Pettway introduced as new Kennesaw State coach

Apr. 12—KENNESAW — Antoine Pettway was a finalist for the Kennesaw State men's basketball head-coaching job four years ago, before Amir Abdur-Rahim was eventually hired.

Pettway was interested because he said he knew the school's location in the metro-Atlanta area was a plus. He knew the high school talent in the area was well-coached and, in many cases, ready to come in and compete for playing time and championships.

Fast-forward four years, with Kennesaw State playing Liberty for the ASUN Conference championship on national television, and the game cemented the Owls in Pettway's mind.

"I watched the (KSU Convocation) Center versus Liberty in the conference championship," the 40-year-old Pettway said. "I was sitting back watching the game at home, and I said to myself, 'If I ever get a chance to be at Kennesaw State, I'm going.' The way the community got behind this team and this program, I loved it, and I wanted to be part of it. I want to continue that."

Pettway was hired as Kennesaw State's new coach last week, his first head position after 18 years on the coaching staffs as Alabama and Jacksonville State. He takes over for Abdur-Rahim, who is now the coach at South Florida.

Pettway inherits an Owls program coming off the best season in its Division I history. The team went 26-9, won the ASUN Conference regular-season and tournament titles and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time.

During his introductory news conference, Pettway thanked two of his predecessors at Kennesaw State — Abdur-Rahim and the late Tony Ingle — for setting a winning foundation.

Pettway said he spoke with the team Sunday, telling team he knew change was difficult. He understood there would be a transition period, but he also said this team is not starting over.

It was enough to impress point guard Terrell Burden, a former Campbell High School standout and second-team All-ASUN performer, who announced Tuesday on social media that he would be returning for his final year of eligibility.

"He's a man of his word," Burden said. "He re-recruited me and told me, 'I'm going to give you the keys and we're going to do this thing together.'"

Pettway, an Alberta, Alabama, native, had more than 20 family members in attendance Wednesday. Also at the KSU Convocation Center were longtime Campbell coach James Gwyn and two figures with close ties to Pettway — Pebblebrook coach George Washington, who went to Alabama with Pettway, and Utah Jazz guard Collin Sexton, a Pebblebrook alum who played one season for Pettway and then-head coach Avery Johnson with the Crimson Tide before moving on to the NBA.

This year, with Pettway coordinating the offense under head coach Nate Oats, Alabama averaged 81.8 points per game, which was seventh in the country, and went on to be the overall No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Pettway said fans can expect to see something similar in Kennesaw.

"From an offensive standpoint, I want to play fast and be in attack mode for 40 minutes," said Pettway, who helped lead Alabama to the Elite Eight as a player in 2004. "I want to push pace. I want to force teams to play our tempo, and our guys will play with extreme freedom and confidence."

Pettway also said that kind of freedom comes with responsibility and the need to work hard every day, even when nobody is looking. It is the kind of effort that became common place with the Owls over the last four years.

"I love hearing that," said Burden, who averaged 13.5 points per game this past season.

One person who flourished in that system at Alabama was Sexton, who said Pettway is the right guy at the right time for Kennesaw State.

"He brings energy every day," Sexton said, "and he always has a smile on his face."

In addition to Burden returning, forward Demond Robinson said he was coming back for his final season of eligibility, guard Simeon Cottle said he was coming back for his sophomore season, and it is expected that Qunicy Ademokoya would be as well, keeping a solid core in place.

Pettway, though, will have to fill out the remainder of the roster, which will be devoid of former starters Chris Youngblood, Brandon Stroud and Kasen Jennings, who all followed Abdur-Rahim to South Florida.

Pettway, has been known as an elite-level recruiter. He helped bring in the No. 3 recruiting class to Alabama in 2022, led by Brandon Miller, the National Freshman of the Year and a likely first-round pick in this summer's NBA draft.

To keep Kennesaw State competitive and moving in the right direction, Pettway said it is all about relationships.

"We're going to develop relationships," he said. "We are going to make a concerted effort to recruit local.

"Georgia is a hotbed of talent. In the era of the portal, when guys are constantly jumping in, you have to target guys who went off to play for major schools or maybe get NIL, but when they're done, they simply want to play. Kennesaw State is a great place for them to come back home, play in front of your hometown fans, play in front of your hometown coaches.

"For the high school kids, I think I could throw a rock outside this building and hit four good players. There's players all around. We want to target those guys early and show them this is a good opportunity to come in and win a championship."

Washington said Pettway should have no problem hitting the ground running.

"He already has a great relationship with the high school coaches," Washington said. "What's more impressive is he's still going to come to your gym, even if you don't have a player to be recruited."

As of Wednesday afternoon, it seemed like Pettway was already is putting those relationships to good use. Just before the news conference started, 6-foot-7 forward Jamal King announced would be transferring in from West Virginia, while Newton guard Marcus Whitlock said he would be visiting the campus on Friday.

"I'm looking for every-day guys," Pettway said. I'm looking for guys who bring maximum effort every single day to the basketball court, the classroom and the community. We're targeting guys who have talent, work ethic but most importantly, character.

"I'm not going to stand up here and make a bunch of promises, but the one thing I can promise is we're going to play hard and we're going to compete. I want to put a product on the court this community can be proud of."