Ryan Kelly appreciation thread

[flyingdutchdevil]

3 years ago, when Duke had three offensive stars and five defensive juggernauts, we focused the majority of the love on Singler and Scheyer. This makes sense - both players had been impact players for all of their Duke careers. I'd had a massive man crush on Nolan Smith and always thought that he was under-appreciated amongst the Duke faithful during his junior year (senior year is a different story). With our team being ridiculous this year, we are seeing some interesting parallels. We have three upperclassmen who are absolutely tearing it up. And the "supporting cast" isn't far off - Cook and Sheed are crushing it in the backcourt. But amongst the three seniors, Mason is getting the most credit (deserved), Curry is getting a lot of credit because he's playing injured (champ) and has scored a lot of points, and Kelly - while still talked about - is seriously lagging in the conversation.

So here's my appreciation thread for Kelly. IMO, his impact cannot be measured on the court. He allows us to have a fourth guard on the floor (which your know Coach K loves) whilst being able to guard the mobile 4 / big man. Sheed may be our best on-ball defender, but Kelly isn't far behind. His job on Thomas was incredible. His nack for blocking shots is insane. His positioning is amongst the best in the game. His shot isn't falling, but his ability to a) spread the floor, b) take his man off the dribble, c) consistently hit foul shots, and d) pass to the open man are all hugely underrated and provide so much diversity to this team.

Someone on Grantland (and repeated on DBR) said that Kelly is the tallest shooting guard in college ball. I know many disagree with this, but I think it's both a huge complement as well as fairly accurate. Big men like Kelly rarely shoot like him and do not have the ball control on the dribble that Kelly has. Offensively, he is a shooting guard, and there isn't anything wrong with that. Defensively, Kelly is nothing like a shooting guard. He can effectively guard players 6'7" and taller and more often than not does a great job. He tends to foul a little more than we'd like, but is still averaging a ton of minutes.

Kelly has really grown on me. We've all seen his development and his impact and have come to appreciate the unique and amazing player that he is.

[AtlBluRew]

He's grown tremendously and is a very effective player. Leadership by example.

[The Gordog]

3 years ago, when Duke had three offensive stars and five defensive juggernauts, we focused the majority of the love on Singler and Scheyer. This makes sense - both players had been impact players for all of their Duke careers. I'd had a massive man crush on Nolan Smith and always thought that he was under-appreciated amongst the Duke faithful during his junior year (senior year is a different story). With our team being ridiculous this year, we are seeing some interesting parallels. We have three upperclassmen who are absolutely tearing it up. And the "supporting cast" isn't far off - Cook and Sheed are crushing it in the backcourt. But amongst the three seniors, Mason is getting the most credit (deserved), Curry is getting a lot of credit because he's playing injured (champ) and has scored a lot of points, and Kelly - while still talked about - is seriously lagging in the conversation.

So here's my appreciation thread for Kelly. IMO, his impact cannot be measured on the court. He allows us to have a fourth guard on the floor (which your know Coach K loves) whilst being able to guard the mobile 4 / big man. Sheed may be our best on-ball defender, but Kelly isn't far behind. His job on Thomas was incredible. His nack for blocking shots is insane. His positioning is amongst the best in the game. His shot isn't falling, but his ability to a) spread the floor, b) take his man off the dribble, c) consistently hit foul shots, and d) pass to the open man are all hugely underrated and provide so much diversity to this team.

Someone on Grantland (and repeated on DBR) said that Kelly is the tallest shooting guard in college ball. I know many disagree with this, but I think it's both a huge complement as well as fairly accurate. Big men like Kelly rarely shoot like him and do not have the ball control on the dribble that Kelly has. Offensively, he is a shooting guard, and there isn't anything wrong with that. Defensively, Kelly is nothing like a shooting guard. He can effectively guard players 6'7" and taller and more often than not does a great job. He tends to foul a little more than we'd like, but is still averaging a ton of minutes.

Kelly has really grown on me. We've all seen his development and his impact and have come to appreciate the unique and amazing player that he is.

Yup. When he went down last year the team fell apart. When he went out with 2 fouls vs. Ohio State, after scoring 7 of our first 14 points, the team struggled terribly. He is the straw that stirs the Duke Blue cocktail.

[Lar77]

I've enjoyed watching Ryan grow as a player. He is overshadowed, but he contributed strongly to our win against OSU, playing Thomas to a standstill offensively (and as K noted, Thomas needed 14 shpts to get 16 points), making a number of blocks, and of course, hitting the two big threes. But his leadership was also very evident during and between play.

I am shocked that his free throws are struggling this year. Last year, he and Seth were our automatics at the end of a game. And if he plays at the end of last year, we have much more success. That injury might still be affecting him.

He is critical to our going deep this year.

[phaedrus]

Little-known fact: Ryan is 12th all-time at Duke in blocks and, barring injury, will likely move into the top 5 this season (the list, of course, neglects some old-timers who predate keeping track of blocks).

http://www.scacchoops.com/ACCRecords.asp?sTeam=DU

[BD80]

This thread can not get long enough.

If you are drafting ACC players to start a team to compete this year, how many would you pick before Ryan?

He is playing better than all other PFs in the conference, even if you just consider the measurables. His immeasurables elevate him higher still.

[rsvman]

Glue guy but with great offensive skills, too. In all the right places at just the right time.


Very underestimated. Extremely important to the team. Great, selfless player.

[superdave]

I just checked Chad Ford's top 100. Ryan Kelly is nowhere to be found. I do think he can stick in the league though. He can shoot the NBA three and guard NBA bigs. I could see a Matt Bonner type career for Ryan.

[OldPhiKap]

This thread can not get long enough.

If you are drafting ACC players to start a team to compete this year, how many would you pick before Ryan?

He is playing better than all other PFs in the conference, even if you just consider the measurables. His immeasurables elevate him higher still.

Ryan is playing very well, and we have not even seen his top game form yet. He is a huge match-up problem for whomever we face.

Each one of our top seven are key this year, and Ryan will be a big part of however far we go.

[Indoor66]

Ryan is playing very well, and we have not even seen his top game form yet. He is a huge match-up problem for whomever we face.

Each one of our top seven are key this year, and Ryan will be a big part of however far we go.

He sure was last year.

[Edouble]

Ryan was my favorite player on the team last year. He is probably my second favorite this year behind Quinn Cook.

I think Ryan is a very dangerous weapon that other teams have to be aware of at all times. He's an X-factor and a great player. I think he has 1st Team All-ACC talent and whether he brings it to that level or not, I will be rooting loudly for him. He is potentially our best 3 point shooter, and our best shot blocker. That is a rare and powerful player!

[mkline09]

You mess with the White Raven and you get the Tallons. Ryan is just such a multi-faceted player and has come so far since his freshman year and has truly become the player many hoped he would be. It has been a gradual progression and he has become one of my favorite players on the team.

[sporthenry]

He sure was last year.

Yep. Think that is all that needs to be said in this thread. We lost to Lehigh without him. Problem is, by the end of the year, we ran our offense through him at the high post so without him, we had very little. We still have him as an option to run the offense through but we aren't reliant on him anymore.

[hq2]

Ryan Kelly is nowhere to be found. I do think he can stick in the league though. He can shoot the NBA three and guard NBA bigs

Hard to say. He's not a great rebounder, and will have trouble guarding NBA 4s because he isn't
that strong (clearly too slow to play D at 3). I'm guessing he winds up in Europe (more his style
of play/player types), but he may get a shot somewhere if he can put on maybe another 10 pounds
of upper body strength to bang with the 4s. (Christian Laettner, who had a similar body build, managed
to get by on D in the NBA). Might be a late second rounder, end of bench player. We'll see.

[mike88]

Ryan has improved his mid-range game this year- his ability to get into the middle of the defense, receive a pass and hit the 12-15 ft shot is critical against the better defensive teams; the fact that he hits 80% from the line makes him even more effective. I think his offensive skills and height will be enough to get him a look in the NBA, and with the right situation (and some more work in the weight room), he could be a successful role player at the 4. It's clear so far this year that he is also playing an important role in getting the younger players acclimated and up to speed, one of the reasons the team seems to be coming together so well thus far.

[Dukeblue91]

Hard to say. He's not a great rebounder, and will have trouble guarding NBA 4s because he isn't
that strong (clearly too slow to play D at 3). I'm guessing he winds up in Europe (more his style
of play/player types), but he may get a shot somewhere if he can put on maybe another 10 pounds
of upper body strength to bang with the 4s. (Christian Laettner, who had a similar body build, managed
to get by on D in the NBA). Might be a late second rounder, end of bench player. We'll see.

He is one of those players that are hard to predict since he is not any type of mold fitting player and brings some interesting intangibles that don't show in the stats.
I would not be surprised if someone would give him a chance and him doing really well but also could see him ending somewhere in Europe.

[Furniture]

He's BLOODY BRILLIANT!

[J_C_Steel]

I believe the reason you don't hear a ton of praise for Ryan Kelly -- outside of Brent Musburger, who called him "one of the best players in the country" during the Duke-Ohio St. tilt -- is because he just looks so gangly and awkward. His shot is a bit herky-jerky, his handle looks bad (though it's actually quite effective), and nothing he does on a basketball court looks smooth.

But you watch him play, you're unimpressed visually, and then you look at the stats. He ends up with about 16 points, 5 or 6 rebounds, a couple of dimes, a couple of blocks, and the guy he's guarding ends up having a poor day at the office. How'd that happen?

He's just a BASKETBALL PLAYER. And he's 6'10". Pure and simple. Those two things, combined, make him crazy effective. Being smart, being in position, shooting the ball, staying in front of your man, helping from the weak side. Ryan Kelly does all of those things. Even though he looks like a guy who shouldn't be able to do all of those things. If he stays healthy, he should end up being First-Team All-ACC this season. But I'm not going to count on it just because of the visual aspect...

[Edouble]

He is one of those players that are hard to predict since he is not any type of mold fitting player and brings some interesting intangibles that don't show in the stats.
I would not be surprised if someone would give him a chance and him doing really well but also could see him ending somewhere in Europe.

I could see it going either way too.

Kelly's NBA potential makes me think of Adam Morrison, albeit Ryan is taller and less weird.

[papa whiskey]

Yup. When he went down last year the team fell apart. When he went out with 2 fouls vs. Ohio State, after scoring 7 of our first 14 points, the team struggled terribly. He is the straw that stirs the Duke Blue cocktail.

Couldn't agree more. When he is on the floor, opposing defenses have to play differently. His versatility and shooting ability from everywhere on the floor makes everyone around him more open, and thereby better. When he went down before the tournament last year I immediately knew we were in big trouble.