Kelly "King" Coleman was an American professional basketball player.
16 Facts About Kelly Coleman
1.
2.
Kelly Coleman played two seasons in the American Basketball League.
3.
Guy Kelly Coleman supported the family by working in the local coal mines.
4.
Kelly Coleman had a record setting career at Wayland High School.
5.
In 1956, "King Kelly" Coleman was named Kentucky Mr Basketball.
6.
In 1956, Kelly Coleman was considered by many as the best high school basketball player in the nation, ranking with Oscar Robertson and Jerry West.
7.
Kelly Coleman was being most heavily recruited by both the University of Kentucky and West Virginia University.
8.
However, he was eventually banned from playing for West Virginia after the NCAA determined that Kelly Coleman received major gifts, including the use of a car, clothes and money.
9.
Kelly Coleman eventually played for Kentucky Wesleyan after short stints at Eastern Kentucky University and Marshall University and a steel mill job.
10.
Kelly Coleman still holds Kentucky Wesleyan records for highest scoring average for a career and most points in a season.
11.
Kelly Coleman led Kentucky Wesleyan to a third-place finish in the 1960 NCAA College Division basketball tournament.
12.
On May 23,1960, Kelly Coleman signed a contract with the New York Knicks.
13.
Kelly Coleman ended as the 10th all-time leading ABL scorer and 10th all-time leading rebounder in the ABL.
14.
Kelly Coleman became a teacher and worked for the Detroit Free Press.
15.
At a Wayland homecoming event in 2018, Kelly Coleman reflected on his career.
16.
Kelly Coleman died on June 16,2019, at the Noreen and Greg Wells Hospice Care Center in Hazard, Kentucky.