Meralco’s replacement import DJ Kennedy and Ginebra’s Justin Brownlee were teammates for two years at St. John’s University in New York but their highly-anticipated reunion isn’t likely to happen in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
Kennedy took over as the Bolts import when Akil Mitchell went down with a broken nose in a game against Rain or Shine two weeks ago. He played in Meralco’s 96-91 win over Terrafirma last Friday and will see action against Blackwater tonight. Mitchell underwent nose surgery last Monday and is expected to return to action in time for Meralco’s EASL road outing against Busan KCC Egis on Dec. 18. Once Kennedy is replaced, he won’t be eligible for reactivation under PBA rules. Only the original import may be reactivated if he was placed on the injured reserve list before his replacement.
Meralco and Ginebra won’t clash until Jan. 29 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum so for Kennedy to play against Brownlee, he must stay on the Bolts roster until then. “We’ll activate Akil once he can play,” said Meralco head coach Luigi Trillo. “We know DJ is very capable but we’ve committed to Akil. Hopefully, DJ, Akil and Ange (Kouame) will go to Korea (for EASL).”
Brownlee and Kennedy were teammates in the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons. St. John’s posted a 17-16 overall record, 6-12 and 13th in the Big East Conference, under coach Norm Roberts in their first campaign together. Kennedy averaged 15.1 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 31.4 minutes, shooting 45 percent from the floor in 33 games, including 31 starts. Brownlee had three starts in 33 contests, averaging 6.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 18.6 minutes. In their last game that year, Kennedy shot 18 points and Brownlee 11 off the bench in St. John’s 73-71 loss to Memphis.
The next season, St. John’s welcomed new coach Steve Lavin who took the Red Storm to a 21-12 mark, 12-6 and third in the Big East. Kennedy suffered an ACL tear in his right knee, driving to the basket, in St. John’s second to the last game of the campaign, a 79-73 defeat to Syracuse. In St. John’s final outing, Brownlee shot 14 points, including two of four threes, in an NCAA loss to Gonzaga, 86-71. It was Kennedy’s only absence that season. Kennedy averaged 10.4 points, 5.6 rebounds in 32 games, including 31 starts while Brownlee normed 12.3 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 30.2 minutes in 33 outings, including 31 starts.
From St. John’s, both Brownlee and Kennedy were undrafted in the NBA. Brownlee played for New York and Charlotte in the NBA Summer League but never made it to the regular season. Kennedy saw action for Cleveland, Miami, Minnesota and Houston in the Summer League, logged two games for the Cavaliers in the regular season and signed with Memphis, Dallas and Denver but was waived. He went on to play in France, Russia, Israel, Germany, China, Turkey, Australia and Ukraine before winding up with Meralco. Brownlee suited up in Mexico, Italy, France, Lebanon, United Arab Emirates and Indonesia but has spent most of his overseas years in the PBA where he’ll be playing in his 12th conference.