‘I feel the pain and hurt’: Ex-Schenley star D.J. Kennedy playing for Ukrainian team praying for teammates
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D.J. Kennedy has played professional basketball in 10 countries over three continents in the past decade, so the 32-year-old former Schenley star wasn’t worried about living in Ukraine until last week.
That changed when Russia invaded Ukraine early Thursday, attacking major cities in which he has played for BC Prometey. Based in Kamianske, the BC Prometey roster lists 17 Ukrainian players, along with five Americans and one Croatian, so Kennedy tweeted that he was safe and praying for his teammates and their families.
“It’s a sad, crazy situation, honestly, just seeing and watching everything that’s happening,” Kennedy told the Tribune-Review on Friday night through a direct message on Twitter. “Being a part of this Ukraine team, I feel the pain and hurt.”
I appreciate the prayers and concerns I’m good thank you! I will continue to pray for my teammates and they families. #PrayForUkraine ????????
— Dj Kennedy (@bigplaydj1) February 24, 2022
Kennedy said Americans playing overseas barely pay attention to the news “unless it’s talked about worldwide,” so he wasn’t aware of the danger he was in until the team evacuated to the Czech Republic.
“My family was worried months ago, just hearing it all over the news in the U.S. I just would tell them everything is normal and calm and I’m safe,” Kennedy wrote. “There was never any panic with the people, players, etc., so it made me feel safe. Of course, I would hear about it from social media but wasn’t sure what to believe.”
Kennedy, raised in the Hill District, teamed with Pitt All-American DeJuan Blair to lead Schenley to the 2007 PIAA Class AAAA championship, then scored 1,504 points at St. John’s. Kennedy played two games in the NBA with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2011-12 and since has played in Australia, China, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine. He is a five-time champion in The Basketball Tournament, a winner-take-all team event for a $1 million prize where he played for a team called Overseas Elite.
Kennedy led BC Prometey to its first Super League championship last season. He was averaging 13 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists this season as BC Prometey was riding a 25-game winning streak before the threat of a Russian invasion.
Kennedy credited BC Prometey team president Volodymyr Dubinsky for evacuating the team to the Czech Republic on Feb. 15, the day before a scheduled game against K. Sokoly in Kharkiv that the Super League refused to postpone.
“A lot of family and friends have reached out, just making sure I’m safe, knowing I was in Ukraine,” Kennedy wrote. “(I’m) just glad we have a great president who was able to move us out of the country before anything happened.”