Kennedale boys basketball coach Doug Groff continues his long string of success

The Kennedale boys basketball team has been led by coach Doug Groff for the past 22 seasons. A tenure that has seen the Wildcats become a model of winning consistency.

But if you ask Groff, he would tell you that he deserves a minuscule amount of credit for his success over the years.

“I wish it was me,” said the ever humble Groff, who has accumulated a 534-183 record over his first 21 seasons at Kennedale, an average of 25-9 per season. “It takes everybody. First of all, there’s a lot of talent here and Kennedale has just always had talent, plus I’ve had a lot of really good coaches that have worked for me. As I always say, any idiot probably could have come in here and won a lot of games.”

In those 22 seasons the Wildcats have only had two losing slates, which came in his first six years at the school, the only two times that they’ve missed the playoffs under Groff’s leadership. Kennedale went 13-16 in 2004-05 and 15-16 in 2008-09.

Kennedale went 33-5 in 2007-08 bringing home a Class 3A state championship. Groff took the Wildcats back to the state tournament in 2013-14 where Kennedale suffered its only loss of the season (38-1) in the state semifinals.

Groff’s coaching style is laid back from what you see during games. He usually strolls along with crossed arms, quietly signaling in a play now and then, although he does have his moments if there’s a bad call.

But the calm demeanor you see on the court comes from what happens off the court.

“He’s relentless and he prepares like no other,” said Kennedale head football coach and Athletic Director Richard Barrett, Groff’s boss. “He has his team ready to play each and every day. Practices are very, very regimented.

“At the end of practice, he knows really easily, did we get better today. And in doing that then he’s ready to play every Tuesday and Friday. He’s a perfectionist.”

Barrett added that Groff does have his moments, but at the same time, he seems quiet and unassuming. “There’s a fire burning inside, I can assure you” and he demands his players to play hard, which he should, and they do.

This year’s team, record wise, is ‘average’ during Groff’s run. Kennedale is 26-7 and the Wildcats won him his 14th district title going undefeated in District 12-4A play.

“It’s good playing for him,” said junior guard Jacoby Lovings of Groff. “Nice energy, teamwork all the time, and great, hard working practices. He’s really a very fun guy.”

Kennedale is No. 12 in the latest Texas Association of Basketball Coaches Class 4A state poll and Groff feels like this team is talented and deep enough to make some noise in the playoffs.

“Most of these kids have been together since they were in elementary school so they’ve got a really good chemistry,” said Groff, whose team is young sporting five seniors, one sophomore and eight juniors. “We’re going to put hands on you, and we’re going to try to speed you up. We’re going to try to make the other team as uncomfortable as possible.”

“The talent comes from putting in hard work and staying disciplined,” said senior forward Ameir Williams. “Practices can be intense, but when it’s time to play we’re ready and ready to play hard. This feels great because I’ve been playing with these guys since I was little and it’s always a great experience to play with guys you grew up with.”

The Wildcat’s road to San Antonio will be littered with tough teams in 4A Region II, no matter if they play in Division I or Division II, especially coming right out of the gate. Three of the District 11 teams that Kennedale might face in the first round are ranked including No. 1 Dallas Kimball (21-5), No. 3 Dallas Carter (26-6) and No. 24 Dallas Roosevelt (17-15).

“I don’t really care if we make it into Division I or Division II,” said junior guard Trey Smith. “If we have to play the likes of Kimball or Carter early then so be it. I want to play those guys. I like the competition.”

“This is an exciting group,” said Groff. “We played a really tough schedule, and I think we played some really good people. I think we’re ready to dive in the deep end of the pool and see what happens.

“If we play a good team off the bat, then so be it. It’ll make a great story. But somewhere out there are coaches worrying about playing us too.”