AG’s Kelly fell in love with basketball early
Former Albert Gallatin standout Katie Kelly was smitten with basketball at an early age.
无毛视频淚 was actually in diapers when I started dribbling a basketball,无毛视频� Kelly revealed. 无毛视频淢y parents noticed the interest I took in basketball at a very young age when I would cry because I didn无毛视频檛 want to take a nap because Larry Bird was on TV and I wanted to watch him. Of course my number 33 is because of Larry Bird.
无毛视频淢y dad Tom noticed there was something there and was a big influence along with my mother, Brenda. He got a plastic basketball hoop and took it down in the basement and I was hooked. That无毛视频檚 all I wanted to do, I wanted to play ball. From there I started playing at the high school in third grade in a little league. Then Dick Adamovich, who was a big influence on me in basketball, got in touch with my dad and he wanted me to play for Asbury in the YMCA League in Uniontown. Chris Cluss comes into play there, that was a great league. My dad and I practiced every day. Chris Cluss took a tremendous interest in my career and my life. He got me involved in AAU basketball and that opened a lot of doors and I was noticed by college scouts. We had a great AAU team from the Uniontown area.无毛视频�
Kelly became a four-year starter at the point guard for Albert Gallatin and received the Quad A Freshman of the Year award. She was a four-year Fayette County All-County Team choice. She was named to several All-Tournament teams during her career and was an MVP choice on five different occasions at these tourneys.
During her senior season she was the Pittsburgh Post Gazette WPIAL 无毛视频淎thlete of the Week无毛视频� and was the leading scorer and had the most steals in the Franklin Regional High School Snowflake Classic.
Albert Gallatin grew as a team from a .500 team. Her freshman season, the Colonials went 9-14 and 1-9 in the section in 1997-98. In 1998-99, they were 15-7 and 6-6 in the section. In Kelly无毛视频檚 senior campaign, they posted a record of 23-4 and were 11-1 in section play.
无毛视频淐oming in as a freshman we were about a .500 squad,无毛视频� Kelly remembers. 无毛视频淐oach Kamele Meikle was the coach my freshman year and then Ann Capozzi came in and she turned that team around. She started putting people into positions where they could succeed, and she put in plays that helped people excel. As a team we came together, and the team chemistry came together. You could see us building toward that senior season.无毛视频�
AG played in the WPIAL tournament in Kelly无毛视频檚 senior year, beating Montour, 66-43, and losing to North Allegheny, 70-46. In the PIAA playoffs, they were defeated by Altoona, 52-43.
无毛视频淚 think our losses in the WPIAL tournament and the PIAA was lack of experience being there,无毛视频� Kelly said. 无毛视频淚 think a lot of those teams had been in tournament play and had experienced that. That takes into account nerves and all that because we definitely had the talent.
无毛视频淲e were a close knit team on and off the court and it showed when we played. We got better and better we kind of exploded my senior year. We had some very good talent like Marissa Gudac and Louie Hall, who was a freshman when I was a senior.无毛视频�
The 5-foot-4 Kelly averaged 23.6 points, 6.5 assists, 6.1 rebounds and 5.2 steals per game as a senior for AG. She finished her high school career with 1,687 career points. She was the 无毛视频-Standard Player of the Year for 1999-2000, was a first-team All-WPIAL by the Post-Gazette and was a member of the 无毛视频-Standard Fantastic Five Class AAAA First Team as a senior.
无毛视频淟ooking back now it无毛视频檚 breathtaking,无毛视频� Kelly said. 无毛视频淚n the moment you don无毛视频檛 realize what you are accomplishing. In the moment you无毛视频檙e thankful, you无毛视频檙e appreciative, but you don无毛视频檛 get caught up in it because then you become complacent. I had some things working against me, my size. My freshman year I was 4-foot-9 and I hit a growth spurt going into my senior year and was 5-foot-4. I had that working against me, I made up for it with hard work and dedication.无毛视频�
When Kelly graduated from Albert Gallatin in 2000, she decided to play college basketball at Eastern Kentucky.
无毛视频淚 actually have a couple of folders full of letters from schools,无毛视频� Kelly stated. 无毛视频淚 was getting recruited heavily. The summer going into my senior year Chris Cluss called my parents and said there is a showcase tournament at Robert Morris. I went and Eastern Kentucky was there and contacted me through Coach Cluss. I visited and fell in love with the campus.无毛视频�
Kelly played four seasons at EKU on teams that went 22-6 in 2000-2001, 23-8 in 2001-02 including a trip to the WNIT. They were 18-11 in 2002-03 and 15-15 in Kelly无毛视频檚 senior year 2003-04. Kelly is fourth in career scoring for the Lady Colonels with 1,626 career points and second in career assists with 395. Kelly was first team All-Ohio Valley Conference in 2003-04 and second team All-OVC in 2002-03.
无毛视频淚 made the most of the opportunity,无毛视频� Kelly said. 无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 hard for me to take credit for any of that because I had such good influences and important people in my life that got me there and pushed me and believed in me and that无毛视频檚 big. You have times where you might doubt yourself, but I had people that believed in me.无毛视频�
Kelly wanted to pursue professional basketball when she graduated, but it didn无毛视频檛 work out.
无毛视频淢y dream was to play professional basketball and from there to coach,无毛视频� Kelly explained. 无毛视频淏ut sometimes life has other plans for you. I stayed one more year and got my masters degree in sport administration. The love for the game was still there. I tried out in Atlanta for the WNBA, had a good tryout and was in communication with teams. I got impatient and frustrated, I got an agent and went overseas to Germany to tryout. I had offers from teams in Germany and Holland. I had visa problems, was young and dumb I got frustrated and decided to walk away from the game. It remains one of my biggest regrets.无毛视频�
Kelly started working for the Federal Bureau of Prisons, she is currently in Tallahassee, Florida and is a recreation specialist for a prison there. She is single and still tries to get back home to Fayette County as much as she can.
George Von Benko无毛视频檚 无毛视频淢emory Lane无毛视频� column appears in the Monday editions of the 无毛视频-Standard. He also hosts a sports talk show on WMBS-AM radio from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturdays.