Pat Kelsey
Current position | |
---|---|
Title | Head coach |
Team | Winthrop |
Conference | Big South |
Record | 143–88 |
Biographical details | |
Born | Cincinnati, Ohio | May 15, 1975
Playing career | |
1993–1994 | Wyoming |
1995–1998 | Xavier |
Position(s) | Point guard |
Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
1998–2001 | Elder HS (assistant) |
2001–2004 | Wake Forest (dir. ops) |
2004–2009 | Wake Forest (assistant) |
2009–2012 | Xavier (associate HC) |
2012–present | Winthrop |
Head coaching record | |
Overall | 143–88 |
Tournaments | 0–1 (NCAA Division I) |
Accomplishments and honors | |
Championships | |
2 Big South regular season (2016, 2017) Big South Tournament (2017) | |
Patrick Kelsey (born May 15, 1975) is an American college basketball coach. He is the current head coach of the Winthrop Eagles men's basketball team.
Kelsey began his career as an assistant coach at Wake Forest University and later Xavier University. During his time as an assistant coach, his teams earned five NCAA Tournament berths, an NIT berth, a No. 1 national ranking in two different seasons, and an ACC regular season championship. In 2010, College Bound Hoops ranked Kelsey eighth in the nation among college basketball assistants.[1] He was sought after by some of America's top programs and has been a candidate for multiple head coaching positions. Chris Mack, former A-10 and Big East Championship head coach considered him to be one of the best assistant coaches in America.
As head coach at Winthrop University, Kelsey has resurrected a winning tradition and has become one of the winningest coaches in the history of the Big South Conference (ranked 9th all-time).[2] During his seven seasons, no other Big South program has more wins overall or more conference wins. The program made four straight Big South Conference Tournament title games (2014-17) and the Eagles claimed the 2017 Big South Conference Championship. The 2017 team claimed a share of the Big South regular season championship and then defeated Campbell to earn Winthrop’s 10th trip to the NCAA Tournament. Under Kelsey, the program has broken multiple school records and produced some of the best players in its history, including Keon Johnson, Winthrop's all-time leading scorer,[3] and Xavier Cooks, Winthrop's all time leading rebounder and shot-blocker.[4]
Kelsey has coached a number of players who went on to have successful professional basketball careers - including NBA All-Stars Chris Paul and Jeff Teague.[5]He coached Ish Smith, an All-ACC selection and player for the Houston Rockets, James Johnson, a two-time All-ACC selection and overall number 17 draft pick by the Chicago Bulls in the 2009 NBA Draft, and Al-Farouq Aminu, a McDonald's All-America who was drafted eight overall by the L.A. Clippers in the 2010 NBA Draft.[6]
Newtown Speech at Ohio State
In December 2012, after a game against Ohio State, Kelsey gave an impassioned speech about the Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting that had occurred just days prior. During the game's press conference, Kelsey spoke out about the tragedy and said "Parents, teachers, rabbis, priests, coaches, everybody needs to step up. This has to be a time for change.”[7]
After a clip of the conference aired on ESPN, parents of a victim of the shooting reached out to Kelsey. He later participated in an event (Race4Chase triathlon) put on by the CMAK Sandy Hook Memorial Foundation. The family was honored at an Eagles basketball game on March 1, 2014. At the game, each Winthrop player wore the name of a child killed at Sandy Hook on the back of their jersey.[8]
UMass Affair
In 2017, Kelsey was hired as the head coach at Massachusetts, but returned to Winthrop two days after accepting the position, citing personal reasons. Kelsey informed UMass Athletic Director Ryan Bamford of his decision 25 minutes before the scheduled press conference to formally introduce Kelsey to the press and university community. Two days prior, Kelsey had signed an MoU with the university, which included a $1 million buyout clause should Kelsey leave before two years.[9][10][11]
Head coaching record
Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Winthrop Eagles (Big South Conference) (2012–present) | |||||||||
2012–13 | Winthrop | 14–17 | 6–10 | 5th (South) | |||||
2013–14 | Winthrop | 20–13 | 10–6 | T–2nd (South) | |||||
2014–15 | Winthrop | 19–13 | 12–6 | T–3rd | |||||
2015–16 | Winthrop | 23–9 | 13–5 | T–1st | |||||
2016–17 | Winthrop | 26–7 | 15–3 | T–1st | NCAA Division I First Round | ||||
2017–18 | Winthrop | 19–12 | 12–6 | T–2nd | |||||
2018–19 | Winthrop | 18–12 | 10–6 | T–3rd | |||||
2019–20 | Winthrop | 4-5 | 0-0 | ||||||
Winthrop: | 143–88 (.619) | 78–42 (.650) | |||||||
Total: | 143–88 (.619) | ||||||||
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
|
References
- ^ "Pat Kelsey - Men's Basketball Coach". Winthrop University Athletics. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
- ^ "Pat Kelsey - Men's Basketball Coach". Winthrop University Athletics. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
- ^ "Ex-Tyger Keon Johnson breaks Winthrop U. scoring record". Mansfield News Journal. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
- ^ "Pat Kelsey - Men's Basketball Coach". Winthrop University Athletics. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
- ^ "Meet the mystery man of the NBA draft". sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2019-07-15.
- ^ "Pat Kelsey". Xavier University. Retrieved 2013-06-05.
- ^ "Winthrop coach Pat Kelsey explains his intense Newtown speech". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2019-01-04.
- ^ "Through Sandy Hook tragedy, college basketball coach forms unbreakable bond with parents". Sporting News. 2016-08-04. Retrieved 2019-01-04.
- ^ "Pat Kelsey: New UMass coach has change of heart just minutes before press conference".
- ^ "2012-13 Men's Basketball Coaching Staff". Winthrop Eagles. Retrieved 2013-06-06.
- ^ "Kelsey backs out at UMass two days after hire". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2017-03-23.
External links
- 1975 births
- Living people
- American men's basketball coaches
- American men's basketball players
- Basketball coaches from Ohio
- Basketball players from Ohio
- College men's basketball head coaches in the United States
- Elder High School alumni
- High school basketball coaches in the United States
- Sportspeople from Cincinnati
- Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's basketball coaches
- Winthrop Eagles men's basketball coaches
- Wyoming Cowboys basketball players
- Xavier Musketeers men's basketball coaches
- Xavier Musketeers men's basketball players
- Point guards