Howard Kelsey Two-Time Olympian and 2012 BC Sports Hall of Fame Inductee

BC Sports Hall of Famer, and Two-Time Olympian, Howard Kelsey, is the next guest on this episode of Interviews with Anthony Beyrouti.   Kelsey, born and raised in Vancouver, attended Point Grey Secondary where he led his lowly-ranked team to a city championship and a fifth-place finish at the 1975 Provincial Championships and was crowned tournament MVP. Kelsey still holds the record of BC's highest high school career scoring average with a whopping 37.5 points per game.   Towards the end of his high school career, Kelsey was approached by then Canadian National Team Coach, Jack Donahue, who recruited him straight to the Men's National Team where he played for eleven years (1977-88).   During his university career, Kelsey started at Oklahoma State, and then earned himself Conference MVP honours at Illinois’ Principia College, where he finished as the third leading scorer nationally amongst NCAA small colleges (29.2 ppg). Professionally, he played for Leones Negroes in Guadalajara, Mexico, averaging over 29 career points per game.   Despite his high school and university scoring prowess, it was on the Canadian national team where Kelsey truly shined. One of the top players to represent Canada internationally at his position, Kelsey appeared in over 400 games at a time when Canada was consistently ranked in the world’s top-five. The two-time Canadian Olympian (1980, 1984) stands as one of only two native British Columbian basketball players to represent Canada in two Olympic Games.   Among Canada’s best results with Kelsey aboard include a fourth-place finish at the 1984 Olympic Games, gold at 1978 Commonwealth Basketball Championships, and gold at 1983 FISU World University Games at a time when all national ‘A’ teams competed. While facing the best American players of his generation including Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, and Isiah Thomas, Kelsey was a key starter for Canada’s first-ever victory over the US in a major international competition at the 1981 FISU Games. The Canadians followed it up with another defeat of the US in the 1983 FISU games.   Beyond his playing career, Kelsey served as athletic coordinator under Ken Shields at the University of Victoria from 1983-90, producing thirteen national basketball championships, sixty-three UVIC Olympians, and sixteen Olympic medalists in that time.   Source: BC Sports Hall of Fame: https://bcsportshall.com/honoured_mem...