Symone Kelly and Kenny Parham teamed together to earn consecutive Nassau-Suffolk CHSAA titles during her final two seasons at St. Anthony’s High School in South Huntington.
The duo now will be reunited on the NYIT women’s basketball staff.
Kelly, who had a solid collegiate playing career at Division I Siena before completing her eligibility as a graduate student at Molloy, has been added to Parham’s staff with the Bears.
She joins fellow assistant coaches Rob Isme, Kristen Korzevinski and Bryant Lassiter.
Kelly was named an all-state selection while a senior at St. Anthony’s — which then was coached by Parham, who now enters his third season as NYIT’s head coach. Kelly led the Friars to as high as a No. 22 national ranking in the USA TODAY poll that final prep year before graduating and moving on to Division I Siena.
Several Parham-coached players during that period at St. Anthony’s went on to play at every level of the NCAA, including Bucknell, Seton Hall, Sacred Heart, Towson, Brown, Delaware, Howard, Mount St. Mary’s, Rhode Island and Central Connecticut State.
A 6-foot forward and Wyandanch native, Kelly played four seasons with Siena. She averaged 7.1 points, 6.4 rebounds and 24.6 minutes per game as a senior in 2015-16 while appearing in 29 contests and starting 14.
After earning an undergraduate degree from Siena and with an extra season of eligibility remaining because of an injury that cut short her sophomore year, Kelly joined Molloy in the East Coast Conference. With the Lions, she averaged 12.2 points and 7.5 rebounds per game and led Molloy with 23 blocks and a .502 field goal percentage in 2016-17 while pursuing an MBA.
“Symone was one of the toughest competitors I coached,” Parham said. “She has a high basketball IQ, and was always a great teammate and a great leader.”
Tagged with: Assistant DII
