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Kelly Wells returns to Rupp Arena in Gillispie debut as coach at Kentucky
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By CHUCK HAMILTON Sports Writer
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A coach with very fond and lifelong memories of Rupp Arena will lead his Pikeville College Bears into the famed Lexington home of the Kentucky Wildcats for an exhibition game this evening at 7 p.m.
Kelly Wells, who directed the Mason County Royals to a state championship in Rupp in 2003, returns to the scene of the title game, when the Royals knocked off Hopkinsville 75-63 on March 22, 2003.
The following year, Wells led the Royals back to the title game at Rupp, when Warren Central outlasted Mason County 66-56.
Wells is entering his second season at the helm of the Pikeville program, an NAIA school and a member of the Mid-South Conference. In his first year as the head coach of the Bears, Wells guided the team to a 12-19 record after arriving in Pikeville from Hawaii.
He began his collegiate coaching career at Hawaii Pacific, where he served as an assistant coach for one year before taking over the reins in the 2005-06 campaign.
Wells has enjoyed tremendous postseason success, both as a player and as a coach in the commonwealth.
He led Rowan County High School to three straight Sweet 16 appearances as a player, where he was a two-time first-team All-State selection and a member of the 1990 Kentucky All-Star team.
After his successful high school career, Wells played one year at Tulsa and three at Morehead State, where he scored 459 points, despite battling numerous injury-plagued seasons, and was named Academic All-OVC.
After spending two years as head coach at Marion County High School in Lebanon, Wells moved to Mason County. He was named coach of the year in Kentucky in 2003 and 2004, and was the National Federation of High School Coaches coach of the year in 2003. He also coached the Kentucky All-Star team in 2004.
It will be a unique experience for Pikeville to play the Wildcats, and tonight's contest represents the first time the two schools have ever met on the hardwood. The mountain school has an enrollment of 850 and is the most recent small Kentucky college to take on the Cats in a preseason exhibition game.
The president of Pikeville College, Hal Smith, is excited about the exposure the game will provide, including live television on the University of Kentucky TV Network and Fox Sports South, along with the broadcast on the Big Blue Radio Network.
"This game will likely be the single largest opportunity in the school's history for Pikeville College to have our name in front of people throughout the nation," Smith said. "In addition to more than 23,000 fans at Rupp Arena (and possibly over 1,000 Bear fans), hundreds of thousands of people will learn about Pikeville College as a result of this game. It is an incredible opportunity for our school and community."
The Bears return just one starter from last year's club, 6-foot-7 forward Bo Harris, a junior from Winchester. Harris averaged 18.4 points and a team-leading 9.2 rebounds per game last year and is being counted on by Wells to be a team leader this season.
Wells has brought in numerous transfers and freshmen to bolster the roster this year, after losing 10 players from last year's team, including four starters.
Among the newcomers is a familiar name to Mason County fans, Jarrod Litzinger. "J-Lit", a 6-3 freshman, was a very popular member of the Royals' state championship team and was also a member of the Kentucky All-Star team.
Also joining the Bears this year is 6-7 freshman Kane Belcher, who played at Pendleton County.
Wells has also brought in players from Jamaica, Canada, New Jersey and Florida in his effort to build a solid program at Pikeville.
The Bears will have their work cut out for them in the exhibition opener but look for them to play the Wells style of basketball, which is an exciting brand of running and pressing.
While all eyes of Big Blue Nation will be focused on Billy Gillispie, in his debut as the new head coach of the Wildcats, Wells and his players will get a taste of big-time college basketball before beginning the regular season at home against Johnson Bible College Saturday.
The Bears also have exhibition games scheduled at Tennessee Tech Sunday and in Huntington, W.Va., against Marshall on Nov. 13. |
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Reader Comments
Comments are limited to 200 words or less.
Maysville resident wrote on Oct 31, 2007 12:03 PM: " Just checked the KHSAA website ... semifinal, Mason Co. 75, Hopkinsville 63. Check it next time, Chuck. "
lexington royal wrote on Oct 31, 2007 10:19 AM: " Im pretty sure Mason Co beat Ballard 86-65 in the championship....Not Hopkinsville "
State Champ wrote on Oct 31, 2007 12:38 AM: " we played Ballard in that title game and beat them 86-65. Hopkinsville was the semifinal game. "
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