Kelvin Ransey (born May 3, 1958) is a retired American collegiate and professional
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
player of the 1970s and 1980s, respectively.
Ransey attended Toledo's
Macomber High School in the mid-1970s. He was a four-year starter at
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...
from 1976 to 1979 where he played both
point and
shooting guard.
The 6'1" (1.85 m) Ransey was the fourth overall pick in the
1980 NBA draft
The 1980 NBA draft was the 34th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on June 10, 1980, at the Sheraton Centre Hotel & Towers, before the 1980–81 season. In this draft, 23 NBA teams took turns selecti ...
, by the
Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January ...
. He was traded to the
Portland Trail Blazers
The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...
before the season began.
[Ransey finds true calling off the court]
/ref> He was runner-up by one vote for NBA Rookie of the Year
The National Basketball Association's Rookie of the Year Award is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given to the top rookie(s) of the regular season. Initiated following the 1952–53 NBA season, it confers the Eddie Gottl ...
(to Darrell Griffith
Darrell Steven Griffith (born June 16, 1958), also known by his nickname Dr. Dunkenstein, is an American former basketball player who spent his entire professional career with the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association from 1980 to 1991 ...
) in 1980–81.[ Ransey played for six years in the NBA for 3 teams, averaging 11.4 points and 5.2 assists per game. His best season, statistically, was his second, when he averaged over 16 points and 7 assists.
Ransey retired following the 1985–86 season, returning to Toledo to become a preacher. He attempted a comeback in the 1989–90 season, playing 25 games for the ]Columbus Horizon
The Columbus Horizon is a defunct basketball team from Columbus, Ohio that played for five seasons in the Continental Basketball Association from 1989 to 1994.
History
Plans to bring professional basketball to Columbus were unveiled in Septembe ...
of the Continental Basketball Association. He averaged 13.9 points per game for the Horizon. In 2000, he moved to Tupelo, Mississippi.[ Twice married, he has six children.][
Ransey's younger brother, Clinton Ransey, played college basketball at Cleveland State from 1983 to 1987.]
Notes
External links
Kelvin Ransey NBA statistics
''basketballreference.com''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ransey, Kevin
1958 births
Living people
African-American basketball players
All-American college men's basketball players
American men's basketball players
Basketball players from Ohio
Chicago Bulls draft picks
Columbus Horizon players
Dallas Mavericks players
New Jersey Nets players
Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball players
Point guards
Portland Trail Blazers players
Shooting guards
Sportspeople from Toledo, Ohio
Sportspeople from Tupelo, Mississippi
21st-century African-American people
20th-century African-American sportspeople