Tag: Deja Kelly

No. 25 Oregon vs. North Texas: Instant Reactions to Ducks’ blowout win over Mean Green

The No. 25 Oregon Ducks got a blowout win over North Texas on Tuesday afternoon in Matthew Knight Arena.

Kelly Graves and the Oregon Ducks picked up one of their biggest wins of the decade on Sunday evening, upsetting the No. 12 Baylor Bears in Matthew Knight Arena. They used that victory to vault into the top-25 rankings for the first time since January of 2023.

The Ducks kept that momentum rolling on Tuesday afternoon with an early game against the North Texas Mean Green.

Oregon won in blowout fashion, with Nani Falatea and Elisa Mevius shouldering the load in a game where 13 total Ducks scored. Here’s a look at

Oregon vs. North Texas Keys to the Game

  • It was a total team effort on Tuesday for an Oregon team that is riding high. 13 players scored for the Ducks, with only two of those players getting into double figures — both Falatea and Mevius had 11 points.
  • Oregon’s strong defense continued to be the story in this game, as they allowed just 9 points in the first half for North Texas, and held the Mean Green to 24% shooting on the game.
  • The Ducks were simply too big and too physical for North Texas, dominating the rebounding battle 44-30 and putting up 28 points in the paint while blocking 4 shots.

Oregon vs. North Texas Players of the Game

  • Nani Falatea: 11 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist
  • Elisa Mevius: 11 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists
  • Deja Kelly: 7 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists

What’s Next for Oregon Ducks?

  • Nov. 18 — vs. Grand Canyon
  • Nov.  20 — vs. Auburn Tigers
  • Nov. 25 — vs. Georgia Tech
  • Nov. 26 — vs. South Dakota State
  • Dec. 4 — vs. Washington State

The Ducks have two more games at Matthew Knight Arena before taking the show on the road to Hawaii for the North Shore Showcase.

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Deja Kelly spills the tea on leaving UNC

Deja Kelly threw some shade – or did she – at her former Tar Heel teammates. Kelly will play her final season of college basketball at Oregon.

At first glance, one could link the North Carolina Tar Heels’ recent success in women’s basketball to star guard Deja Kelly.

UNC made four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances: the first round in 2021, a Sweet 16 run the following season, plus it earned spots in both the 2023 and 2024 second rounds.

Kelly increased her scoring average each season, starting at 11 points per game in 2020-2021. Kelly then averaged 16.5, 16.5 and 16.3 points per game in her succeeding seasons, proving she could be an offensive leader for North Carolina.

In the offseason, Kelly shocked Tar Heel Nation and announced she’d be transferring to Oregon. We finally learned the reason why on Tuesday:

“I was a big part of that program that’s back on the national stage, and I ultimately just carried that program on my back for four years in the most humble way,” Kelly said in a TikTok Video via Keeping It Heel. “Being a leader, a face of a program is not easy, and it comes with a lot of BS a lot of people cannot handle. So, I give kudos to myself for being able to handle all this stuff that I went through for the past four years. That position is not for everybody. I am completely confident that it has made me way stronger mentally.”

Considering how much help Kelly had over her UNC career, particularly last year with Alyssa Ustby, Lexi Donarski and Maria Gakdeng, this feels like a slap in the face. It also sounds like Kelly wanted out for a while and wasn’t a team player, which is a key part of the college game.

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Could a Top-20 recruit be headed to the UNC women’s basketball team?

Can the UNC women’s basketball program compile a convincing case to lure this top recruit in the Class of 2025?

Thanks to their rediscovered success in recent years, including four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, the North Carolina Tar Heels have become a premier destination for women’s basketball talent.

UNC can thank head coach Courtney Banghart, plus the star-powered duo of Alyssa Ustby and Deja Kelly, for that recent success.

North Carolina’s deepest run since Banghart took over came during the 2021-2022 campaign, making the Sweet 16 before falling to eventual champion South Carolina. The Tar Heels won an NCAA Tournament game in each of the past three years, with the most recent coming against Michigan State this March.

Ustby nearly averaged a double-double last season, with 12.5 points and 9.5 rebounds per game, not far above her career averages of 12 and 8.2. Kelly, now with Oregon, averaged at least 16.3 points per game in each of her past three years.

What UNC loses in Kelly, it gains in several talented freshman recruits entering the fall, highlighted by reigning Virginia Girls Basketball Gatorade Player of the Year Lanie Grant.

North Carolina is also in the mix for a Class of 2025 standout, with Top-20 recruit Jordan Speiser, a 5-star recruit and Missouri’s reigning Gatorade Girls Basketball Player of the Year, announcing the Tar Heels as finalists.

Iowa, Kansas State and Ohio State all made the NCAA Tournament last year, highlighted by the Hawkeyes making the Title Game, before losing to South Carolina. TCU hasn’t made the Big Dance since 2010.

If  the Tar Heels land Speiser, she’d be one of their greatest recruiting victories in program history. Speiser is fresh off a dominant junior campaign, in which she registered a career-high 22.9 points per game for Lutheran St. Charles, en route to a state championship.

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Oregon women’s basketball named one of biggest transfer portal winners in 2024

According to On3, Oregon women’s basketball is a huge winner in rebuilding the roster through the transfer portal.

Oregon Ducks women’s basketball coach Kelly Graves will be the first to say that the 2023-24 season didn’t go as planned.

The Ducks were 11-21 last season and won just two conference games. To add insult to injury, there was a mass defection of the roster into the transfer portal, leaving coach Graves to completely rebuild the roster.

But as it turns out, that may have been a blessing in disguise. Graves and his staff got down to work and searched the entire country, and then some, to fill out the roster with talent and possibly return the Ducks to past glory.

According to On3 (subscription required), the Ducks have been a huge winner where the portal is concerned. This is writer Talia Goodman’s assessment of Oregon’s off-season.

“The Oregon Ducks lost five players to the transfer portal this offseason, including two starters. But they were slowly but surely able to add a class of seven additions, including UNC star Deja Kelly, Texas sophomore Amina Muhammad and BYU’s Nani Falatea,” she said. “The high-major additions averaged a total of 51.4 points per game in their last full season, and Kelly was one of the biggest recruiting wins in the portal this season.”

Although the former Tar Heel will be a Duck for just one season, she’s the type of talent that could help a program turn things completely around very quickly.

“Kelly has one year of eligibility remaining and averaged 16.3 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.2 assists last season at UNC. She’s made consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances in each of her four years as a Tar Heel,” Goodman wrote. “She was named to the first-team All-ACC for the third year in a row after last season and was named a WBCA All-America region finalist for the third year.”

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North Carolina transfer guard Deja Kelly commits to Oregon out of transfer portal

Deja Kelly, a four-year guard at North Carolina, has committed to the Oregon Ducks after entering the transfer portal this offseason.

It’s been a rough few seasons for Kelly Graves and the Oregon Ducks women’s basketball team. This year’s Ducks ended the season on a 14-game losing streak, won just 11 games all season, and for the second year in a row, Graves lost all of his top players to the transfer portal.

But at last, Graves and the Ducks have won a round in the transfer portal by picking up Deja Kelly, a fifth-year senior guard who earned All-ACC honors three times at North Carolina.

Kelly’s strong season with the Tar Heels, a season in which she averaged 16.3 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game, came to a disappointing end. For the second year in a row, UNC was knocked out in the second round of the NCAA tournament, this time in an 88-41 rout by the South Carolina Gamecocks, the eventual national champions.

After the damage the transfer portal has done to Oregon’s roster, Kelly is coming to a team in a desperate search for a best player, and with her college experience, Kelly leading the Ducks’ backcourt seems like a natural role for her to fill.

When she gets the ball in her hands, Kelly is always looking for ways to score, whether it’s with a drive to the rim or a jump shot she creates for herself. Her 16.3 points per game in 2023-24 is an impressive number, but she didn’t score with efficiency, shooting 34.6% from the field in 2023-24, which is, hopefully, something she can improve for her final season at Oregon.

Kelly isn’t the only transfer Graves has brought in this offseason, and she will fill the 15th and final roster spot on next year’s team. Another exciting transfer addition for Oregon is Alexis Whitfield, a 6’2″ forward who averaged 15.1 points and 9.8 rebounds per game at Santa Barbara last season, and she is a potential pick-and-roll partner for Kelly.

Deja Kelly announces transfer portal destination

North Carolina’s star guard Deja Kelly announces she has transferred to Oregon, officially putting an end to her UNC career.

A few days after announcing she will not be lacing up for the UNC women’s basketball program for the 2024-25 season, Deja Kelly took to social media to announce she will transfer to Oregon. 

There’s no denying the impact Kelly has had in building the culture at UNC, using her skill and star status to bring the Tar Heels to new heights. 

Kelly has been a problem for opposing teams since day one of her Tar Heel journey.

As a freshman, Kelly averaged 11 points, 2.9 assists, and 2.3 rebounds per game. Since her first season with UNC, Kelly has averaged double figures in points, averaging around 16 points a game, in each of the last three seasons. Kelly has earned three All-ACC honors, ACC-all freshman, and NCAA All-region.

It would be an understatement to say Kelly’s departure isn’t a huge blow to the program, especially seeing her talents with another school and not in the WNBA as expected. Thankfully for the Tar Heels, they will have some key talent joining.

Not only did they land Arizona State’s guard Trayanna Crisp out of the transfer portal, but they also will have 5-star Ciera Toomey, Indya Nivar, and Lexi Donarski joining the team. Not to mention, the return of Alyssa Ustby.

Kelly’s explosive scoring abilities will be missed, but sometimes departures are needed for growth.

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Arizona State guard Trayanna Crisp commits to Tar Heels from transfer portal

The UNC women’s basketball program has landed Trayanna Crisp from Arizona State, adding to its retooled backcourt.

The UNC women’s basketball program snagged Arizona State’s guard [autotag]Trayanna Crisp[/autotag] out of the transfer portal, per On3.

Crisp generated a significant boost in production from last season, becoming the Sun Devils’ second-leading scorer (12.1 points), more than doubling her total from the year prior (5.4 points). Crisp delivered key games for the Sun Devils last season, including a 23-point and seven-rebound performance in their 73-66 win over Washington.

The news couldn’t come at a better time for the Tar Heels, who have had two key scorers, [autotag]Deja Kelly[/autotag] and [autotag]Paulina Paris[/autotag], depart for new opportunities. Thankfully for the Heels, they have five-star Ciera Toomey, Indya Nivar and Lexi Donarski joining the team. Not to mention, veteran Alyssa Ustby returns.

Crisp will serve bolster UNC’s backcourt, adding depth to a roster that is under construction but still expected to contend. The Tar Heels had many high and lows last season, despite dealing with injuries most of the season. 

The team will look different next season, losing star Deja Kelly. However, the addition of the Crisp helps lessens the blow.

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Deja Kelly confirms she will not return to Chapel Hill

Deja Kelly will not come back to the UNC women’s basketball team after all.

What Deja Kelly did for the UNC women’s basketball program over the last four years was nothing short of amazing.

The Tar Heels made the NCAA Tournament in each season and their furthest run was to the 2022 Sweet 16. Kelly was a key each year, averaging double-digit point totals and leading North Carolina in scoring.

Kelly entered the transfer portal this offseason although a glimmer of hope remained that she would return to UNC.

Those possible rumors of a return were officially shot down on Friday, May 3, as Kelly posted a heartfelt message to her X (formerly Twitter) account.

We saw Seth Trimble do something similar with the UNC men’s basketball team, though he withdrew his name from the portal and will be playing his third season in Chapel Hill.

If you had asked me a month ago about Kelly’s decision to not return, I would have thought the UNC women’s team had a much different outlook. Several players entered the transfer portal. Luckily for the Tar Heels, they were all reserves.

North Carolina is projected to have a deep roster, though, headlined by the return of star forward Alyssa Ustby. Every other starter is expected back, with Lexi Donarski also electing to use her final year of eligibility in Chapel Hill.

It’s going to be weird not seeing Kelly in Carolina Blue next season, but I wish her luck in her future.

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UNC women’s basketball team debuts in Way-Too-Early Top 25 rankings

There’s a lot of promise for the UNC women’s basketball team next season, which leads to its first ESPN ranking of the offseason. Will the Tar Heels capitalize this time?

The NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship hasn’t even been over 48 hours yet, but we’re already looking ahead to next season.

South Carolina truly showed it’s among the sport’s elite programs, winning its third national championship since 2019 by distancing itself from Caitlin-Clark-led Iowa late. What made this feat all-the-more impressive was the Gamecocks replacing all five starters from a season ago, including 2023 WNBA Draft top overall pick Aaliyah Boston.

Clark will likely be joining her former opponent on the Indiana Fever next year, as barring something drastic, she’ll be going Number One overall.

Speaking of next year, South Carolina leads off ESPN’s Way-Too-Early Top 25 rankings.

The real Carolina, North Carolina, is also part of the rankings at 14th.

“Lexi Donarski, Alyssa Ustby and Deja Kelly are not on the WNBA draft list, but they have not officially announced their intentions to return to Chapel Hill,” ESPN’s Charlie Creme said. “If they do, (UNC head coach) Courtney Banghart might have her most talented group at North Carolina. Five-star recruits 6-5 Blanca Thomas and 6-4 Ciera Toomey, who redshirted this year, are set to join the active roster and join 6-3 Maria Gakdeng on the front line. Lanie Grant, a 5-10 point guard who is the Virginia state player of the year, reclassified from the Class of 2025 to join the Tar Heels next season.”

It’s worth noting that on Monday, April 8, Kelly shocked Tar Heel Nation by entering her name in the transfer portal. She’s shined ever since stepping on campus, but maybe she just wants to test the waters.

Even if Kelly decides not to return, UNC is plenty loaded.

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Deja Kelly to stay in college but enter transfer portal

Deja Kelly has officially entered the transfer portal after four seasons with the UNC women’s basketball program.

The North Carolina Tar Heels’ women’s basketball program received some bad news on Monday afternoon regarding one of their top players. Guard Deja Kelly has entered the transfer portal after deciding to stay in college for one more season.

Inside Carolina confirmed an earlier report on Monday that Kelly is in the transfer portal with a year of eligibility left. However, Alexa Philippou of ESPN is reporting that a return to UNC is still on the table for Kelly but she will also explore other schools in the process:

North Carolina women’s basketball star Deja Kelly has entered her name into the transfer portal, a source told ESPN Tuesday.

It is on the table for her to return to UNC, the source said, but she will also explore other schools.

Kelly has been one of UNC’s best and most consistent players in her four seasons with the program. In 2023-24, she averaged 16.3 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.2 assists.

Over her career at UNC, she’s averaged 15.4 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game.

It was a tough year for the Tar Heels this past season, going 20-13 and losing in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to eventual champion South Carolina. She did help the Tar Heels reach the Sweet 16 in 2022.

Kelly is the fifth UNC women’s basketball player to enter the transfer portal this offseason.

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