North Carolina sophomore Reniya Kelly gets to play close to home at Birmingham Regional
Kelly and the Tar Heels face rival Duke in Birmingham. She went to Hoover High School and played at the site of the regional five times. She said she won four of the five, losing her freshman year.
'It means everything. I'm just going to explain this part: I played here in my eighth grade, ninth grade, 10th grade, 11th grade, 12th grade, and only lost one time: it was my ninth grade year," Kelly said. "This is like a full cycle for me, and I'm really excited to be here, especially because my family and friends come out and see me. It's really a blessing to be back home and be close: it's like 20 minutes away from my house, so this is really close to me.'
Kelly said she was hoping her team would end up in Birmingham for the Sweet 16.
'I did not want to go to Washington (state),' she said laughing. 'I just love this place so much, because I have so much experience and the atmosphere has always been here.'
She was a four-time state champion for Hoover, scoring 2,272 in her career. Her team went 168-10 and her jersey was retired in 2023.
'I've been to Hoover High School many times in order to get Reniya in the Carolina blue,' North Carolina coach Courtney Banghart said. 'I thought she was the most improved player in the ACC. You look at her statistics from Year 1 to Year 2, you look at how she runs our team, how little our team changed and how much better we are, right? It's because she's been in charge of it.'
Kelly averaged 9.8 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.1 assists this season for North Carolina. She said her favorite memory of playing in the arena came her senior year. She was subbed out with 50 seconds left and the game in hand. It was her last time playing for her high school team.
'I was crying," she said, "and I don't usually cry.'
___
AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
Doug Feinberg, The Associated Press
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Associated Press
a minute ago
- Associated Press
LSU's Brian Kelly "bullish" on the No. 9 Tigers as he enters a pivotal 4th season
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — LSU coach Brian Kelly doesn't sound worried about managing expectations as he enters what could be a pivotal fourth season with the Tigers. Not even after a 2024 campaign in which LSU fell short of 10 victories for the first time since Kelly arrived on the bayou from Notre Dame. 'I love what I've seen about this football team and feel that's why I've been bullish on our team,' Kelly said. 'You got to go win the games and execute when you need to execute. But I like where we're at.' When Kelly was signed to a 10-year contract worth about $100 million after the 2021 season, he was expected to have LSU back in contention for national titles sooner than later. Instead, the Tigers failed to clinch a spot in college football's first 12-team playoff last season. After that, Kelly went about ramping up his program's already considerable ability to provide financial inducements to transfer players and high school recruits — starting with his own $1 million donation to the Bayou Traditions football fund. Next came a slew of signings out of the transfer portal to complement a handful of high-profile returning players — a couple of whom could have left for the NFL, but decided they were better off staying in Baton Rouge for another year. LSU has a likely Heisman Trophy candidate at quarterback in senior Garrett Nussmeier, who passed for 4,052 yards and 29 touchdown last season. On defense, they welcomed back play-making linebacker Harold Perkins, who was once widely projected to enter the draft, but decided instead to remain with the Tigers after a knee injury derailed his 2024 campaign. Kelly's compliments flow about each position group, even an offensive line that has lost four veteran starters — all of them taken in last spring's draft. 'I've coached for a long time, a lot of guys in the NFL, a lot of first-round draft picks,' Kelly said. 'I've got a pretty good eye for what an offensive line looks like. This group is going to be really good.' LSU is ranked ninth in the the preseason AP Top 25 Poll and will have a chance right out of the gate to move up. They visit No. 4 Clemson in Week 1, when LSU's Tigers will try to snap a streak of five straight season-opening losses. A better start Kelly asserted that his staff has built much of the offseason around the goal of looking sharper for a Week 1 match-up that would appear to be more formidable than any of the previous five LSU lost. 'If you're just reacting to not having a win in the opener to feeding them chicken wings instead of, you know, steak, then you're reacting in a manner that doesn't give you an opportunity to be successful,' Kelly said. 'We've addressed this in January. We addressed it with the guys that we brought in, and we addressed it in the way we trained our football team. We addressed it in spring ball and then into our offseason.' Going deepNussmeier should have no shortage of speed and talent at receiver. Chris Hilton, Zavion Thomas and Aaron Anderson are the likely starters, with Nic Anderson, Barion Brown and Kyle Parker all pushing for playing time. 'I would be less than honest if I didn't say it's as deep (a receiver group) as I've ever had,' Kelly said, adding that Hilton and Brown Speaker 'can run past anybody.' 'The real deal here is that we're going to get over the top of a lot of defenses with those two guys,' he said. Line items Kelly went to the transfer portal to help revamp his offensive line. He lured Braelin Moore from Virginia Tech to play center, while Northwestern transfer Josh Thompson is expected to play right guard. LSU's lone returning starter is left guard DJ Chester. Sophomore Tyree Adams is expected to take over at left tackle. Second-year player Weston Davis has taken most first-team snaps at right tackle, but has seen some competition from freshman Carius Curne, a top 2025 recruit who is 6-foot-5 and 320 pounds,. Adams calls Curne 'the strongest freshman I have ever seen.' Defensive presence Perkins' return gives LSU two veteran leaders and established play makers at linebacker — the other being preseason AP All-American Whit Weeks. 'Presence is impactful right there,' Kelly said. 'People talk about missing somebody. You know, it's hard to replace great players, but it's even harder to replace great leaders. And those guys lead by example and make a huge difference.' Schedule highlights In addition to the opener at Clemson, LSU's marquee match-ups include a home date with No. 15 Florida on Sept. 13; at No. 21 Mississippi on Sept. 27; No. 13 South Carolina at home on Oct. 11; No. 19 Texas A&M at home on Oct. 25; at No. 8 Alabama on Nov. 8; and No. 18 Oklahoma at home on Nov. 29. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: and
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Spurs' Carter Bryant honors family member with jersey number selection
Rookie Carter Bryant will begin his career in the NBA with the San Antonio Spurs with a new jersey number after wearing No. 9 as a freshman last season at Arizona. Bryant wore it in various events before joining the Wildcats, such as the McDonald's All-American Game and the Pangos All-American Camp. He was forced to change it upon joining the Spurs, with it retired to honor Hall of Famer Tony Parker. The 14th pick also wore a few other numbers, though each one was taken on the team. He opted to go with No. 11, which is the same number his uncle wore. "I wanted nine," Bryant said. "Obviously, Tony Parker has nine retired. (De'Aaron) Fox has four. Steph Castle has five. Dylan (Harper) got two. I was a Kawhi fan, so I was trying to get the two. Vic (Wembanyama) got one, so then I went through all of the numbers I liked and which ones looked good. My uncle ended up wearing No. 11 playing pro volleyball overseas, so I went with 11." Bryant helped the Wildcats to the Sweet 16, averaging 6.5 points, 4.1 rebounds and one assist on 37.1% shooting from 3-point range. He scored in double figures five times, including a season-high-tying 14 points, three rebounds, two steals and two blocks on Jan. 27. The 19-year-old logged six appearances with the Spurs in summer league, averaging 7.3 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.7 blocks and 1.2 assists on 28.6% shooting from the field. He wrapped up his stay with a 16-point, five-rebound performance on July 17. Bryant has ingratiated himself well within the local community after volunteering at a couple of events this offseason. The team was excited to add him and is eager to watch him hit the court. Note: Throughout August, Rookie Wire is looking at every first-round pick and why each player selected their respective jersey number as they make the jump to the NBA. Previous: Cooper Flagg | Dylan Harper | VJ Edgecombe | Kon Knueppel | Ace Bailey | Tre Johnson | Jeremiah Fears | Egor Dёmin | Collin Murray-Boyles | Khaman Maluach | Cedric Coward | Noa Essengue | Derik Queen This article originally appeared on Rookie Wire: Spurs news: Carter Bryant honors family member with jersey number pick
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Pelicans' Derik Queen chooses new jersey number to begin NBA career
New Orleans Pelicans rookie Derik Queen will have a new jersey number next season after previously wearing No. 25 for much of his basketball career. Queen donned that number last season as a freshman at the University of Maryland and during his tenure at the Montverde Academy in Central Florida. He even wore it while playing AAU basketball, leading Team Thrill to the Under Armour Association U-17 spring championship in 2023. With No. 25 currently occupied by Trey Murphy III, Queen opted to change to No. 22. It isn't exactly clear why Queen chose No. 22, but it was one of the closest open numbers to his longtime preference. Queen was the Big Ten Freshman of the Year, averaging 16.5 points, nine rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.1 blocks in 36 games on 52.6% shooting from the field. He helped lead the Terrapins to their first Sweet 16 appearance since 2016. The 13th pick debuted with the Pelicans in the NBA Summer League, averaging 14 points, 11 rebounds, 2.3 assists and one block in three appearances. He registered a double-double in each appearance, including a 17-point, 10-rebound effort against Portland on July 15. The Pelicans announced on July 18 that Queen would miss at least 12 weeks after undergoing surgery to address a torn ligament in his left wrist sustained against the Trail Blazers. After an encouraging run over the summer, Queen and the team will be hopeful for a speedy recovery. Note: Throughout August, Rookie Wire is looking at every first-round pick and why each player selected their respective jersey number as they make the jump to the NBA. Previous: Cooper Flagg | Dylan Harper | VJ Edgecombe | Kon Knueppel | Ace Bailey | Tre Johnson | Jeremiah Fears | Egor Dёmin | Collin Murray-Boyles | Khaman Maluach | Cedric Coward | Noa Essengue This article originally appeared on Rookie Wire: Pelicans news: Derik Queen chooses new number to begin NBA career
