Jan. 26, 2013

by Connor Dehel '15

During last Saturday's rout of Penn at The Palestra, Colin Kelly got an opportunity to check into the game in the second half, resulting in a roaring cheer from the student section. Two years prior, Kelly was a part of the student section, cheering on his fellow classmates.

During his freshman year at Saint Joseph's, the West Deptford, New Jersey native and Gloucester Catholic High School standout was a spectator of a sport that he excelled at during his time in high school; as a senior at Gloucester Catholic, he averaged 15 points and eight rebounds per game.

After watching a few games, Kelly soon realized that he had enough talent to play with the men that wore the Crimson and Gray jerseys.

"I didn't try out my freshman year," Kelly said. "I didn't come here to play basketball, so I started to watch some of the games my freshman year and I looked out and said, `Wow that looks awesome and a lot of fun; I think I can play with these guys.'"

Like most freshmen, Kelly struggled in the beginning just adjusting to college life, but after a time, he now calls Hawk Hill his home.

"I wasn't really sure about where I wanted to go and when I came here I wasn't confident that I made the right choice," he said. "The first couple of weeks here were rough, but I had to get used to it, and I have changed a lot from the time that I first got here to the point where I am now.

"I know I made the right choice. I say that due to the friends I've made here and the people that you meet on campus. Everyone seems so friendly here. I love it here."

The summer before his sophomore year, Kelly spent hours in the gym putting up shots, lifting weights and conditioning himself to play basketball at a competitive level once again.

"There is such a huge difference from high school to Division I basketball," he said. "Division I basketball is even so much different from Division II or III. In Division I the players are bigger, faster, and stronger."

Once he got back to school, Kelly played pick-up basketball with just about anyone who would play. When he thought he was ready for a tryout, he approached Saint Joseph's Director of Basketball Operations Rob Sullivan.

"There were only eight of us that showed up," Kelly said of the tryout. "There were four sessions, each about an hour long, and then we got called back to practice with the team over fall break. I tried my hardest and the coaches said it was good enough."

To date, Kelly has appeared in five games as a Hawk; four times this season, including games against Yale, Harvard, American, and Penn, and once last year against Charlotte in the Atlantic 10 Tournament First Round game.

Kelly's favorite memory is his appearance against Penn last Saturday at the Palestra.

"It's such a legendary place, all of the great players that have played here..." Kelly began. "Obviously it's great to get the win, but all the rotation guys want us to get in, they want us to be successful too, so it was definitely a thrill.

"This was my favorite time checking into a game, out of the few times that I've gone in. It was the first time that I ever played in the Palestra, so this is one of my top memories. We hadn't beaten Penn in the past couple of years so that was definitely a big win for the team, and it's something that I will never forget."

Kelly loves being a part of the team, and he loves the cohesion amongst his teammates and having coach Phil Martelli being so welcoming to him.

"Being on the basketball team, you are going to stick out a little more," he said. "I've always had a lot of friends here...I love this school, and being on the team here is a big commitment. It's a lot of fun. Coach has always been good with letting me know that I belong here and I have always felt welcome."

Sophomore guard Chris Wilson speaks very highly of Kelly.

"Colin is a really good guy," Wilson said. "He always has a good attitude at practice and he keeps the mood light in the locker room. He works really hard in practice and is a great teammate."

Kelly embraces his role on the team, he understands what his job is, and he performs it well. He is part of the "pinny" team in practice, better known as the non-rotation players on one team scrimmaging against the rotation players. The coaches will assign each member of the "pinny team" a player from the opposing team. Each non-rotation player studies the way their assigned player thinks and acts on the basketball court so that in practice each member of the "pinny team" plays like their assigned player, allowing the rotation players some experience so when it's game time, they know what is coming at them.

"It's a challenge but it's also it's something that we look forward to all the time because we never know who we are going to be until we look at the scouting report," Kelly said. "You play a new opponent every game, and it's a challenge to pick up the small things that they do.

"The `pinny' team tries to help each other out, give each other pointers on what that guy's tendencies are. We love beating up on the rotation guys, and it's always a lot of fun. There is always a competition in practice and we want to win," laughed Kelly.

Over their Christmas break, Kelly and his teammates shopped for Christmas gifts to give to less fortunate families for the holiday season. On Martin Luther King Day, the men's basketball team served dinner to cancer patients. Reflecting back, Kelly said, "it was a really cool experience and it felt really good just to give back [to the community] and it was a lot of fun. Being a part of the team, people admire you and look up to you, so you just have to do the right thing," said Kelly.

For Kelly, that carries over into the classroom, as he qualified for the Atlantic 10 Commissioner's Honor Roll, which recognizes student athletes that have a GPA of 3.5 or higher.

Kelly decided to pursue his dream after one game during his freshman year and he wound up earning a place on the Saint Joseph's men's basketball team. He never settled. He kept striving for more. He kept striving for the "magis." And for Colin Kelly, that meant moving from the student section to the hardwood of Hagan Arena.