from the Guilford County Sports Hall of Fame:
CLICK HERE for the Bob Kennerly photo
We offer a moment of silence and a standing “O” for 2025 Guilford County Sports Hall of Fame inductee, Robert G. “Bob” Kennerly, Sr., who reportedly passed away on April 24th.
Bob Kennerly has left a major imprint on the city of Greensboro in multiple areas. After playing basketball and golf at Greensboro (Grimsley) High School, he matriculated to Virginia Tech where he played two years of basketball. He was extensively involved in coaching team travel basketball for boys (age 11-12), winning four national championships. He also coached boys and girls at the junior high and high school levels.
But perhaps the greatest impact that Kennerly made on the area was with Sutton-Kennerly & Associates, a structural engineering firm he founded in partnership with John Sutton in 1958. When the Greensboro Coliseum underwent a major expansion in 1969, Kennerly played a huge role in its renovation and design.
Over the next two decades, Kennerly was intimately involved in the planning and design of other facilities that form the complex surrounding the coliseum. His impact will truly be felt for generations to come.
from the News and Record:
Robert Kennerly
1931 – 04/24/2026
Robert Kennerly Obituary
Robert Glenn Kennerly, Sr. (Bob) passed away April 24, 2026 at Heritage Greens Arboretum. A celebration of his life will be held at a later date.
**********Heard that Bob Kennerly coached some outstanding JV Boys Basketball Teams, over at Grimsley High School or at Page, and a few of those JV teams may have been in the ranks of the Unbeatens…Also heard he was coaching down at the Central YMCA going against a young Freddy Johnson, Dave Farris, Gary Thomas, Mike Harris, Vic Sapp, and others…Also feel like Bob Kennerly was involved with the very early days of AAU/Travel Basketball teams in our local area….**********
++++++++++Also very active at Sutton-Kennerly & Associates, a structural engineering firm, and they worked a redo on the Greensboro Coliseum, on more that one occasion.++++++++++
Hearing from several different Key Basketball People today, that there was nobody else like Bob Kennerly when it came to teaching the basketball fundamentals….He was the BEST…When you came from one of his YMCA Travel teams and went to play high school ball, you were well-prepared and way ahead of the other kids…
I think Bob also coached with or against, Jack Cassells at the Y…Some of you may remember Jack, and Sneaky Williamson coached up there with that group too, I do believe….
Bob Kennerly one of the all-time best coaches, if not The BEST to ever come through the ranks at the local Greensboro YMCA, and he took his teams/kids on the road, and they won there too….
Great Coach and Excellent Teacher of fundamental basketball. He made it fun, and it is always more fun when your team is Winning, and Bob Kennerly’s teams were Winners. Saw him coaching at the Central Y back in the day, and Bob Kennerly knew the game, and knew what he was doing. I guess the main thing he was doing, was teaching Winning Basketball.