Zaccheus Darko-Kelly

Zaccheus Darko-Kelly (born May 3, 1997) is an American professional basketball player who last played for PAOK Thessaloniki of the Greek Basket League and the Basketball Champions League. He played college basketball for the Montana Western Bulldogs and the University of Providence Argonauts.

Zaccheus Darko-Kelly
Free agent
PositionSmall forward / shooting guard
Personal information
Born (1997-05-03) May 3, 1997
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight205 lb (93 kg)
Career information
High schoolSentinel
(Missoula, Montana)
College
NBA draft2021: undrafted
Playing career2021–present
Career history
2021Riesen Ludwigsburg
2021–2022Helsinki Seagulls
2022–2023PAOK Thessaloniki
2023–presentTigers Tübingen
Career highlights and awards
  • Finnish Cup winner (2022)
  • 2× First-team NAIA All-American (2020, 2021)
  • Second-team NAIA All-American (2019)
  • 2× Frontier Player of the Year (2020, 2021)
  • 3× First-team All-Frontier (2018, 2020, 2021)
  • Frontier Freshman of the Year (2017)

High school career

Darko-Kelly played basketball for Sentinel High School in Missoula, Montana. In his senior season, he averaged 15.8 points and five rebounds per game, earning all-state honors.[1] Darko-Kelly signed with Montana Western, the only four-year college to offer him a basketball scholarship.[2]

College career

As a freshman at Montana Western, Darko-Kelly averaged 9.1 points and was named Frontier Freshman of the Year.[3] He assumed a leading role in the following season.[4] As a sophomore, he averaged 15.4 points and 6.6 rebounds per game, receiving Second Team National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) All-American and First Team All-Frontier honors.[2]

For his junior season, Darko-Kelly transferred to the University of Providence after Steve Keller, his head coach at Montana Western, was hired there. He sat out for one year due to transfer rules.[5] On February 21, 2020, Darko-Kelly recorded a career-high 40 points and 13 rebounds in a 93–76 win against Montana Western.[6] That month, he became the first player to ever win three straight NAIA Division I National Player of the Week awards, averaging 30.8 points, 10.7 rebounds and 7.7 assists per game during that span.[7] As a junior, Darko-Kelly averaged 22.5 points, eight rebounds, 5.7 assists, 2.3 steals and 1.4 blocks per game, surpassing the program single-season scoring record. He was selected as a First Team NAIA All-American, Frontier Player of the Year and a finalist for the Bevo Francis Award.[8] In his senior season, Darko-Kelly led his team to Frontier regular season and tournament titles. He averaged 18.4 points, 9.4 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.3 blocks per game, and repeated as a First Team NAIA All-American and Frontier Player of the Year.[9] He chose to forgo his additional year of college eligibility.[10]

Professional career

After going undrafted in the 2021 NBA draft, Darko-Kelly joined the Toronto Raptors for the 2021 NBA Summer League.[11]

On September 1, 2021, he signed with Riesen Ludwigsburg of the German Basketball Bundesliga.[12]

On October 5, 2021, he signed with Helsinki Seagulls of the Finnish Korisliiga.[13]

On July 11, 2022, Darko-Kelly signed with PAOK of the Greek Basket League and the Basketball Champions League. On November 2, 2022, he suffered a season-ending injury during a BCL game against Unicaja Málaga.

References
  1. Peers, Brad (June 1, 2015). "Darko-Kelly headed to Western for hoops". NBC Montana. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
  2. Welsch, Jeff (April 5, 2020). "'Pretty wild': Offered one 4-year ride out of Missoula Sentinel, Zaccheus Darko-Kelly now has shot at national player of year". 406 Sports. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
  3. "Men's Basketball Earns Individual Postseason Awards". Montana Western Athletics. March 8, 2017. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
  4. "Montana Western's Zaccheus Darko-Kelly enjoying breakout season". Montana Sports. January 31, 2018. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
  5. Dunk, Isaiah (February 25, 2020). "A year well spent: After sitting out, Providence's Zaccheus Darko-Kelly gathers national accolades". Montana Sports. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
  6. "Zaccheus Darko-Kelly's 40 points leads No. 11 Providence to win over Montana Western". The Montana Standard. February 21, 2020. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
  7. "Darko-Kelly Named National Player of Week for Third Consecutive Week". University of Providence Athletics. February 25, 2020. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
  8. "College hoops: Basketball Times names Argos' ZDK preseason All-American". Great Falls Tribune. October 23, 2020. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
  9. "Providence's Zaccheus Darko-Kelly chosen first-team All-America". 406 Sports. March 25, 2021. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
  10. Wylie, Tom (August 5, 2021). "Zaccheus Darko-Kelly joins Toronto Raptors Summer League team". Montana Sports. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
  11. "Former Providence All-American Zaccheus Darko-Kelly joins Toronto Raptors' Summer League roster". 406 Sports. August 5, 2021. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
  12. "Zaccheus Darko-Kelly joins Ludwigsburg". Sportando. September 1, 2021. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
  13. "Former Providence basketball star Zaccheus Darko-Kelly signs pro contract in Finland". montanasports.com. October 5, 2021. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
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