Turning Tragedy into Triumph for Jake Kelly

Jake Kelly was one of the stars of the Iowa basketball team last season. In fact, he led the team in scoring during the 2008-09 campaign with 11.6 points per night. The 6-6 guard has a knack for grabbing rebounds and can play tough perimeter defense when the time comes. He averaged 3.3 assists per game as well, second best on the Iowa squad behind Jeff Peterson. But behind the ease with which he played lived a difficult, trying emotional struggle for Jake Kelly, whose mother was suddenly killed in a plane crash the summer before the season started.

It was tough for Kelly to stay away from the family’s home town in Terra Harte, Indiana, so after the season was over he decided to try to transfer to play for the Indiana State Sycamores, his home town team. The NCAA let the transfer go through, and not only that, the league has allowed Kelly to play in his first season with his new team. Usually transfer students have to sit out for their first season in their new school. There’s a nice story by Dana O’Neil about Jake Kelly at ESPN.com. Check it out!

To get NCAA basketball tickets, go to StubHub.com.

Posted in General on October 6, 2009

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