Billy Keys

William Amar Keys (born October 26, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player and basketball coach. At a height of 6'2" (1.88 m) and a weight of 210 lbs. (95 kg), he played at the point guard position. He currently is a men's basketball assistant coach at Northern New Mexico College in Espanola, New Mexico.

Billy Keys
Personal information
Born (1977-10-26) October 26, 1977
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Listed weight210 lb (95 kg)
Career information
High schoolHugh Manley (Chicago, Illinois)
College
NBA draft2000: undrafted
Playing career2000–2014
PositionPoint guard
Coaching career2014–present
Career history
As player:
2000–2001New Mexico Slam
2001Grindavík
2001Florida Sea Dragons
2001–2002Fargo-Moorhead Beez
2002Cocodrilos de Caracas
2002–2003Hapoel Tel Aviv
2003–2004Roseto
2004Dakota Wizards
2004Cocodrilos de Caracas
2004–2005Dakota Wizards
2005Gran Canaria
2005–2006Zaragoza
2006–2007Varese
2007–2008AEL 1964
2008–2010Maroussi
2010–2011Budivelnyk
2011–2013Panionios
2013–2014Nilan Bisons
As coach:
2014–2015Centennial HS (assistant)
2015–2019Mayfield HS
2019-presentNorthern New Mexico College (assistant)

College career

After playing high school basketball at Hugh Manley High School in Chicago, Illinois, Keys played college basketball at Northeastern Illinois University, with the Northeastern Illinois Golden Eagles, from 1995–98, and at New Mexico State University, with the New Mexico State Aggies, from 1998-00. He was named to the 1999-00 season's All-Big West Conference First Team.

Professional career

In February 2001, Keys signed with Grindavík of the Icelandic Úrvalsdeild karla.[1] In his debut, he scored a season high 47 points along with 18 rebounds an 7 assists.[2] In three regular season games, he averaged 38.7 points, 12.7 rebounds and 5.7 assists.[3] In the playoffs, Grindavík lost to Tindastóll, 1-2, in the first round[4] with Keys averaging 26.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists.[5]

Keys played with the Miami Heat during their 2002-03 NBA season training camp, but he did not play in any official NBA games with the club. He then played with the New York Knicks' NBA Summer League team, in the summer of 2003. Keys then won the 2004 CBA championship with the Dakota Wizards.

In the summer of 2004, he played with the NBA Summer League teams of both the Detroit Pistons and the Denver Nuggets. He then played with Nuggets during their 2004-05 NBA season training camp, but he did not play in any official NBA games with the club. He next played with the NBA Summer League teams of both the Portland Trail Blazers and the Houston Rockets, in the summer of 2005.[6]

Keys also played in the three major European national domestic basketball leagues, the Italian LBA League, the Spanish ACB League, and the Greek Basket League. In 2009, he extended his contract with the EuroLeague club Maroussi.[7] He retired from playing professional basketball in 2014.

Coaching career

Keys began his basketball coaching career in 2014, when he became an assistant coach at Centennial High School, in Las Cruces, New Mexico. He then became the head coach at Mayfield High School, in Las Cruces, New Mexico, in 2015.[8]

References
  1. "Daley farinn frá Grindavík". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 20 February 2001. p. 3B. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  2. "Lykillinn". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 2 March 2001. pp. 16–17. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  3. "William Keys: Ferillinn í úrvalsdeild". kki.is (in Icelandic). Icelandic Basketball Association. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  4. Björn Björnsson (21 March 2001). "Tindastóll loks áfram". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). p. 2C. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  5. "EPSON-deild úrsl.keppni - UMFG". kki.is (in Icelandic). Icelandic Basketball Association. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  6. "ACB.com - Billy Keys {{in lang|es}}". Archived from the original on 2012-09-27. Retrieved 2010-02-10.
  7. Euroleague.net Maroussi re-signs point guard Billy Keys.
  8. PREP BASKETBALL: Former Aggie Billy Keys takes over at Mayfield High.
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