Prospect Spotlight: Garden Valley’s Covy Kelly (2021)
March is the month for basketball tournaments! High school state tournaments, college conference tournaments, and the biggest of all, the NCAA March Madness tournament. This past weekend was the Idaho State Basketball Tournament in Boise. Each teams trip to the state tournament is special and marks the end of a long season of work. The only bad thing is that it only ends perfectly for 6 teams. The rest are left with some level of disappointment. But for Covy Kelly the disappointment of not winning the state championship was lessened somewhat by him setting a tournament scoring record for the 1A Division 2 classification by scoring 38 points in the State Championship game breaking the record previously held by Leighton Vander Esch.
The 6’0″ 160 lb sophomore who is ranked #9 in the class of 2021 on PrepHoops Idaho, has been playing basketball as far back as he can remember, “I’ve been playing basketball as long as I can remember. I’ve played on many club basketball teams, but my first competitive team was with Idaho Select, where I traveled The Western States playing in elite tournaments. More recently I played for a club called Idaho Force, organized by former NBA player, Tony Bobbit. This was another travel team. This year I will be playing for Hoop Kings Gold, through Boise Slam.”
Located about an hour north of Boise, Garden Valley is a small tight-nit community. “Growing up in the small town Garden Valley, I’ve been playing with these boys for a very long time… they are like my brothers.” Kelly’s varsity experience started early, “I’ve been playing varsity since my freshman year. That year I was awarded freshman of the year, and 1st team all conference.” Kelly can score both inside and outside. “I have been described as a quick player with both inside, and outside game, along with strong defense. My strengths are my jump shot and passing.” In an effort to keep improving he is continually looking for ways to improve, “I’m trying to improve my vertical, ball handling, and my on ball defense. To improve my game I’m going to attend camps, individual workouts, and the traveling club season.”
When I asked him to describe his high school career so far he said, “I would describe my High School career as, “just another pickup game”. As a sophomore there are hopefully a lot more “pickup games” for him in the future. I asked Kelly what his favorite basketball memory has been so far. “Attending the State Tournament this year.” What a memory it is, Kelly was named 1A Division 2 Boys Basketball All-Tournament MVP & set 3 tournament records, -Most points in a single game (38) -Most field goals in a single game (15) -Most field goals in a tournament, (36). Kelly had 90 points in the three day tournament which is 3 shy of the record.
Kelly would like to play basketball at the next level, “Yes playing college basketball has always been a dream of mine. I have not yet been in contact with any school. At this point I would adapt to any team that I could play for.” Kelly also excels in the class room. “I’m an Honor Roll student and take some advanced classes. My GPA is currently a 3.5” Away from basketball Kelly enjoys playing chess, traveling, and hanging out with friends.