The Turning Point

For all intents and purposes Trey Kell’s season was over before it even got started. “I had a lot of adversity going to Europe. I wanted it to work out better than it did,” admitted Kell.

The gifted scorer and floor general felt it was best to leave the situation in Europe. Kell returned home to San Diego to re-evaluate his options in professional basketball. (Photo Credit Telegraph Journal)

“I really didn’t have a plan. I was at home waiting for a month or two.” 

One could only imagine what was going through Trey Kell’s mind at that point. 

One phone call changed everything, which ultimately became a turning point in the young guards career. 

“I’m really grateful for Coach.”

“Joe took a chance on me when no one else would.” 

“I’m glad it turned out the way it did and I couldn’t be happier for the ways things worked out.” 

From San Diego to Moncton, Trey Kell was anixous to take full advantage of his second chance to showcase his talent and play the game he loved.  “Before I arrived in Moncton Coach told my agent, they had been looking because they had lost talented guys that they had relied on.”

“They also said they were looking for someone to come in and play pretty good minutes.” 

Kell was cautiously optimistic.  “You really never know what that means coming into a situation. I wanted to blend in and earn the trust from Joe first and then my teammates.”

“When Trey came in I wasn’t completely sure in what we were getting,” confessed Magic Head Coach Joe Salerno. 

“Obviously I had done my homework and research, but I hadn’t seen him play live,” explained Salerno.

Kell had the daunting task to build the trust of his coach while building chemistry with his new teammates. Learn a new offence, run the offence, score and live up to high expectations.  Kell's transition to the Magic was seamless.

“It’s not easy for someone his age coming into a pro team in his rookie year and to be put in that position at the point,” said Magic Asst. Coach Todd McKillop. (Photo Credit Times Transcript)

“Right away it was obvious the type of leadership Trey had by the way he played. The guys recognized his talent and skill level almost immediately,” McKillop added. 

Nevertheless, Trey Kell needed a trusted ally; he found one in Joe Salerno. “Joe’s a player’s coach, and he put all the trust in the world in me.” 

Kell remembers one defining moment early in his Magic career. “You have certain coaches where you come down and you look over and they call a set. It was one of my first games and I’m coming down the floor and look over a few times and asked Joe, ‘ok, what are we running?’

“Joe just said ‘don’t look at me; run the show.’

“That shows a lot about what Joe’s all about,” Kell said. 

“He puts a lot of trust in his players and he gave me the confidence that I was lacking when I first got here.”

“Coming from a tough situation, my confidence wasn’t where I wanted it to be. Coach instilled that back in to me in the way he allowed me to play and couldn’t anymore thankful to him,” confessed Kell.

Salerno relied heavily on his instincts; the Magic staff and pre-scouting team when first identifying what Kell could bring to the team. 

“The thing you can’t tell from a player until you actually see them live is that “clutch gene” which Trey has.”

“It’s a special gene, that not every player possesses. Players like that want the big shot, they accept the big shot, the big moment and make the big shot.” 

“That’s something you just can’t teach, you either have it or you don’t.” 

“Trey Kell has that in him,” stressed Salerno. 

Salerno and the Magic thought they had the point guard situation solidified numerous times throughout the season. “It was extremely difficult and it’s certainly not ideal,” Salerno said of the turn style that was the Magic point guard position. 

“It’s so ironic we lost Jahii Carson, Doug Herron and Duke Monday, but we ended up with Trey Kell and ultimately that was the player we wanted from the start,” Salerno said proudly.

In 27 games this with the Magic, Kell averaged 21.6 pts. shot 51.5% from the field and 36.1% from behind the arc. Kell also chipped in with 7.7 Rebounds and 4.6 Assists per game. (Photo Credit Times Transcript)

“When the ball was in Trey’s hands good things were happening,” McKillop said reflecting on the young guard’s outstanding rookie season. 

So what sets Trey Kell apart of from other players in the NBL and what does the future hold for the highly skilled multifaceted point guard. “Trey’s basketball IQ is off the charts,” confessed McKillop. “I’ve never coached a kid at his age that does the things he does and has that kind of understanding for the game.” 

“I was talking to Corey (Almond) on the bus going to the airport the other night and he said coach ‘Trey has all three levels covered.’

‘He’s long range, he’s middy, and he can take guys to the hole, you can’t stops guys like that.’

Trey Kell was named the NBL Playoff MVP last week after the Magic swept the St. John’s Edge to capture the franchises first NBL Championship. “It means a whole lot,” Kell said of coming to Moncton and having so much individual and team success.

So the question remains what’s next for Trey Kell and what opportunities are going to come his way this summer after having such an impactful rookie season in the NBL? 

“It would mean the absolute world,” Kell said of getting the opportunity and chance to play in the NBA.

“It was always a goal of mine since I was young to play at the highest level.” 

“I feel like I’m taking the right steps, but at the same time I have to keep working and improving and hopefully things will work out in my favor.”