Cal Basketball: Andre Kelly is an Overnight Sensation After Four Seasons

`The magic is in the work and that young man has done the work' - Mark Fox.

There was no single moment when senior Andre Kelly became the player Cal basketball fans are seeing this season. It didn’t happen overnight and it didn’t spring from magic.

“He’s really developed his game,” said Cal coach Mark Fox, in his third season working with Kelly. “But the magic is in the work and that young man has done the work and he continues to improve.”

Don’t believe Fox? After all, he is Kelly’s coach, so he’s got to be just a little biased, right?

OK, here are the numbers that track Kelly’s progress over four years at Cal. In virtually every category, he has gotten and better:

A 6-foot-8 power forward from Stockton, Kelly is sixth in the Pac-12 in scoring, second in rebounding and second in field-goal accuracy. No other player in the conference ranks among the top-six in even two of those categories, let alone all three.

Consistency? Kelly already had four double-doubles in 11 games, as many as he had in 92 games through his first three seasons.

Kelly and the Bears (6-5, 1-1 Pac-12) go at it again Sunday afternoon in a non-conference game against Dartmouth (3-6) of the Ivy League at Haas Pavilion. 

The evidence shows Kelly is enjoying the fruits of his offseason labor. A year after Cal was virtually banned from any legitimate out-of-season workouts because of restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, Kelly took advantage of the time he got this past summer.

“This whole summer I was working on a lot of things: shooting, post work, the efficiency of my footwork, my hands,” he said. “It’s my fourth year and I have more experience so I kind of know what to expect.”

Kelly carried too much weight when he first arrived in Berkeley. His footwork was remedial. He had few avenues for scoring beyond converting an offensive rebound. He was often helpless against double teams in the low block.

All of those areas of his game have made huge leaps.

Now trimmer and better conditioned, Kelly can play more minutes and sustain a higher level of performance. “He’s in better shape. He’s a better athlete. He’s physically in a much better place this year than he was last year,” Fox said.

Kelly’s footwork is much improved, allowing him to score in a variety of ways, at the basket or away from it. And he seems entirely in control when he gets the ball inside and draws a second defender.

Fox sees great improvement in the poise Kelly shows when facing a double-team.

“Really good frontline players can slow down and play in a crowd,” he said. “He knows where to put the ball if his attack is not there. He’s just really playing like an upperclassman and it’s great to see his development.”

Kelly explained the coaching staff has helped him understand where the double-team is coming from and how to respond. Almost like a quarterback, he goes through his reads to determine if his best move is to create a shot or pass the ball.

He got a huge kick out of his only assist in the Bears’ 72-60 win over Santa Clara last weekend, finding Jordan Shepherd open for a 3-pointer in the final 2 minutes that helped break the game open.

Usually the equation is flip-flopped. Shepherd, a graduate senior transfer, has given the Bears strong play as a combo guard. He’s got a good mid-range shot but also knows when to feed the Bears’ big man.

Against Santa Clara, Shepherd had a season-high six assists to go with 15 points.

“Jordan’s doing a great job, just finding me for some easy buckets in the pick-and-roll,” Kelly said. “He’s putting it right there for me and all I have to do is lay it in.”

The two have worked together for just 11 games, but their comfort level seems good.

“I would say our chemistry’s working really well together,” Shepherd said. “He’s proved to be a dominant force in the paint — he’s proved that all season, done it against the best bigs. It’s great to be out there playing with him.”

Fox compares the work Kelly puts in to taking a daily vitamin. The benefits emerged gradually but they are evident.

“Fundamental things that he does every single day that’s allowed him to develop his interior game,” Fox said. “He can catch it and he can finish over both shoulders, he can score over defenders. So he’s a tough cover because every day he’s done the little things in preparation for practice to develop his game.

“He’s a great example of if you just work hard every day how much you can continue to develop.”

Cover photo of Andre Kelly by Matt Pendleton, USA Today

Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo