Keith Jennings (basketball)

{{Infobox basketball biography

| name = Keith Jennings

| image =

| caption =

| height_ft = 5

| height_in = 7

| weight_lb = 160

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1968|11|02|mf=y}}

| birth_place = Culpeper, Virginia, U.S.

| highschool = Culpeper County
(Culpeper County, Virginia)

| college = {{nowrap|East Tennessee State (1987–1991)}}

| draft_year = 1991

| career_start = 1991

| career_end = 2004

| career_position = Point guard

| career_number = 2

| coach_start = 2004

| years1 = 1991

| team1 = Jacksonville Hooters

| years2 = 1991–1992

| team2 = Brandt Hagen

| years3 = {{nbay|1992|start}}–{{nbay|1994|end}}

| team3 = Golden State Warriors

| years4 = 1995–1996

| team4=Estudiantes

| years5 = 1997–1999

| team5=Le Mans

| years6 = 1999

| team6=Real Madrid

| years7 = 1999–2000

| team7=Fenerbahçe

| years8 = 2000

| team8=Saint Petersburg Lions

| years9 = 2000–2002

| team9=Strasbourg

| years10 = 2002–2003

| team10 = SLUC Nancy

| years11 = 2003–2004 | team11 = Strasbourg

| cyears1 = 2004–2007

| cteam1 = Highland School

| cyears2 = 2007–2008

| cteam2 = East Tennessee State (GA)

| cyears3 = 2008–2009

| cteam3 = Science Hill HS (assistant)

| cyears4 = 2009–2014

| cteam4 = Bluefield (assistant)

| cyears5 = 2014–2017

| cteam5 = Lees–McRae (assistant)

| cyears6 = 2017–present

| cteam6 = Lees–McRae (women's)

| highlights =

French League Foreign MVP (1999)
French League Best Scorer (1999)
Consensus second-team All-American (1991)
Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award (1991)
2× SoCon Player of the Year (1990, 1991)
No. 22 honored by East Tennessee State Buccaneers

}}

Keith Russell "Mister" Jennings (born November 2, 1968) is an American basketball coach, who formerly played professional in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and overseas in European leagues.{{Cite web|url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/j/jennike01.html|title=Keith Jennings Stats {{!}} Basketball-Reference.com|website=Basketball-Reference.com|access-date=2016-12-06}}

College career

Jennings, a {{convert|5|ft|7|in|m|adj=on}} tall point guard, attended East Tennessee State University, for four academic years (1987–91). Jennings won the 1991 Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award, given to the outstanding collegiate senior six feet tall and under, and was a second-team consensus All-American. He also led the NCAA Division I that year in three-point field goals, shooting 59 percent.{{Cite web |url=http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Detail.php?Cat=SPORTS&ID=59843 |title=Mister returning to help coach, finish degree |access-date=April 13, 2008 |archive-date=March 3, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303175343/http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Detail.php?Cat=SPORTS&ID=59843 |url-status=dead }}

It was in college that Jennings was primarily called by the nickname "Mister", which was originally given to him by his father during his childhood.{{Cite web|url=https://lamarmatic.com/2018/11/30/the-handle-podcast-keith-mister-jennings-warriors-11-30-18/|title=The Handle Podcast – Keith "Mister" Jennings: 11/30/18|website=lamarmatic.com|accessdate=24 October 2024}}

Professional playing career

Jennings was not selected in the 1991 NBA draft, and started his NBA career as a free agent. He spent three seasons in the NBA, with the Golden State Warriors (1992–95), playing in 164 games, and averaging 6.6 points and 3.7 assists in 18.0 minutes per game. Jennings's personal best in the NBA was a 23-point performance, in his next-to-last regular season game with the Warriors, on April 22, 1995. In that game, Jennings made 8 of 10 field goals, including 3 of 4 three-pointers, and was perfect in 4 free-throw attempts in 41 minutes.[http://www.basketballreference.com/teams/boxscore.htm?yr=1994&b=19950422&tm=gs 04/22/1995 NBA Box Score at gs - basketballreference.com] He dished off 10 assists that game to cap off his best performance in the NBA. He was selected by the Toronto Raptors in the 1995 expansion draft, but did not play for them. He also played professionally in Europe. In 2003–04 he parlayed his experience on the court to help the basketball club in Strasbourg, France.

Coaching career

From 2004 to 2007, Jennings was the head coach of the boys' varsity basketball team at the private Highland School in Warrenton, Virginia. Jennings joined the staff at his alma mater, East Tennessee State, as a graduate assistant coach for the 2007–08 season while he completed his degree. After a year as an assistant coach at Science Hill High School in Johnson City, Tennessee, Jennings was assistant coach at Bluefield College in Bluefield, Virginia from 2009 to 2014.{{Cite web |url=http://www.bdtonline.com/localsports/local_story_012234712.html |title=Bluefield Daily Telegraph: 'Mister' influences Ramblin' Rams |access-date=February 13, 2010 |archive-date=July 19, 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120719042507/http://www.bdtonline.com/localsports/local_story_012234712.html |url-status=dead }} In 2014, he became assistant coach at Lees–McRae College in Banner Elk, North Carolina.{{Cite web |url=http://lmcbobcats.com/sports/mbkb/2014-15/releases/Jennings_Release |title=Keith 'Mister' Jennings Tabbed Men's Basketball Assistant Coach |access-date=October 9, 2015 |archive-date=September 16, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150916213349/http://lmcbobcats.com/sports/mbkb/2014-15/releases/Jennings_Release |url-status=dead }}

On July 7, 2017, Jennings was named head women's coach at Lees–McRae.{{cite news|title=Keith "Mister" Jennings named new Head Women's Basketball Coach at Lees-McRae|url=http://www.lmcbobcats.com/sports/wbkb/2017-18/releases/20170707oiveyk|access-date=March 2, 2019|work=Lees–McRae College|date=July 7, 2017|archive-date=March 6, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306043121/http://www.lmcbobcats.com/sports/wbkb/2017-18/releases/20170707oiveyk|url-status=dead}}

On July 27, 2023, Jennings was named head coach at Culpeper County High School, his alma mater.{{Cite web |last=STAR–EXPONENT |first=CULPEPER |date=2023-07-28 |title=Former NBA player, Keith Jennings named head coach at CCHS |url=https://starexponent.com/news/local/former-nba-player-keith-jennings-named-head-coach-at-cchs/article_267b58c2-2cae-11ee-8341-2332bea46263.html |access-date=2024-02-10 |website=Culpeper Star-Exponent |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=STAR–EXPONENT |first=CULPEPER |date=2023-08-11 |title=PREP BASKETBALL: Former ETSU standout Jennings to guide Culpeper County hoops |url=https://heraldcourier.com/sports/prep-basketball-former-etsu-standout-jennings-to-guide-culpeper-county-hoops/article_11fcd1e5-1f20-5769-8575-b3e9786323df.html |access-date=2024-02-10 |website=The Bristol Herald Courier |language=en}}

References

External links

[https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/j/jennike01.html NBA stats] @ basketballreference.com
[http://www.lnb.fr/fr/Pro-A/200006/Joueurs/A06705/Keith-Jennings?saison=2003 French League profile]
[http://www.etsubucs.com/mbasketball/news/2004-05/2356/etsu-proclaims-keith-mister-jennings-day/ ETSU proclaims Keith "Mister" Jennings Day (November 27, 2004)] @ etsubucs.com
[https://web.archive.org/web/20140203203559/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1118790/index.htm Rushin, Steve. Sports Illustrated (January 29, 1991) "Hey, Mister: Keith Jennings, the little big man they call Mister, has led East Tennessee State to the big time"]

{{navboxes|list=

{{Southern Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year navbox}}

}}

Category:1968 births

Category:Living people

Category:20th-century African-American sportsmen

Category:20th-century American sportsmen

Category:21st-century African-American people

Category:African-American basketball coaches

Category:All-American college men's basketball players

Category:American expatriate basketball people in Austria

Category:American expatriate basketball people in France