Troy University Athletics
Players Mentioned
G
/ Basketball (W)
Beverly Kelley Using Basketball to Help the Troy Community
10/23/2015 1:36:00 PM | Basketball (W)
Troy guard Ashley Beverly Kelley comes from a basketball family, and she began learning the fundamentals of the game at the young age of five. Basketball has opened doors to success for Beverly Kelley, a first team All-Sun Belt star as a junior last season, and now she uses her platform to give back to the community.
If she's not honing her own skills that helped her to score 17.6 points per game, or studying for a degree in Exercise Science, Beverly Kelley can usually be found at the Troy Recreational Center tutoring kids.
"I want to give back to the community," Beverly Kelley said. "I go Monday through Sunday, and I teach them the basics of basketball. I tell them about my life story, about how I started playing, and the process that I had to go through to become good and get a basketball scholarship."
Growing up in Adamsville, Ala., just outside of Birmingham, Beverly Kelley developed a love for the game when she would visit her grandmother's house and play basketball with her cousins. She received tutelage from two noteworthy sources – her uncle Mike Anderson and cousin T.J. Cleveland. Anderson was the head coach at UAB at the time, and Cleveland was an all-atate player at Minor High School.
"I was mainly close with T.J," Beverly Kelley said. "He first taught me how to play H-O-R-S-E. I didn't even know how to play H-O-R-S-E. He helped me on my shooting and my form, and that's what I went home and practiced. We did ball-handling drills. When I starting playing organized ball I could already shoot, and I was a little bit ahead of people in my grade."
Anderson is now entering his fifth season as the men's head coach at Arkansas, and Cleveland is on staff as an assistant coach.
"I know that when I was little, besides T.J., nobody really helped me with the basics," Beverly Kelley said. "I thought that if somebody could have helped me at that age I could have been even better. So that's why I do what I do, so the kids can get better exposure."
Beverly Kelley mentors local high school student-athletes on weekends. At the Troy Rec. Center she works with people ages six to 17.
"I really don't know how I have the time," Beverly Kelley said. "But I try to make the time because I feel like it's important to try to reach out to the community. It's about life and basketball. I teach them to have a good attitude, do well in school – especially the six-year-olds, because they're in the mental state that they're going to do what they want to do. I can tell they are getting it because they actually listen instead of running all over the place. I try to make sure they pay attention to details and try to get what I'm trying to say to them.
"We have fun," Beverly Kelley added. "We'll lower the goals so they can dunk, and I'll pick them up and they'll dunk it. That's fun. I show them how to hold the ball, how to pivot, not travel or double dribble. They enjoy doing pivots. You have to think peripheral. If you pivot off your right foot you can turn forwards or you can turn backwards. It's funny looking at them try to fix their feet and try to figure out which pivot to use."
Growing up Beverly Kelley additionally played soccer, softball, track, golf and tennis, but realized in eighth grade that basketball would give her the opportunity to go to college on scholarship. She began playing AAU ball as an eighth grader, and even though she played at Minor she said she earned her college exposure playing for the Alabama Roadrunners.
"I didn't start getting offers until I was in 12th grade," she recalled. "I look on YouTube or social media, and they get exposed at a really young age and earn scholarships. I want to make sure the kids in the community are really updated on everything instead of getting it at the last minute."
Beverly Kelley has developed into one of the top scorers in the conference and in the country heading into her senior season. As a combo guard Beverly Kelley scored 46 points versus Georgia Southern on Feb. 19, 2015, tying for the most points scored in NCAA Division I in 2014-15.
"The amount of time and effort Ashley dedicates to becoming a great basketball player is remarkable," Troy head coach Chanda Rigby said. "She is the hardest working basketball player I've ever coached.
"What is even more remarkable is the amount of time and effort she dedicates to serving others," Rigby added. "I believe people would be really surprised if they knew how much she gives back to the young people in the Troy Community."
Beverly Kelley hopes to play professionally after graduating from Troy, and once her playing days are finished she would like to continue to share her knowledge and experience with kids.
"With coaching you have to yell," she joked. "I'm not the type of person that yells. Mainly I'd like to train and teach. I could do the coaching thing, but with basic training I feel like I could get more personal with them."
If she's not honing her own skills that helped her to score 17.6 points per game, or studying for a degree in Exercise Science, Beverly Kelley can usually be found at the Troy Recreational Center tutoring kids.
"I want to give back to the community," Beverly Kelley said. "I go Monday through Sunday, and I teach them the basics of basketball. I tell them about my life story, about how I started playing, and the process that I had to go through to become good and get a basketball scholarship."
Growing up in Adamsville, Ala., just outside of Birmingham, Beverly Kelley developed a love for the game when she would visit her grandmother's house and play basketball with her cousins. She received tutelage from two noteworthy sources – her uncle Mike Anderson and cousin T.J. Cleveland. Anderson was the head coach at UAB at the time, and Cleveland was an all-atate player at Minor High School.
"I was mainly close with T.J," Beverly Kelley said. "He first taught me how to play H-O-R-S-E. I didn't even know how to play H-O-R-S-E. He helped me on my shooting and my form, and that's what I went home and practiced. We did ball-handling drills. When I starting playing organized ball I could already shoot, and I was a little bit ahead of people in my grade."
Anderson is now entering his fifth season as the men's head coach at Arkansas, and Cleveland is on staff as an assistant coach.
"I know that when I was little, besides T.J., nobody really helped me with the basics," Beverly Kelley said. "I thought that if somebody could have helped me at that age I could have been even better. So that's why I do what I do, so the kids can get better exposure."
Beverly Kelley mentors local high school student-athletes on weekends. At the Troy Rec. Center she works with people ages six to 17.
"I really don't know how I have the time," Beverly Kelley said. "But I try to make the time because I feel like it's important to try to reach out to the community. It's about life and basketball. I teach them to have a good attitude, do well in school – especially the six-year-olds, because they're in the mental state that they're going to do what they want to do. I can tell they are getting it because they actually listen instead of running all over the place. I try to make sure they pay attention to details and try to get what I'm trying to say to them.
"We have fun," Beverly Kelley added. "We'll lower the goals so they can dunk, and I'll pick them up and they'll dunk it. That's fun. I show them how to hold the ball, how to pivot, not travel or double dribble. They enjoy doing pivots. You have to think peripheral. If you pivot off your right foot you can turn forwards or you can turn backwards. It's funny looking at them try to fix their feet and try to figure out which pivot to use."
Growing up Beverly Kelley additionally played soccer, softball, track, golf and tennis, but realized in eighth grade that basketball would give her the opportunity to go to college on scholarship. She began playing AAU ball as an eighth grader, and even though she played at Minor she said she earned her college exposure playing for the Alabama Roadrunners.
"I didn't start getting offers until I was in 12th grade," she recalled. "I look on YouTube or social media, and they get exposed at a really young age and earn scholarships. I want to make sure the kids in the community are really updated on everything instead of getting it at the last minute."
Beverly Kelley has developed into one of the top scorers in the conference and in the country heading into her senior season. As a combo guard Beverly Kelley scored 46 points versus Georgia Southern on Feb. 19, 2015, tying for the most points scored in NCAA Division I in 2014-15.
"The amount of time and effort Ashley dedicates to becoming a great basketball player is remarkable," Troy head coach Chanda Rigby said. "She is the hardest working basketball player I've ever coached.
"What is even more remarkable is the amount of time and effort she dedicates to serving others," Rigby added. "I believe people would be really surprised if they knew how much she gives back to the young people in the Troy Community."
Beverly Kelley hopes to play professionally after graduating from Troy, and once her playing days are finished she would like to continue to share her knowledge and experience with kids.
"With coaching you have to yell," she joked. "I'm not the type of person that yells. Mainly I'd like to train and teach. I could do the coaching thing, but with basic training I feel like I could get more personal with them."
2025-26 Women's Basketball Season Recap
Monday, April 06
Underdogs Untold: WBIT
Saturday, March 21
Chanda Rigby Postgame Press Conference (WBIT) - No. 2 Kansas
Thursday, March 19
No. 2 Troy vs. No. 4 James Madison - SBC Championship (Full Highlights)
Monday, March 09