Former Tar Heel Ivory Latta names Deja Kelly to her Top 5 ACC PG list

Deja Kelly, the UNC women’s basketball team’s star point guard, earned some recognition from Tar Heel royalty. What exactly was it?

Ivory Latta was one of the best college basketball players to come through Chapel Hill.

The Tar Heels made the Final Four twice (05-06, 06-07) during Latta’s four seasons, making the NCAA tournament all four years. Latta is in the ACC record books, ranking sixth in career 3-pointers, fifth in free throw percentage and 15th in 3-point percentage, plus UNC’s all-time points leader with 2,285.

Latta, who laced up her sneaks for the UNC women’s basketball team from 2003-2007, went onto enjoy a successful, 11-year WNBA career with the Detroit and Tulsa Shock, Atlanta Dream and Washington Mystics. Latta appeared in the WNBA Finals during her rookie season, then was later an All-Star in 2013 and 2014.

There’s another star point guard in Chapel Hill who’s the talk of the UNC women’s team – Deja Kelly – who ranks among the best current players in the ACC.

Latta, who is now a college basketball analyst for the ACC Network, ranked Kelly as the ACC’s third-best point guard.

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Kelly, who slots in behind Notre Dame’s Olivia Miles and Virginia Tech’s Georgia Amoore, will try and help the Tar Heels to their fourth-consecutive NCAA Tournament. She was already named to the Nancy Lieberman Award Watch List, annually given to the best point guard in women’s college basketball.

Just how good is Kelly? She earned a spot on the ACC All-Freshman Team in 2020-2021, then spots on the All-ACC Team in each of the past two years. She averaged 15 points per game across the last three seasons, including a team-high 16.5 last year.

With Kelly and Alyssa Utsby both back for 2023-2024, this season is shaping up to be another strong one for the Tar Heels.

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