As Ryan Kelly languished on the bench last season, many Duke fans forgot that he was actually the most decorated member of the Blue Devils’ 2010 recruiting class. After he played only 15 minutes during last year’s entire NCAA Tournament run, many fans simply forgot him.
But a year later, Kelly is finally blooming into the player Duke coaches foresaw. What’s more, he likely will eclipse his playing time from the entire 2010 NCAA Tournament against Hampton alone Friday.
And now, opposing teams certainly can’t forget about him.
“I think it’s been a mentality change,” Kelly said following the ACC tournament. “I needed to become... a guy that’s reliable for our team—that every play I can be depended on.”
Many of Kelly’s freshman struggles, however, stemmed more from his body than his mind. Listed at only 205 pounds by Scout.com as a recruit, the Blue Devils knew Kelly would have to improve both his size and strength before he could be a key cog on the team. A serious illness the summer before his Duke debut, though, derailed his conditioning plan—the already svelte Kelly lost weight due to the illness and wasn’t able to develop his body the way the coaching staff anticipated.
“Last year Ryan just wasn’t physically ready to play this level of basketball,” head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “He could think it, but it just wasn’t going to happen. That happens with guys, there’s nothing wrong with that. You run your own race.”
As such, Kelly’s ability to bang in the post with the physical frontcourt players of the ACC was seriously hampered, and his playing time suffered—after the beginning of conference season, Kelly never played more than 10 minutes in a game.
But this summer the forward finally was able to gain the strength necessary to be an ACC big man, and Kelly was listed at a bulkier 235 pounds entering this season. That development has made all the difference.
“My freshman year, I didn’t play as much as obviously I would have liked, but that’s the way it goes. I worked a lot over the summer to strengthen my body and be prepared to take the rigors of a full season,” Kelly said. “I worked a lot with our strength and conditioning coach Will Stevens over the summer. Some of that had to come naturally, too. I’m a younger sophomore, I’m still 19, so my body had to take time to mature.”
The change in Kelly’s performance has been nothing short of astonishing to those fans who quickly wrote him off as a bust. A starter for extended portions of the season, Kelly has averaged more than 20 minutes a game along with 6.7 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per contest. Midway through the season, Kelly made 18 straight field goals over a span of four games, a streak that fell only two shots short of the Duke record.
But, ironically enough, Kelly truly shone after returning to the bench during the ACC Tournament. The sophomore averaged 9.7 points per game in the tournament and missed only six shots, including a 5-for-5 shooting performance against Maryland.
According to Krzyzewski, coming off the bench might actually be a more comfortable role for Kelly.
“Coming off the bench, he could just be himself instead of the second big man or whatever,” Krzyzewski said. “He and I have talked about it. It gives him more room to grow and be who he might become, and he became a better player this week by coming off the bench.”
Even if Kelly is no longer in the starting lineup, his performance over the next few weeks will be crucial to the Blue Devils’ championship hopes. And he certainly won’t be forgotten this time if Duke is celebrating in April once again.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.