Prospect Profile: Ronja Kelly
Last year, the route taken by junior guard Ronja Kelly had veered off-kilter. He missed his entire sophomore season due to eligibility issues, while he transfered to Milwaukee Vincent this offseason seeking more basketball opportunity. But Kelly’s outing at Brookfield…
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Continue ReadingLast year, the route taken by junior guard Ronja Kelly had veered off-kilter. He missed his entire sophomore season due to eligibility issues, while he transfered to Milwaukee Vincent this offseason seeking more basketball opportunity.
But Kelly’s outing at Brookfield Central High School on Sunday was as good a sign as any that he’s beyond transfer growing-pains and a missed season, as he spit out college-caliber skills like ticker tape.
With a muscular lower body and thick frame, everything he did from a physical standpoint exceeded his peers. On defense, Kelly administered 94-feet of smothering, almost obnoxious on-ball pressure, picking up full court against one of Wisconsin’s top guards in Armani Jones. More importantly, his defensive efforts stifled the other squad’s attempt at finding flow, a crucial contribution that favored Milwaukee Vincent’s transition-happy athletes,
On offense he plays no different; activity and aggressiveness course through his veins for 40 minutes. Throughout this summer and fall Kelly, though a guard, found solace on the low block. Like a forward — or a snow plow— he cleans house in the paint with physicality, finding second chance plays and easy layups.
His jump shot isn’t consistently effective, the only such area in his skillset. The success of it varied from game to game, as it’s a pinpoint bombardment some days and an assault of the back rim on others.
The next step for him isn’t a skill — he has a tight grasp on that domain, clearly. Instead it’s becoming a leader.
Kelly hopes to implement leadership into the culture at Milwaukee Vincent next season, as he stated, “I think me showing that I can be a leader just making my team better so we can be successful as a whole.” Steps were taken in that direction this weekend, where the guard made shrewd decisions in transition, making his teammates — and himself — look better in the process.
On the floor, for as much as he exceeds his peers as a prospect, he typically shares a spotlight with his brother, Rashad. “We are always on the same page,” Ronja said of his brother. Especially this summer, the pair moved in tandem, trapping on defense like two rampant buzzsaws.
The two slipped inexcusably far under the radar. Next season, after a sneakily impactful transfer, logic says they will bounce back, taking Milwaukee Vincent and themselves to the fore of the prep basketball landscape.