’s backcourt, which included two of the Ivy League’s top three scorers in Matt Morgan (18.9 PPG) and Robert Hatter (17.1 PPG), with Morgan breaking the Ivy League single-season record for points scored by a freshman.
In 2014-2015, Metzendorf helped Cornell to an 11-game improvement over the previous year, the biggest turnaround in the program’s history. The Big Red also ranked among the top defensive teams in the nation, leading the Ivy League and standing 18th in Division I in field goal percentage defense. During the 2013-2014 season, Metzendorf was responsible for numerous behind-the-scenes tasks for Cornell, including acting as film coordinator and handling team travel.
