“King” Kelly Coleman
Kentucky high school and college basketball legend as well as a Professional Basketball player.
The all-time leading boys scorer in Kentucky High School basketball history, Kelly Coleman scored 4,337 career points, breaking Wilt Chamberlain’s national record for most points scored in a high school career. During the recruiting process University of Kentucky head coach Adolph Rupp publicly called him, “the greatest high school basketball player who ever lived...A combination of Cliff Hagan, Frank Ramsey, and all of the other great stars who have played at Kentucky.” At the end of his high school career he was named the first ever Kentucky Mr. Basketball in a state-wide vote by coaches. He signed to play college basketball with West Virginia University but was denied admission to the school by the NCAA who charged the Mountaineers with recruiting violations. Coleman went on to have a standout college basketball career at Kentucky Wesleyan College where in just three seasons he was a two-time NCAA Small College All-American (1959 and 1960), scored 2,077 career points and grabbed 904 career rebounds in just 75 career games! He was selected with the 11th overall selection in the 2nd Round of the 1960 NBA Draft by the New York Knicks. Cut on the first day of the NBA season, Coleman went on to play professionally one season (1960-1961) with the Baltimore Bullets of the Eastern Professional Basketball League (EPBL), where he helped them win a championship. He then played for two years (1961-1963) with the Chicago Majors of the American Basketball League (ABL). When the league folded after just two seasons, Coleman ranked 10th in league history in scoring and rebounding.
Kelly Coleman became nationally known as a junior in high school (1954-1955) when he averaged 33 points-per-game, scoring 1,174 points that season, which was a new Kentucky state record. As a senior (1955-1956), he averaged an amazing 46.8 points-per-game, recording amazing single game records along the way. On January 17, 1956, Kelly Coleman set Kentucky High School records as he recorded 75 points and 41 rebounds in a single game against rival Maytown! His senior year, he led tiny Wayland High School (from Floyd County, Kentucky) to the Kentucky High School Athletic Association State Tournament in Lexington, popularly known as the “Sweet 16.” Before the tournament ever started an attorney from Prestonsburg, Kentucky made thousands of fliers announcing the arrival in the Bluegrass of “Wayland’s King Kelly Coleman” and a recap of his amazing high school career. He rented an airplane and had it flown over Lexington, dropping these papers over the town. In Wayland’s first round game against Shelbyville, “King” Kelly as he was known across the state, did not disappoint the spectators. He scored a State Tournament record 50 points, leading his team to an 87-76 victory. In the quarterfinal round, Wayland faced Earlington, and Kelly Coleman again put on a dazzling show, scoring 39, and again leading little Wayland to victory. In the “Final Four” match-up, Wayland faced the small-school of Carr Creek, from Knott County, Kentucky, just a mere fifteen miles from Wayland. Carr Creek had been beaten by Wayland earlier in the season by two points. Despite 28 points and a tournament record 28 rebounds (which still stands) from “King” Kelly Coleman, Carr Creek defeated Wayland 68 to 67 on a last second shot. Wayland’s last game at the tournament would be in the consolation game against Bell County and Kelly Coleman would be making his final high school basketball appearance and he promised it would be a memorable one. Speaking to sports-writer Billy Thompson before his final game “King” Kelly said, “You’re the only writer who stood by me. You tell em’ Billy, tell em’ I’m going to give em’ the greatest basketball game they’ve ever seen.” “King” Kelly lived up to his words and then some. He proceeded to score a still-standing Kentucky State Tournament record 68 points (27/52 FGs and 14/18 FTs) as Wayland demolished Bell County in a 122-89 win.
“King” Kelly Coleman went on to have an outstanding collegiate and professional basketball career. A nationally-known legend he has been honored various ways and inducted into numerous Hall of Fames, and has had his basketball jersey number retired by Wayland High School and Kentucky Wesleyan College. He has also been honored by the naming of a portion of highway leading into and out of Wayland, Kentucky as the “King” Kelly Coleman Highway. In 2005, his life and basketball career were detailed in a book by author Gary West titled “King Kelly Coleman: Kentucky's Greatest Basketball Legend.”
From the Lexington Herald-Leader, June 17, 2019
“King” Kelly Coleman, Kentucky’s first Mr. Basketball and the all-time leading scorer in state high school boys’ basketball history, died Sunday at Noreen and Greg Wells Hospice Care Center in Hazard. He was 80.
Coleman was a star for Wayland High School, a small school in Floyd County that was a member of the 15th Region before consolidating into Allen Central in 1972 (Allen Central consolidated into Floyd Central in 2017). As a senior he set multiple state records that still stand and led the Wasps to their deepest run ever in the Kentucky High School Athletic Association’s annual Sweet Sixteen.
“The expression larger than life is probably used too often, but he really was such a giant of a man, personality-wise,” KHSAA Commissioner Julian Tackett said. “When I first met him he was still very strong, and he dominated a room when he came in. ... To be from coal country, an area that has lived through so many economic challenges, and to have been a hero there, it’s no wonder that they just adored him.”
None of his records looms larger than the 4,337 points he scored from 1953-1956, well before the three-point line existed. He remains the only boy in Kentucky history to ever reach 4,000 career points.
Coleman’s name sits on top of the following all-time records: most points in a single season (1,734 in 1956), field goals made in a game (31 vs. Maytown in 1956) and field goals attempted (52 vs. Bell County in 1956). He was one of only 10 players in boys’ history to score 75 or more points in a game; he did that against Maytown, while also grabbing 41 rebounds (second-most in a game, ever).
“He definitely deserved the nickname, ‘King.’ I mean, 75 points and 41 rebounds in one game? Even today you’re just like, ‘That can’t be possible,’” said J.R. VanHoose, a former star at Paintsville High School and Kentucky’s Mr. Basketball in 1998. “But it seemed like he did the impossible almost all the time. There was so much pressure for him to perform, and he did it. I just cannot imagine.”
Coleman’s 185 points are the most by any player in a single Sweet Sixteen, and his 68 points against Bell County in that tournament’s third-place game are the most ever in a state-tournament game (he also holds the single-game state-tournament record for rebounds — 28 — set in a loss to Carr Creek). He scored the 68 two days after setting the previous record, 50, and was among the reasons the 1956 tournament is remembered as one of the best ever played.
“He understood his role and how important he was, not only to the state, but certainly to his beloved mountains of eastern Kentucky,” Tackett said. “He knew the value he held. ... He had a skill set that a lot of people didn’t necessarily associate with that region of the state, and so he just became heroic.”
Gordon Moore of the Louisville Courier-Journal wrote in 1956 that “Kelly Coleman is the biggest discovery in the mountains of Kentucky since coal was found 50 years ago.” Prior to the 1956 Sweet Sixteen, thousands of fliers were handed out proclaiming that “King Kelly” was coming to Lexington. Some of them were dropped out of an airplane.
“Some have said that Coleman is overplayed in the local papers. ‘You give one man too much publicity,’ some folks said,” Billy Thompson wrote in the the Lexington Herald in 1956. “It is true that no high school player has received as much publicity as King Kelly, but after he receives all the build-up and then comes through with a 50-point production, do you believe he has been overplayed?”
Coleman committed to West Virginia University out of high school despite a scholarship offer from the University of Kentucky and Adolph Rupp, who once described Coleman as a “combination of Cliff Hagan, Frank Ramsey and Alex Groza.” He referenced a conversation with another former eastern Kentucky basketball standout when speaking to the Herald-Leader’s Billy Reed in 1991.
“I talked to Lincoln Collinsworth,” Coleman said, “and I think about two days is as long as Rupp and I would have lasted.”
Coleman was not admitted into WVU due to academic issues and impermissible benefits, and eventually starred for Kentucky Wesleyan College in Owensboro. He was a two-time All-American with the Panthers, in 1959 and 1960, before being selected by the New York Knicks with the 11th overall pick in the second round of the 1960 NBA Draft.
A preseason disagreement with Knicks Coach Carl Brown led to his dismissal from the team before the 1960-61 season. Coleman proceeded to play for the Chicago Majors in the American Basketball League, and was the league’s third-leading scorer before it folded in 1963, but he never got another opportunity in the NBA.
“I think that was one of the things that bothered him greatly, that he never got that other opportunity to play in the NBA,” VanHoose said. “ … I hate to speculate, but I can’t imagine if he was able to do some of the things that he did in high school and college in the NBA, what kind of legend status people would think of him today. It would be beyond belief, I think.”
Coleman during the last decade moved back to Wayland, his home town, after a successful post-basketball career in Michigan. He was an entrepreneur — he owned service stations, a wrecker service and a hotel — who made a good living in the stock market. He for a time worked as the circulation manager for the Detroit Free Press. Coleman even taught school for a spell, but never had a desire to coach the sport he loved.
“I think people have this misconception of him that he was just a basketball player and athlete and not very smart, but Kelly Coleman, from just sitting around talking about some of the business things he got into, he was definitely a very smart man,” VanHoose said. “He was able to make some money with his mind.”
VanHoose and his wife, Kayla, befriended Coleman in recent years. J.R. described him as a “best friend” to each of them, and said he’ll most miss their conversations — not only about basketball, but history, golf and life in general.
“If I could go back and tell my 18-year-old self, I never would have thought that I’d be able to approach him, just out of sheer nervousness,” J.R. said. “I mean, what do you say? How do you strike up a conversation with someone that’s a larger-than-life figure? Not only in Kentucky, but I’m telling you man, about almost everywhere you go in the United States, when people start talking about Kentucky high school basketball, people might not know the person but they know the name. They know King Kelly Coleman. To me, that is bona fide legend status right there.”
Bell County Coach Willie Hendrickson, following his team’s loss to Wayland and Coleman in the 1956 tournament, shared a sentiment still expressed by many more than a half-century later. Said Hendrickson:
“Kelly, you are truly the greatest basketball player Kentucky has ever had.”
Kentucky high school and college basketball legend as well as a Professional Basketball player.
The all-time leading boys scorer in Kentucky High School basketball history, Kelly Coleman scored 4,337 career points, breaking Wilt Chamberlain’s national record for most points scored in a high school career. During the recruiting process University of Kentucky head coach Adolph Rupp publicly called him, “the greatest high school basketball player who ever lived...A combination of Cliff Hagan, Frank Ramsey, and all of the other great stars who have played at Kentucky.” At the end of his high school career he was named the first ever Kentucky Mr. Basketball in a state-wide vote by coaches. He signed to play college basketball with West Virginia University but was denied admission to the school by the NCAA who charged the Mountaineers with recruiting violations. Coleman went on to have a standout college basketball career at Kentucky Wesleyan College where in just three seasons he was a two-time NCAA Small College All-American (1959 and 1960), scored 2,077 career points and grabbed 904 career rebounds in just 75 career games! He was selected with the 11th overall selection in the 2nd Round of the 1960 NBA Draft by the New York Knicks. Cut on the first day of the NBA season, Coleman went on to play professionally one season (1960-1961) with the Baltimore Bullets of the Eastern Professional Basketball League (EPBL), where he helped them win a championship. He then played for two years (1961-1963) with the Chicago Majors of the American Basketball League (ABL). When the league folded after just two seasons, Coleman ranked 10th in league history in scoring and rebounding.
Kelly Coleman became nationally known as a junior in high school (1954-1955) when he averaged 33 points-per-game, scoring 1,174 points that season, which was a new Kentucky state record. As a senior (1955-1956), he averaged an amazing 46.8 points-per-game, recording amazing single game records along the way. On January 17, 1956, Kelly Coleman set Kentucky High School records as he recorded 75 points and 41 rebounds in a single game against rival Maytown! His senior year, he led tiny Wayland High School (from Floyd County, Kentucky) to the Kentucky High School Athletic Association State Tournament in Lexington, popularly known as the “Sweet 16.” Before the tournament ever started an attorney from Prestonsburg, Kentucky made thousands of fliers announcing the arrival in the Bluegrass of “Wayland’s King Kelly Coleman” and a recap of his amazing high school career. He rented an airplane and had it flown over Lexington, dropping these papers over the town. In Wayland’s first round game against Shelbyville, “King” Kelly as he was known across the state, did not disappoint the spectators. He scored a State Tournament record 50 points, leading his team to an 87-76 victory. In the quarterfinal round, Wayland faced Earlington, and Kelly Coleman again put on a dazzling show, scoring 39, and again leading little Wayland to victory. In the “Final Four” match-up, Wayland faced the small-school of Carr Creek, from Knott County, Kentucky, just a mere fifteen miles from Wayland. Carr Creek had been beaten by Wayland earlier in the season by two points. Despite 28 points and a tournament record 28 rebounds (which still stands) from “King” Kelly Coleman, Carr Creek defeated Wayland 68 to 67 on a last second shot. Wayland’s last game at the tournament would be in the consolation game against Bell County and Kelly Coleman would be making his final high school basketball appearance and he promised it would be a memorable one. Speaking to sports-writer Billy Thompson before his final game “King” Kelly said, “You’re the only writer who stood by me. You tell em’ Billy, tell em’ I’m going to give em’ the greatest basketball game they’ve ever seen.” “King” Kelly lived up to his words and then some. He proceeded to score a still-standing Kentucky State Tournament record 68 points (27/52 FGs and 14/18 FTs) as Wayland demolished Bell County in a 122-89 win.
“King” Kelly Coleman went on to have an outstanding collegiate and professional basketball career. A nationally-known legend he has been honored various ways and inducted into numerous Hall of Fames, and has had his basketball jersey number retired by Wayland High School and Kentucky Wesleyan College. He has also been honored by the naming of a portion of highway leading into and out of Wayland, Kentucky as the “King” Kelly Coleman Highway. In 2005, his life and basketball career were detailed in a book by author Gary West titled “King Kelly Coleman: Kentucky's Greatest Basketball Legend.”
From the Lexington Herald-Leader, June 17, 2019
“King” Kelly Coleman, Kentucky’s first Mr. Basketball and the all-time leading scorer in state high school boys’ basketball history, died Sunday at Noreen and Greg Wells Hospice Care Center in Hazard. He was 80.
Coleman was a star for Wayland High School, a small school in Floyd County that was a member of the 15th Region before consolidating into Allen Central in 1972 (Allen Central consolidated into Floyd Central in 2017). As a senior he set multiple state records that still stand and led the Wasps to their deepest run ever in the Kentucky High School Athletic Association’s annual Sweet Sixteen.
“The expression larger than life is probably used too often, but he really was such a giant of a man, personality-wise,” KHSAA Commissioner Julian Tackett said. “When I first met him he was still very strong, and he dominated a room when he came in. ... To be from coal country, an area that has lived through so many economic challenges, and to have been a hero there, it’s no wonder that they just adored him.”
None of his records looms larger than the 4,337 points he scored from 1953-1956, well before the three-point line existed. He remains the only boy in Kentucky history to ever reach 4,000 career points.
Coleman’s name sits on top of the following all-time records: most points in a single season (1,734 in 1956), field goals made in a game (31 vs. Maytown in 1956) and field goals attempted (52 vs. Bell County in 1956). He was one of only 10 players in boys’ history to score 75 or more points in a game; he did that against Maytown, while also grabbing 41 rebounds (second-most in a game, ever).
“He definitely deserved the nickname, ‘King.’ I mean, 75 points and 41 rebounds in one game? Even today you’re just like, ‘That can’t be possible,’” said J.R. VanHoose, a former star at Paintsville High School and Kentucky’s Mr. Basketball in 1998. “But it seemed like he did the impossible almost all the time. There was so much pressure for him to perform, and he did it. I just cannot imagine.”
Coleman’s 185 points are the most by any player in a single Sweet Sixteen, and his 68 points against Bell County in that tournament’s third-place game are the most ever in a state-tournament game (he also holds the single-game state-tournament record for rebounds — 28 — set in a loss to Carr Creek). He scored the 68 two days after setting the previous record, 50, and was among the reasons the 1956 tournament is remembered as one of the best ever played.
“He understood his role and how important he was, not only to the state, but certainly to his beloved mountains of eastern Kentucky,” Tackett said. “He knew the value he held. ... He had a skill set that a lot of people didn’t necessarily associate with that region of the state, and so he just became heroic.”
Gordon Moore of the Louisville Courier-Journal wrote in 1956 that “Kelly Coleman is the biggest discovery in the mountains of Kentucky since coal was found 50 years ago.” Prior to the 1956 Sweet Sixteen, thousands of fliers were handed out proclaiming that “King Kelly” was coming to Lexington. Some of them were dropped out of an airplane.
“Some have said that Coleman is overplayed in the local papers. ‘You give one man too much publicity,’ some folks said,” Billy Thompson wrote in the the Lexington Herald in 1956. “It is true that no high school player has received as much publicity as King Kelly, but after he receives all the build-up and then comes through with a 50-point production, do you believe he has been overplayed?”
Coleman committed to West Virginia University out of high school despite a scholarship offer from the University of Kentucky and Adolph Rupp, who once described Coleman as a “combination of Cliff Hagan, Frank Ramsey and Alex Groza.” He referenced a conversation with another former eastern Kentucky basketball standout when speaking to the Herald-Leader’s Billy Reed in 1991.
“I talked to Lincoln Collinsworth,” Coleman said, “and I think about two days is as long as Rupp and I would have lasted.”
Coleman was not admitted into WVU due to academic issues and impermissible benefits, and eventually starred for Kentucky Wesleyan College in Owensboro. He was a two-time All-American with the Panthers, in 1959 and 1960, before being selected by the New York Knicks with the 11th overall pick in the second round of the 1960 NBA Draft.
A preseason disagreement with Knicks Coach Carl Brown led to his dismissal from the team before the 1960-61 season. Coleman proceeded to play for the Chicago Majors in the American Basketball League, and was the league’s third-leading scorer before it folded in 1963, but he never got another opportunity in the NBA.
“I think that was one of the things that bothered him greatly, that he never got that other opportunity to play in the NBA,” VanHoose said. “ … I hate to speculate, but I can’t imagine if he was able to do some of the things that he did in high school and college in the NBA, what kind of legend status people would think of him today. It would be beyond belief, I think.”
Coleman during the last decade moved back to Wayland, his home town, after a successful post-basketball career in Michigan. He was an entrepreneur — he owned service stations, a wrecker service and a hotel — who made a good living in the stock market. He for a time worked as the circulation manager for the Detroit Free Press. Coleman even taught school for a spell, but never had a desire to coach the sport he loved.
“I think people have this misconception of him that he was just a basketball player and athlete and not very smart, but Kelly Coleman, from just sitting around talking about some of the business things he got into, he was definitely a very smart man,” VanHoose said. “He was able to make some money with his mind.”
VanHoose and his wife, Kayla, befriended Coleman in recent years. J.R. described him as a “best friend” to each of them, and said he’ll most miss their conversations — not only about basketball, but history, golf and life in general.
“If I could go back and tell my 18-year-old self, I never would have thought that I’d be able to approach him, just out of sheer nervousness,” J.R. said. “I mean, what do you say? How do you strike up a conversation with someone that’s a larger-than-life figure? Not only in Kentucky, but I’m telling you man, about almost everywhere you go in the United States, when people start talking about Kentucky high school basketball, people might not know the person but they know the name. They know King Kelly Coleman. To me, that is bona fide legend status right there.”
Bell County Coach Willie Hendrickson, following his team’s loss to Wayland and Coleman in the 1956 tournament, shared a sentiment still expressed by many more than a half-century later. Said Hendrickson:
“Kelly, you are truly the greatest basketball player Kentucky has ever had.”
“King” Kelly Coleman
Kentucky high school and college basketball legend as well as a Professional Basketball player.
The all-time leading boys scorer in Kentucky High School basketball history, Kelly Coleman scored 4,337 career points, breaking Wilt Chamberlain’s national record for most points scored in a high school career. During the recruiting process University of Kentucky head coach Adolph Rupp publicly called him, “the greatest high school basketball player who ever lived...A combination of Cliff Hagan, Frank Ramsey, and all of the other great stars who have played at Kentucky.” At the end of his high school career he was named the first ever Kentucky Mr. Basketball in a state-wide vote by coaches. He signed to play college basketball with West Virginia University but was denied admission to the school by the NCAA who charged the Mountaineers with recruiting violations. Coleman went on to have a standout college basketball career at Kentucky Wesleyan College where in just three seasons he was a two-time NCAA Small College All-American (1959 and 1960), scored 2,077 career points and grabbed 904 career rebounds in just 75 career games! He was selected with the 11th overall selection in the 2nd Round of the 1960 NBA Draft by the New York Knicks. Cut on the first day of the NBA season, Coleman went on to play professionally one season (1960-1961) with the Baltimore Bullets of the Eastern Professional Basketball League (EPBL), where he helped them win a championship. He then played for two years (1961-1963) with the Chicago Majors of the American Basketball League (ABL). When the league folded after just two seasons, Coleman ranked 10th in league history in scoring and rebounding.
Kelly Coleman became nationally known as a junior in high school (1954-1955) when he averaged 33 points-per-game, scoring 1,174 points that season, which was a new Kentucky state record. As a senior (1955-1956), he averaged an amazing 46.8 points-per-game, recording amazing single game records along the way. On January 17, 1956, Kelly Coleman set Kentucky High School records as he recorded 75 points and 41 rebounds in a single game against rival Maytown! His senior year, he led tiny Wayland High School (from Floyd County, Kentucky) to the Kentucky High School Athletic Association State Tournament in Lexington, popularly known as the “Sweet 16.” Before the tournament ever started an attorney from Prestonsburg, Kentucky made thousands of fliers announcing the arrival in the Bluegrass of “Wayland’s King Kelly Coleman” and a recap of his amazing high school career. He rented an airplane and had it flown over Lexington, dropping these papers over the town. In Wayland’s first round game against Shelbyville, “King” Kelly as he was known across the state, did not disappoint the spectators. He scored a State Tournament record 50 points, leading his team to an 87-76 victory. In the quarterfinal round, Wayland faced Earlington, and Kelly Coleman again put on a dazzling show, scoring 39, and again leading little Wayland to victory. In the “Final Four” match-up, Wayland faced the small-school of Carr Creek, from Knott County, Kentucky, just a mere fifteen miles from Wayland. Carr Creek had been beaten by Wayland earlier in the season by two points. Despite 28 points and a tournament record 28 rebounds (which still stands) from “King” Kelly Coleman, Carr Creek defeated Wayland 68 to 67 on a last second shot. Wayland’s last game at the tournament would be in the consolation game against Bell County and Kelly Coleman would be making his final high school basketball appearance and he promised it would be a memorable one. Speaking to sports-writer Billy Thompson before his final game “King” Kelly said, “You’re the only writer who stood by me. You tell em’ Billy, tell em’ I’m going to give em’ the greatest basketball game they’ve ever seen.” “King” Kelly lived up to his words and then some. He proceeded to score a still-standing Kentucky State Tournament record 68 points (27/52 FGs and 14/18 FTs) as Wayland demolished Bell County in a 122-89 win.
“King” Kelly Coleman went on to have an outstanding collegiate and professional basketball career. A nationally-known legend he has been honored various ways and inducted into numerous Hall of Fames, and has had his basketball jersey number retired by Wayland High School and Kentucky Wesleyan College. He has also been honored by the naming of a portion of highway leading into and out of Wayland, Kentucky as the “King” Kelly Coleman Highway. In 2005, his life and basketball career were detailed in a book by author Gary West titled “King Kelly Coleman: Kentucky's Greatest Basketball Legend.”
From the Lexington Herald-Leader, June 17, 2019
“King” Kelly Coleman, Kentucky’s first Mr. Basketball and the all-time leading scorer in state high school boys’ basketball history, died Sunday at Noreen and Greg Wells Hospice Care Center in Hazard. He was 80.
Coleman was a star for Wayland High School, a small school in Floyd County that was a member of the 15th Region before consolidating into Allen Central in 1972 (Allen Central consolidated into Floyd Central in 2017). As a senior he set multiple state records that still stand and led the Wasps to their deepest run ever in the Kentucky High School Athletic Association’s annual Sweet Sixteen.
“The expression larger than life is probably used too often, but he really was such a giant of a man, personality-wise,” KHSAA Commissioner Julian Tackett said. “When I first met him he was still very strong, and he dominated a room when he came in. ... To be from coal country, an area that has lived through so many economic challenges, and to have been a hero there, it’s no wonder that they just adored him.”
None of his records looms larger than the 4,337 points he scored from 1953-1956, well before the three-point line existed. He remains the only boy in Kentucky history to ever reach 4,000 career points.
Coleman’s name sits on top of the following all-time records: most points in a single season (1,734 in 1956), field goals made in a game (31 vs. Maytown in 1956) and field goals attempted (52 vs. Bell County in 1956). He was one of only 10 players in boys’ history to score 75 or more points in a game; he did that against Maytown, while also grabbing 41 rebounds (second-most in a game, ever).
“He definitely deserved the nickname, ‘King.’ I mean, 75 points and 41 rebounds in one game? Even today you’re just like, ‘That can’t be possible,’” said J.R. VanHoose, a former star at Paintsville High School and Kentucky’s Mr. Basketball in 1998. “But it seemed like he did the impossible almost all the time. There was so much pressure for him to perform, and he did it. I just cannot imagine.”
Coleman’s 185 points are the most by any player in a single Sweet Sixteen, and his 68 points against Bell County in that tournament’s third-place game are the most ever in a state-tournament game (he also holds the single-game state-tournament record for rebounds — 28 — set in a loss to Carr Creek). He scored the 68 two days after setting the previous record, 50, and was among the reasons the 1956 tournament is remembered as one of the best ever played.
“He understood his role and how important he was, not only to the state, but certainly to his beloved mountains of eastern Kentucky,” Tackett said. “He knew the value he held. ... He had a skill set that a lot of people didn’t necessarily associate with that region of the state, and so he just became heroic.”
Gordon Moore of the Louisville Courier-Journal wrote in 1956 that “Kelly Coleman is the biggest discovery in the mountains of Kentucky since coal was found 50 years ago.” Prior to the 1956 Sweet Sixteen, thousands of fliers were handed out proclaiming that “King Kelly” was coming to Lexington. Some of them were dropped out of an airplane.
“Some have said that Coleman is overplayed in the local papers. ‘You give one man too much publicity,’ some folks said,” Billy Thompson wrote in the the Lexington Herald in 1956. “It is true that no high school player has received as much publicity as King Kelly, but after he receives all the build-up and then comes through with a 50-point production, do you believe he has been overplayed?”
Coleman committed to West Virginia University out of high school despite a scholarship offer from the University of Kentucky and Adolph Rupp, who once described Coleman as a “combination of Cliff Hagan, Frank Ramsey and Alex Groza.” He referenced a conversation with another former eastern Kentucky basketball standout when speaking to the Herald-Leader’s Billy Reed in 1991.
“I talked to Lincoln Collinsworth,” Coleman said, “and I think about two days is as long as Rupp and I would have lasted.”
Coleman was not admitted into WVU due to academic issues and impermissible benefits, and eventually starred for Kentucky Wesleyan College in Owensboro. He was a two-time All-American with the Panthers, in 1959 and 1960, before being selected by the New York Knicks with the 11th overall pick in the second round of the 1960 NBA Draft.
A preseason disagreement with Knicks Coach Carl Brown led to his dismissal from the team before the 1960-61 season. Coleman proceeded to play for the Chicago Majors in the American Basketball League, and was the league’s third-leading scorer before it folded in 1963, but he never got another opportunity in the NBA.
“I think that was one of the things that bothered him greatly, that he never got that other opportunity to play in the NBA,” VanHoose said. “ … I hate to speculate, but I can’t imagine if he was able to do some of the things that he did in high school and college in the NBA, what kind of legend status people would think of him today. It would be beyond belief, I think.”
Coleman during the last decade moved back to Wayland, his home town, after a successful post-basketball career in Michigan. He was an entrepreneur — he owned service stations, a wrecker service and a hotel — who made a good living in the stock market. He for a time worked as the circulation manager for the Detroit Free Press. Coleman even taught school for a spell, but never had a desire to coach the sport he loved.
“I think people have this misconception of him that he was just a basketball player and athlete and not very smart, but Kelly Coleman, from just sitting around talking about some of the business things he got into, he was definitely a very smart man,” VanHoose said. “He was able to make some money with his mind.”
VanHoose and his wife, Kayla, befriended Coleman in recent years. J.R. described him as a “best friend” to each of them, and said he’ll most miss their conversations — not only about basketball, but history, golf and life in general.
“If I could go back and tell my 18-year-old self, I never would have thought that I’d be able to approach him, just out of sheer nervousness,” J.R. said. “I mean, what do you say? How do you strike up a conversation with someone that’s a larger-than-life figure? Not only in Kentucky, but I’m telling you man, about almost everywhere you go in the United States, when people start talking about Kentucky high school basketball, people might not know the person but they know the name. They know King Kelly Coleman. To me, that is bona fide legend status right there.”
Bell County Coach Willie Hendrickson, following his team’s loss to Wayland and Coleman in the 1956 tournament, shared a sentiment still expressed by many more than a half-century later. Said Hendrickson:
“Kelly, you are truly the greatest basketball player Kentucky has ever had.”
Kentucky high school and college basketball legend as well as a Professional Basketball player.
The all-time leading boys scorer in Kentucky High School basketball history, Kelly Coleman scored 4,337 career points, breaking Wilt Chamberlain’s national record for most points scored in a high school career. During the recruiting process University of Kentucky head coach Adolph Rupp publicly called him, “the greatest high school basketball player who ever lived...A combination of Cliff Hagan, Frank Ramsey, and all of the other great stars who have played at Kentucky.” At the end of his high school career he was named the first ever Kentucky Mr. Basketball in a state-wide vote by coaches. He signed to play college basketball with West Virginia University but was denied admission to the school by the NCAA who charged the Mountaineers with recruiting violations. Coleman went on to have a standout college basketball career at Kentucky Wesleyan College where in just three seasons he was a two-time NCAA Small College All-American (1959 and 1960), scored 2,077 career points and grabbed 904 career rebounds in just 75 career games! He was selected with the 11th overall selection in the 2nd Round of the 1960 NBA Draft by the New York Knicks. Cut on the first day of the NBA season, Coleman went on to play professionally one season (1960-1961) with the Baltimore Bullets of the Eastern Professional Basketball League (EPBL), where he helped them win a championship. He then played for two years (1961-1963) with the Chicago Majors of the American Basketball League (ABL). When the league folded after just two seasons, Coleman ranked 10th in league history in scoring and rebounding.
Kelly Coleman became nationally known as a junior in high school (1954-1955) when he averaged 33 points-per-game, scoring 1,174 points that season, which was a new Kentucky state record. As a senior (1955-1956), he averaged an amazing 46.8 points-per-game, recording amazing single game records along the way. On January 17, 1956, Kelly Coleman set Kentucky High School records as he recorded 75 points and 41 rebounds in a single game against rival Maytown! His senior year, he led tiny Wayland High School (from Floyd County, Kentucky) to the Kentucky High School Athletic Association State Tournament in Lexington, popularly known as the “Sweet 16.” Before the tournament ever started an attorney from Prestonsburg, Kentucky made thousands of fliers announcing the arrival in the Bluegrass of “Wayland’s King Kelly Coleman” and a recap of his amazing high school career. He rented an airplane and had it flown over Lexington, dropping these papers over the town. In Wayland’s first round game against Shelbyville, “King” Kelly as he was known across the state, did not disappoint the spectators. He scored a State Tournament record 50 points, leading his team to an 87-76 victory. In the quarterfinal round, Wayland faced Earlington, and Kelly Coleman again put on a dazzling show, scoring 39, and again leading little Wayland to victory. In the “Final Four” match-up, Wayland faced the small-school of Carr Creek, from Knott County, Kentucky, just a mere fifteen miles from Wayland. Carr Creek had been beaten by Wayland earlier in the season by two points. Despite 28 points and a tournament record 28 rebounds (which still stands) from “King” Kelly Coleman, Carr Creek defeated Wayland 68 to 67 on a last second shot. Wayland’s last game at the tournament would be in the consolation game against Bell County and Kelly Coleman would be making his final high school basketball appearance and he promised it would be a memorable one. Speaking to sports-writer Billy Thompson before his final game “King” Kelly said, “You’re the only writer who stood by me. You tell em’ Billy, tell em’ I’m going to give em’ the greatest basketball game they’ve ever seen.” “King” Kelly lived up to his words and then some. He proceeded to score a still-standing Kentucky State Tournament record 68 points (27/52 FGs and 14/18 FTs) as Wayland demolished Bell County in a 122-89 win.
“King” Kelly Coleman went on to have an outstanding collegiate and professional basketball career. A nationally-known legend he has been honored various ways and inducted into numerous Hall of Fames, and has had his basketball jersey number retired by Wayland High School and Kentucky Wesleyan College. He has also been honored by the naming of a portion of highway leading into and out of Wayland, Kentucky as the “King” Kelly Coleman Highway. In 2005, his life and basketball career were detailed in a book by author Gary West titled “King Kelly Coleman: Kentucky's Greatest Basketball Legend.”
From the Lexington Herald-Leader, June 17, 2019
“King” Kelly Coleman, Kentucky’s first Mr. Basketball and the all-time leading scorer in state high school boys’ basketball history, died Sunday at Noreen and Greg Wells Hospice Care Center in Hazard. He was 80.
Coleman was a star for Wayland High School, a small school in Floyd County that was a member of the 15th Region before consolidating into Allen Central in 1972 (Allen Central consolidated into Floyd Central in 2017). As a senior he set multiple state records that still stand and led the Wasps to their deepest run ever in the Kentucky High School Athletic Association’s annual Sweet Sixteen.
“The expression larger than life is probably used too often, but he really was such a giant of a man, personality-wise,” KHSAA Commissioner Julian Tackett said. “When I first met him he was still very strong, and he dominated a room when he came in. ... To be from coal country, an area that has lived through so many economic challenges, and to have been a hero there, it’s no wonder that they just adored him.”
None of his records looms larger than the 4,337 points he scored from 1953-1956, well before the three-point line existed. He remains the only boy in Kentucky history to ever reach 4,000 career points.
Coleman’s name sits on top of the following all-time records: most points in a single season (1,734 in 1956), field goals made in a game (31 vs. Maytown in 1956) and field goals attempted (52 vs. Bell County in 1956). He was one of only 10 players in boys’ history to score 75 or more points in a game; he did that against Maytown, while also grabbing 41 rebounds (second-most in a game, ever).
“He definitely deserved the nickname, ‘King.’ I mean, 75 points and 41 rebounds in one game? Even today you’re just like, ‘That can’t be possible,’” said J.R. VanHoose, a former star at Paintsville High School and Kentucky’s Mr. Basketball in 1998. “But it seemed like he did the impossible almost all the time. There was so much pressure for him to perform, and he did it. I just cannot imagine.”
Coleman’s 185 points are the most by any player in a single Sweet Sixteen, and his 68 points against Bell County in that tournament’s third-place game are the most ever in a state-tournament game (he also holds the single-game state-tournament record for rebounds — 28 — set in a loss to Carr Creek). He scored the 68 two days after setting the previous record, 50, and was among the reasons the 1956 tournament is remembered as one of the best ever played.
“He understood his role and how important he was, not only to the state, but certainly to his beloved mountains of eastern Kentucky,” Tackett said. “He knew the value he held. ... He had a skill set that a lot of people didn’t necessarily associate with that region of the state, and so he just became heroic.”
Gordon Moore of the Louisville Courier-Journal wrote in 1956 that “Kelly Coleman is the biggest discovery in the mountains of Kentucky since coal was found 50 years ago.” Prior to the 1956 Sweet Sixteen, thousands of fliers were handed out proclaiming that “King Kelly” was coming to Lexington. Some of them were dropped out of an airplane.
“Some have said that Coleman is overplayed in the local papers. ‘You give one man too much publicity,’ some folks said,” Billy Thompson wrote in the the Lexington Herald in 1956. “It is true that no high school player has received as much publicity as King Kelly, but after he receives all the build-up and then comes through with a 50-point production, do you believe he has been overplayed?”
Coleman committed to West Virginia University out of high school despite a scholarship offer from the University of Kentucky and Adolph Rupp, who once described Coleman as a “combination of Cliff Hagan, Frank Ramsey and Alex Groza.” He referenced a conversation with another former eastern Kentucky basketball standout when speaking to the Herald-Leader’s Billy Reed in 1991.
“I talked to Lincoln Collinsworth,” Coleman said, “and I think about two days is as long as Rupp and I would have lasted.”
Coleman was not admitted into WVU due to academic issues and impermissible benefits, and eventually starred for Kentucky Wesleyan College in Owensboro. He was a two-time All-American with the Panthers, in 1959 and 1960, before being selected by the New York Knicks with the 11th overall pick in the second round of the 1960 NBA Draft.
A preseason disagreement with Knicks Coach Carl Brown led to his dismissal from the team before the 1960-61 season. Coleman proceeded to play for the Chicago Majors in the American Basketball League, and was the league’s third-leading scorer before it folded in 1963, but he never got another opportunity in the NBA.
“I think that was one of the things that bothered him greatly, that he never got that other opportunity to play in the NBA,” VanHoose said. “ … I hate to speculate, but I can’t imagine if he was able to do some of the things that he did in high school and college in the NBA, what kind of legend status people would think of him today. It would be beyond belief, I think.”
Coleman during the last decade moved back to Wayland, his home town, after a successful post-basketball career in Michigan. He was an entrepreneur — he owned service stations, a wrecker service and a hotel — who made a good living in the stock market. He for a time worked as the circulation manager for the Detroit Free Press. Coleman even taught school for a spell, but never had a desire to coach the sport he loved.
“I think people have this misconception of him that he was just a basketball player and athlete and not very smart, but Kelly Coleman, from just sitting around talking about some of the business things he got into, he was definitely a very smart man,” VanHoose said. “He was able to make some money with his mind.”
VanHoose and his wife, Kayla, befriended Coleman in recent years. J.R. described him as a “best friend” to each of them, and said he’ll most miss their conversations — not only about basketball, but history, golf and life in general.
“If I could go back and tell my 18-year-old self, I never would have thought that I’d be able to approach him, just out of sheer nervousness,” J.R. said. “I mean, what do you say? How do you strike up a conversation with someone that’s a larger-than-life figure? Not only in Kentucky, but I’m telling you man, about almost everywhere you go in the United States, when people start talking about Kentucky high school basketball, people might not know the person but they know the name. They know King Kelly Coleman. To me, that is bona fide legend status right there.”
Bell County Coach Willie Hendrickson, following his team’s loss to Wayland and Coleman in the 1956 tournament, shared a sentiment still expressed by many more than a half-century later. Said Hendrickson:
“Kelly, you are truly the greatest basketball player Kentucky has ever had.”
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