Mr.Trustworthy

The guy arrived. I sized him up distrustfully, desperately waiting for a bad move or a bad look on his face. First practice, second practice, nothing. This guy is pretty cool, I thought. Friendly, happy and considerate. I hoped he would drop his mask off and show his real attitude as soon as he gets comfortable. After two weeks, I stopped treating him with suspicion. I admitted Thomas Kelley was a good man. A very good man. He might be a little bit too good. There’s always a big smile on his face and he’s a quiet, a very likeable person. We became friends quickly and it still lasts…

Being a member of the Szolnok basketball team is intense challenge. It’s a journey filled with different impacts and feelings. It was a unique experience in TK’s career, too.  He had never seen such enthusiasm like this before, which the Olaj’s fans were giving to him at that time. He hoped he could requite their passion with his performance that the fans shown towards him. Though, his integration wasn’t smooth.

Behind his happy looks he was in a constant dilemma. „Have I made a right decision? Can I live and play in a place like this?” He was asking quetions like these to himself for weeks…

The biggest achivement he had reached was playing in the NCAA Final Four with Michigan State University. His former coach - Tom Izzo – was telling him all the time that he had to find a good part of every bad situation. And if he finds it, he should take adventage of it! This unique philosophy drove and helped him when he had difficulties at his first Hungarian team. Since then, he has recorded 3040 points and 807 assists…

No American player has ever played in Hungary, who could shoot a jumper like him. His mid-range shots are extremely effective and he takes those shots very comfortably. I think this is the main element of his success. There are only few foreign players who can use this weapon consciously. TK is a real pro, who always works on his game. He’s not an average player. He has an answer for every challenge on the court. Even though he has reached a lot in his career, he still has desire to improve day after day. I remember when he stayed in the gym after every single practice till he made 100 three pointers…

At the first time I couldn’t belive my ears when I heard him talking to his mother in the locker room! Wow, a grown man who’s jabbering with his Mom after a weight-lifting practice!? Seeing the surpise on my face, Thomas explained to me that he’s a Mama’s Boy. She’s the most important person in his life. He’s thankful for all the love, patience and care he gets from her. He can rely on her. She’s ready to help as a friend or a mentor, to give wise advice at any time. TK is a typical family guy. His Grandma and his Uncle Donte taught him to stay humble and to become a good man.

He’s a Hungarian champion (with Szolnok) and a two-time Hungarian cup winner with Szolnok and Pecs. In this season, he tried to lift up the team in Sopron.

Here are some facts about him to describe his unbelivable charisma that makes him a rare treasure in our basketball: When crazy fans of Szolnok tried to find the winner of „The Best American Player who have ever played in Oil-city” they compared the team’s current point guard –Obie Trotter- with him. Also, he was the one and only foreign player, who could stay with Sopron’s team for the playout after the disappointing regular season…

He is not the first American who formed an opinion of our league. I think we should be proud, when a quality player like Thomas says the level of our championship is tremendously underrated. This thought is very valuable and honorific from an authentic long-time pro, who had played in Turkey, Austria, Israel and the Netherlands. In his opinion, to perform well in the Hungarian league, he needs to make much more effort then he previously had had to do in the other leagues.

Humility on the court is one of the most important things for me. Especially in times like these, when it isn’t a cool form of behaving. Fortunately, TK doesn’t follow this trend. He speaks in a restrained way about himself, even when I’m asking him about his great performance in the cup series with Pecs. He’s very thankful for that experience to his former coach Ivkovic, his teammates and the fans. He’s happy to have been a part of the basketball history of Pécs.

Earlier I wrote that I had had a hunch that Thomas’s kindness was strange.
Finally, here’s a short anecdote about his good soul naivety:

Does anyone still remember Igor “Iggy” Kurashov, The Mighty Russian? Three of us used to play with each other in 2005/2006 at Szolnok. This Kurashov kid was a brutal dude! He  didn’t understand English, his fist was as big as a 14 pound rye-bread and he had Spike’s voice from the Tom & Jerry Cartoon. So, one day, Donatas (Sabaliauskas) hid Igor’s giant shoe into Thomas’s bag. TK, who had never even thought to do such a shubby thing in his life, was packing his stuff calmly. Normally, he had a bigger smile on his face when he was talking with The Russian Avalanche. All of a sudden, Iggy, realized that some bastard had stolen his boat-size shoe. He was swearing like a trooper and was giving ominous looks, searching for the delinquent. After checking every suspect of this unforgivable crime, he spotted Thomas, who was sitting in the corner, shaking like a leaf. He was holding Igor’s sneakers in his hand and he was ready to die…

I guess Shaggy hadn’t sung „Wasn’t me” in his song more than my friend was screaming it to the Grizzly while he was trying to avoid Igor’s sledgehammer hits.

Thomas „Mama’s Boy” Kelley is one of the most loveable and acknowledged foreign player, who has ever stepped on Hungarian basketball court. Even the most crooked fans respect his human and sport qualities. I hope he’s going to go for 4000 points…