Crystal Kelly

Crystal Kelly (born September 15, 1986) is a former professional basketball player and current assistant coach for the Kentucky Wildcats women's basketball team.[1]

Crystal Kelly
Kentucky
PositionAssistant Coach
LeagueSEC
Personal information
Born (1986-09-15) September 15, 1986
Louisville, Kentucky
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Listed weight190 lb (86 kg)
Career information
High schoolSacred Heart Academy
(Louisville, Kentucky)
CollegeWestern Kentucky (2004–2008)
WNBA draft2008: 3rd round, 31st overall pick
Selected by the Houston Comets
Career history
As player:
2008–2009Sacramento Monarchs
2009Detroit Shock
2010San Antonio Silver Stars
As coach:
2012-2016Bellarmine (Asst.)
2016-2017Tennessee Tech (Asst.)
2017-2019Xavier (Asst.)
2019-2020Tennessee Tech (Asst.)
2020-2021Bellarmine (Asst.)
2021-2023Towson (Associate HC)
2023-presentKentucky (Asst.)
Stats at WNBA.com

High school

Kelly played for Sacred Heart Academy in Louisville, Kentucky, where she was named a WBCA All-American. In addition, Kelly was named the 2004 Kentucky Miss Basketball. She participated in the 2004 WBCA High School All-America Game where she scored four points.[2]

College

Kelly attended college at Western Kentucky University, where she was a standout basketball player. She broke the WKU women's basketball program record for career rebounds, and earned a place in the top 25 career scorers in NCAA Division I women's basketball history by scoring over 2,600 points. In her senior year, she led the nation with a 64.8% field goal shooting percentage. Kelly was named to the all-Sun Belt Conference team during each of her four collegiate seasons, and was named the 2008 Sun Belt Player of the Year in her senior season. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in public relations in 2008.[3]

Western Kentucky statistics

Source[4]

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high
Year Team GP Points FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2004–05 Western Kentucky 30 579 .611 .000 .737 10.4 1.2 1.2 1.1 19.3
2005–06 Western Kentucky 34 687 .601 .000 .761 8.5 1.3 1.4 0.9 20.2
2006–07 Western Kentucky 32 770 .611 .318 .774 9.4 1.3 1.3 0.7 24.1
2007–08 Western Kentucky 34 767 .644 .294 .825 10.5 1.9 1.2 1.0 22.6
Career 130 2,803 .617 .308 .778 9.7 1.4 1.3 0.9 21.6

Professional

Following her collegiate career, Kelly was selected in the third round (31st overall) in the 2008 WNBA draft by the Houston Comets.[5] The Comets waived Kelly in May 2008, but a few days later she was signed to the Sacramento Monarchs.[6]

Kelly averaged 7 points per game in 16 minutes per game as a backup to starting forward Rebekkah Brunson during the 2008 regular season. Then an injury to Brunson allowed Kelly to become a starter and a notable scorer during the WNBA Playoffs. In the Monarchs' victory over the San Antonio Silver Stars in Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals, Kelly led all scorers with 19 points.[7]

Following her WNBA career, Kelly was hired as an assistant coach for the Women's Basketball team at Tennessee Tech, then later at Bellarmine University. Following these five years of coaching, Kelly was hired as Xavier University's Women's Basketball Assistant Coach.[8]

Notes
  1. "Kentucky Native Crystal Kelly Named Kentucky Women's Basketball Assistant Coach". ukathletics.com. Kentucky Athletics. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
  2. "WBCA High School All-America Game Box Scores". Women's Basketball Coaches Association. Archived from the original on July 15, 2014. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
  3. "WNBA Crystal Kelly Playerfile:Bio". Archived from the original on November 10, 2008.
  4. "Women's Basketball Player stats". NCAA. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  5. "2008 WNBA Draft Board". Archived from the original on October 4, 2013.
  6. "2008 WNBA Transactions".
  7. "Kelly scores 19 to keep Monarchs alive".
  8. "Women's Basketball Adds Former WNBA Player Crystal Kelly to Coaching Staff". Xavier University Athletics. Retrieved March 19, 2020.

See also
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