Washington, D.C. (WUSA) — Senior guard Matt Kennedy being a two-time National Champion for the Division I Villanova Wildcats is not the most common thing you may hear about.
In his high-school days Matt did not have the stereotypical "basketball" stature.
He was very small for his age.
He tried out for the JV basketball team at Flint Hill High school in Fairfax, Va. freshman year and got cut.
But that did not stop him.
He came back the following year and tried out for the varsity team his sophomore year.
Sadly he was cut again.
Personally, if I am cut from the same sport, twice, I would throw in the towel and find a new passion.
But not this guy.
After being cut twice in high school, Matt had to make a choice on whether or not he should focus his energy elsewhere.
Basketball was always his outlet to "de-stress" for as long as he could remember and something he was pretty passionate about.
Luckily, he grew, and with a lot of hard work, Matt became stronger, faster, and bigger.
That of course helped him in his junior and senior years.
He knew that Villanova's basketball program was top-notch, made up of talented individuals both on and off the court.
It was going to be a challenge, but he thought as a walk-on, he had that "chip" where he could reach that level.
He came to terms with Villanova being the most wholistic fit.
It also helps when your high school coach, Rico Reed, had once coached Dante Cunningham, a former Villanova player who led the team to a Final Four, and now has a career in the NBA.
Coach Reed had a connection with Jay Wright, Villanova’s coach, and that opened the door for Matt to meet with Wright once when he visited the campus.
Initially, Matt was put on the waitlist at Villanova.
So, he then put a deposit down on the University of Miami.
That summer Matt received a call from Coach Wright asking him to be a part of the Villanova men's basketball program.
Matt claims being waitlisted was his biggest motivator. “My freshman year at Villanova I didn’t dress. Same with my sophomore year.”
It was a very natural advancement into his junior year, the first year he dressed, had a jersey, and played in games, into his senior year and now into his final college game.
This season, Matt received a 4.0 GPA in the fall semester, making him the recipient of the Elite 90 award for the 2018 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship.
Matt is a real-estate and finance double major.
He currently carries a 3.897 GPA and is looking for his second national championship in his college basketball career.
Matt's hard work and determination finally paid off Monday night when the Wildcats took on Michigan.
