UNCW’s big man Amari Kelly talks about becoming a father
One-year-old son Amir gets credit for Kelly's "complete 180" in maturity
WILMINGTON, N.C. (WWAY) – Amari Kelly’s stock is skyrocketing. The 6’9 versatile big man has doubled his points, rebounds, assists and steals since last year while shooting 10% better from the field. Now a starter on an 18-6 Seahawk squad that’s also 8-3 in CAA play, Kelly has come a long way.
“I wasn’t super proud of last year and how I performed, so I was already motivated to make sure I had a good summer and came back a different player,” Admits Kelly of his 2021-22 campaign. “On and off the court I have been taking things more seriously.”
His head coach Takayo Siddle echoed those sentiments of Kelly’s needed ascension. He mentions off the court maturity was an issue. But not anymore.
“Coming into this season, I didn’t know if we could rely on him as much as we have been. That’s why we took a couple more guys at his position (this off season),” says Siddle. “He’s made the biggest jump on our roster. You can see a seriousness about him. You can see him becoming a leader. He’s more positive. His body language is better. He’s grown tremendously off the court and I know it’s a direct correlation to his on-court production.
Other than internal motivation of becoming a professional basketball player, Kelly got a lot of external motivation on January 15th, 2022.
“We were away for a 3-game stretch. We finished off at Northeastern in Boston. Right after that I flew from Boston to Charlotte to Atlanta, then I drove 2 hours to Alabama to see him,” says Kelly of his son, Amir.
“Once I finally got to him and hold him, the light bulb clicked.”
A 23-year-old college student already has a lot on their plate. Adding a son to that could be intimidating. Kelly admits he was afraid at first.
“I knew it was real when I was in Walmart with the baby holder and I had my son… I’m used to seeing stuff like that on TV,” chuckled Kelly. “It really hit me: ‘You’re a dad.'”
“From the time I found out it was nerve-wracking. I didn’t know what to expect. I don’t have both my parents, so bringing a child into this world with no other support it was nerve-wracking because I felt like a lot of the weight was on me. I mean, it is… but now I love it. When he gets here it’s nothing but joy. He brings happiness to my life, my families lives. It’s been fun so far, for real.”
Kelly says part of not just accepting, but embracing, the responsibility comes a lot from his head coach.
“Coach Siddle has taught me so much about how to be a man and be able to provide for my son no matter what. It’s like basketball: if I keep missing a screen, he tells me I have to do my job no matter what. I have a son I have to be able to provide for him and make sure he’s straight no matter what. I can’t make excuses.”
Coach Siddle has dropped gems of knowledge on Amari about many things. Having a male role model is a luxury Kelly doesn’t have.
