After taking a semester off from Wesleyan last year and missing the 2005-2006 basketball season, Rob Kelly ’07 returned to the Cardinal lineup this year determined to carry Wesleyan back to the NESCAC playoffs. While the men’s basketball team failed to live up to high expectations, earning a 7-16 record with only two wins in the NESCAC, Kelly unquestionably had one of the best individual seasons among any player in the conference. The big center placed second in points, third in rebounds, and fourth in blocks. Kelly’s omission from any of the All-NESCAC Teams is an egregious error in judgment on the hands of the coaches in the NESCAC, who vote for the All-NESCAC Teams.
One of the factors that most likely played into Kelly’s absence from the First or Second Team All-NESCAC was the lack of success of the Cardinals, who finished ninth in the conference. Among those picked for either of the All-NESCAC teams, each player played on a team that qualified for the NESCAC tournament. For a team that was, in the preseason, a popular favorite to finish in the top six spots in the NESCAC, it is easy to overlook the individual season of any Cardinal for postseason recognition. However, Kelly’s performance did not reflect the dismal record of the Cardinals, as the center was simply dominant over the course of the season, even without the wins to show for it.
Averaging 18.8 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 1.35 blocks per game, Kelly was statistically the best big man in the league. It wasn’t as if Kelly simply padded his statistics against inferior teams either. In conference play, Kelly was equally, if not more dominant, as he knocked home 19.4 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 1.44 blocks per game. Against Williams, the 2007 NESCAC Champion, the Ephs had no answer for Kelly down low, as the senior notched 37 points, 19 rebounds, and five blocks in two games.
According to head coach Gerry McDowell, picking two All-NESCAC teams from one of the toughest conferences in the country is no easy task for NESCAC coaches. McDowell pointed to the fact that Middlebury, the number four seed in the NESCAC tournament, did not have any selections to the All-NESCAC teams. Nonetheless, McDowell was displeased that his colleagues did not award Kelly with postseason recognition.
“It is difficult to select 10 guys for the All-NESCAC teams,” McDowell said. “Even still, I’m surprised and disappointed that Rob didn’t make either of them. He had an all-conference caliber season.”
There were few, if any NESCAC teams that had a big man to counter the overpowering low post presence of Kelly. Kelly was virtually unstoppable when he got position down low. It was a given that the only thing that could stop Kelly from taking over the game in the post was a double team. Kelly’s wiry frame and long wingspan made him a constant match-up problem for every NESCAC team. Even when the Cards were blown out in conference play, it was virtually a guarantee the Kelly would win the battle down low. Take for example the Cardinals 94-69 loss at the hands of Tufts University. While the Cards were embarrassed by with a 25-points loss, Kelly poured in a game-high 24 points, nine rebounds, and four blocks.
It isn’t a far stretch to argue that Kelly could have even been the player of the year in a conference where there is an abundance of perimeter-oriented players and very few dominant big men. Of the other forwards and centers who made the First and Second All-NESCAC teams, Kelly trumps all four statistically. Only, the other four played on teams who qualified for the NESCAC Tournament.
Co-captain Jared Ashe ’07 pointed to the head-to-head match-up between First Team-All NESCAC selection Rob Stockwell of Bates and Kelly when the Cardinals hosted the Bobcats on Jan. 26. Stockwell was a non-factor in the game, scoring just two points, while Kelly nearly carried the Cards to victory in overtime with a game-high 23 points.
“I don’t understand the factors that made someone like Rob Stockwell get a spot on the First Team All-NESCAC ahead of Rob [Kelly],” Ashe said. “If you look at the numbers when we played Bates and when Kelly and Stockwell faced off, it was the Rob Kelly show, not the Rob Stockwell show. Rob without a doubt should have been on one of those teams.”
It is also difficult to understand why Jake Weitzmen of Tufts was selected over Kelly. Weitzmen had a solid year, but he wasn’t even the best player on his team, but rather one of four players to score in double figures for the Jumbos. In comparing Kelly to Weitzmen, the Tufts forward averaged 4.2 points, 1.2 rebounds, and 1.27 blocks less than Kelly, and was among the top five statistical leaders in the NESCAC only in rebounding. Not to mention, Weitzmen did not carry nearly the weight on his shoulders that Kelly did game in and game out. One can argue that, with the exception of perhaps Chris Rose of Williams, Kelly was more important to his team than any player in the NESCAC.
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