Kelsey Russell Weems (September 16, 1967 – August 20, 2019) was an American professional basketball player. A

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the five Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position. Point guards are expected to run t ...

from the state of Georgia, Weems played college basketball at NC State and stayed four years despite limited playing time. He went undrafted in the

1989 NBA draft The 1989 NBA draft took place on June 27, 1989, in New York City. Despite eight of the top ten picks being considered busts, including the first two picks Pervis Ellison and Danny Ferry, the draft produced many talented players such as Shawn K ...

, and played several seasons in the CBA, earning two selections in the

United States national team The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions. Olympic teams Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...

: he won the gold medal during the

1993 Tournament of the Americas The 1993 Tournament of the Americas, later known as the FIBA Americas Championship and the FIBA AmeriCup, was a basketball championship hosted by Puerto Rico from August 28 to September 5, 1993. The games were played in San Juan. This FIBA Amer ...

and the silver medal at the

1995 Pan American Games File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake strike ...

High school career

A native of Atlanta, Weems played basketball at Walker High School (now McNair High School) as a

, and was part of the team since his sophomore year. As a junior he averaged 13.5 points and 10 assists per game shooting 54% from the field, and in his senior year he greatly improved his scoring, reaching an average of 27.8 points per game until the month of January, and ended the season with a 27.0 average. He recorded a near- triple double in the title game for the 4-AAA state tournament against Upson with 32 points, 9 rebounds and 10 assists; his team lost 90–63. During his senior year he was considered one of the best prospects in the state of Georgia at the point guard position, and was nationally ranked among the best senior guards.

College career

Weems was heavily recruited in high school and received offers from Alabama,

Auburn Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Aub ...

, Clemson, Georgia, Kentucky and NC State. After restricting his choice between Auburn and NC State, he ultimately signed with the latter on April 10, 1985. Coach Jim Valvano included Weems in the rotation, giving him limited playing time behind Nate McMillan, but putting him in the starting five on 4 occasions. In his freshman year Weems averaged 3.5 points, 0.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 9.2 minutes per game. After McMillan graduated, the point guard spot was taken by Vinny Del Negro, and Weems again came off the bench, playing 35 games (with 1 start) and posting averages of 3.9 points, 0.9 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 11.4 minutes per game. Weems' junior season saw him lose playing time also due to the arrival of another point guard,

Chris Corchiani Christopher Corchiani Sr. (born March 28, 1968) is an American-Italian former professional basketball player. At a height of 1.85 m (6'1") tall, and a weight of 88 kg (195 lbs.), he played at the point guard position. High school Born ...

. Weems played 31 games but averaged career-lows in the major statistical categories, posting 1.9 points, 0.4 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 7 minutes per game. For his senior season Weems received more playing time, and in 26 appearances (1 start) he averaged 7.5 points, 1.2 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 0.7 steals, all career-highs. In 1990 he was involved in a point shaving investigation: Weems contacted ABC News, which broadcast a report on the scandal. The scandal was one of the reasons for Valvano's resignation.

College statistics

, - , align="left" , 1985–86 , align="left" , NC State , 24 , , 4 , , 9.2 , , .578 , , – , , .524 , , 0.9 , , 1.8 , , 0.5 , , 0.0 , , 3.5 , - , align="left" , 1986–87 , align="left" , NC State , 35 , , 1 , , 11.4 , , .591 , , .500 , , .589 , , 0.9 , , 1.6 , , 0.4 , , 0.1 , , 3.9 , - , align="left" , 1987–88 , align="left" , NC State , 31 , , 0 , , 7.0 , , .511 , , .000 , , .542 , , 0.4 , , 1.5 , , 0.5 , , 0.0 , , 1.9 , - , align="left" , 1988–89 , align="left" , NC State , 26 , , 1 , , 16.5 , , .542 , , .455 , , .600 , , 1.2 , , 2.3 , , 0.7 , , 0.2 , , 7.5 , - , align="left" , Career , align="left" , , 116 , , 6 , , 10.9 , , .558 , , .429 , , .578 , , 0.8 , , 1.8 , , 0.5 , , 0.1 , , 4.1 , -

Professional career

After the end of his senior season, Weems was automatically eligible for the

1989 NBA Draft The 1989 NBA draft took place on June 27, 1989, in New York City. Despite eight of the top ten picks being considered busts, including the first two picks Pervis Ellison and Danny Ferry, the draft produced many talented players such as Shawn K ...

, but he was not drafted by an NBA franchise. He was drafted by the Rockford Lightning in the 5th round of the 1989 CBA draft (77th overall). Weems participated in camps with the Washington Bullets and the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

, but was not included in the final rosters. He then signed with the Quad City Thunder and played in the 1989–90 CBA season, averaging 9.5 points, 4 assists and 1 steal in 32 games (21.9 minutes per game). In 1990 Weems joined the Oklahoma City Cavalry, an expansion franchise in the CBA, and played 52 games in the season, averaging 18.3 points and 7 assists per game. In 1991 he played with the Calgary 88s of the World Basketball League, and won the Sixth Man Award. In the following season he posted averages of 13.4 points and 5.8 assists, and reached the playoffs, during which he averaged 18.6 points and 3 assists in 5 games. In the summer of 1992 Weems played for the Seattle SuperSonics in summer preseason games, but was not confirmed in the final roster. He also was part of the preseason Chicago Bulls roster, and was released on October 14, 1992. He then came back to the Cavalry, leading the team in scoring in 1992–93 with an average of 17.3 points, and averaged 8.5 assists, a career-high in the CBA. In the summer of 1993 he participated in a camp with the

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division, and pla ...

. He started the 1993–94 season with the Cavalry, playing 21 games, and then signed with the

Hartford Hellcats The Connecticut Pride (From 1993-94 the Hartford Hellcats) were an American professional basketball team based in Hartford, Connecticut that was a member of the Continental Basketball Association. They played in Hartford from 1993 to 2000, pri ...

, where he ended the season averaging 14.4 points and 6.6 assists per game. Weems played the first part of the 1994–95 season with the Hellcats, starting all 14 games he played with averages of 15.3 points and 7.1 assists before being traded to the Rockford Lightning for Charles Smith in December 1994. He finished the season with Rockford starting 21 of 31 games. He also played 7 games in the playoffs, averaging 11.3 points and 6.1 assists per game. He played the 1995–96 season with the

Yakima SunKings The Yakima SunKings are a basketball team located in Yakima, Washington, covering the central Washington sports market of Yakima, Tri-Cities, and Ellensburg and plays at the Yakima SunDome. The team competed in the Continental Basketball Associa ...

and the 1996–97 season with the Omaha Racers. In 1998 he played for Trotamundos de Carabobo in Venezuela before moving to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, signing with the

Sydney Kings The Sydney Kings are an Australian men's professional basketball team competing in the National Basketball League (NBL). The team is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The Kings were formed from a merger between the West Sydney Westars and the ...

of the National Basketball League where he averaged 20 points and 5.1 assists in 1998, and 15.2 points and 3.8 assists in 1998–99. Weems ranks 19th all-time in the CBA for points scored with 5,457.

National team career

Weems was selected in the

for the

, in a team formed by CBA players: during the tournament he played 7 games, averaging 9.4 points, 1.9 rebounds and was the assists leader with 4.4. Two years later he was called up again by Team USA for the

where he played 6 games averaging 4.5 points, 1.5 rebounds and 2 assists. He earned a total of 13 appearances with the US national team.

References

External links

College stats at Sports-Reference.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weems, Kelsey 1967 births 2019 deaths African-American basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Australia American expatriate basketball people in Canada American expatriate basketball people in Venezuela American men's basketball players Basketball players at the 1995 Pan American Games Basketball players from Atlanta Hartford Hellcats players NC State Wolfpack men's basketball players Oklahoma City Cavalry players Omaha Racers players Pan American Games medalists in basketball Point guards Quad City Thunder players Rockford Lightning players Sydney Kings players Trotamundos B.B.C. players United States men's national basketball team players Yakima Sun Kings players Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States Medalists at the 1995 Pan American Games