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High School Sports

Ravenscroft's Kelly headed to Duke

By Nick Stevens, HighSchoolOT.com reporter

Oct 9, 2008

Ryan Kelly has established himself as one of the top prospects in the country, and his stock went up very quickly over the course of his junior year and throughout the summer.

On Thursday night, Kelly went on national television to announce his decision.

Live from Charlotte, on ESPNU's "Recruiting Insider," Kelly announced that he would be playing basketball at Duke University.

WRAL-TV and HighSchoolOT.com will have an exclusive interview with Kelly Thursday night. Look for a report from Ken Medlin on WRAL's 11 o'clock news.

Kelly also had offers from North Carolina, Wake Forest, Notre Dame, Vanderbilt and Georgetown. Over the course of the last few months, Kelly has taken official visits to four of the schools. He took unofficial visits to Duke and North Carolina.

“Although I have enjoyed meeting so many terrific coaches and players at each of the schools I have considered, I am ready to move forward and focus all my efforts on finishing out my senior year at Ravenscroft,” Kelly said in a press release from Ravenscroft School prior to announcing his commitment. “I look forward to bringing my recruitment to a close tonight.”

Kelly's rise in stock began over the summer between his sophomore and junior seasons when he added on an extra 20-pounds. Kelly now stands at 6-foot-11 and 205-pounds, and Scout.com lists him as a five-star prospect, the No. 3 power forward in the country and the No. 11 overall player.

With his commitment to Duke, Kelly becomes a fourth generation college basketball player. Kelly's father played college basketball at Yale.

Last season, as a junior power forward at Ravenscroft School in Raleigh, Kelly averaged 23.7 points, 8 rebounds and 4 blocks a game.

Kelly holds a number of records at Ravenscroft as well. With one season remaining, Kelly holds the school record for most career blocks with 267, made field goals in a single season with 239, highest field goal percentage in a single season at 62 percent, most points in a season with 712, and the highest scoring average in a season with 23.7 points per game.

With three season under his belt, Kelly also is fourth all-time in scoring with 1,183 points, and the school says he is on track to break the all-time record.

Last season at Ravenscroft, Kelly led the team to their second straight TISAC Conference title, and he was named the TISAC Conference Player of the Year. Gaining recognition on the statewide level, Kelly was named to the N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association's 3-A All-State Team.

The Ravens also participated in the 2007 GlaxoSmithKline where Kelly was named to the All-Tournament team, leading the tournament field in scoring with 78-points in three games. Ravenscroft will participate in the tournament again this season.

Just as impressive as his basketball stats are his academic accolades. Kelly reports a 4.1 grade point average, and scored a 2,150 on his SAT.

High school is not the only place Kelly has excelled on the court, though. Kelly plays on the D-One Sports, one of the premiere AAU basketball teams, along with players like John Wall.

D-One Sports won the 2008 Reebok Summer Championship Create N Finish Cup Championship in Henderson, Nevada, this summer.

Individually, Kelly was named the most promising prospect at the 2008 NBPA Top 100 Camp in Charlottesville, Virginia, and he was named to the All-Tournament Teams during the 2008 Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions, as well as the 2008 Pitt Jam Fest.

Kelly was also selected to the U18 USA Basketball team this past summer where he was a starter. The team traveled to Formosa, Argentina, for the FIBA Americas Tournament where they won the silver medal, finishing second behind Argentina. The same team will participate in the FIBA World Championship next summer.

Ravenscroft will host members of the media Friday morning at the school. Kelly, along with head coach Kevin Billerman will be available for comment. HighSchoolOT.com will have coverage of the event.