Blake Kelly
 Art By SabadoCat | |
| No. 5 – Santa Ana Spectrums | |
|---|---|
| Position | Swingfur |
| Species | Sika Deer ( Cervidae ) |
| Gender | Male |
| Nickname(s) | |
| Sword, Freakshow, Skittles | |
| Personal information | |
| Born |
December 9, 1999 Rosewood, NC |
| Nationality | American |
| Listed height | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) |
| Listed weight | 250 lb (113 kg) |
| Shoots | Right-handed |
| Career information | |
| School | North Carolina Wolfpack University |
| FBA draft | 2020 / Round: 1 / Pick: 13th overall |
| Selected by the Seattle Summit | |
| Pro playing career | 2020–present |
| Career history | |
| 2020 - 2024 | Seattle Summit |
| 2024-present | Santa Ana Spectrums |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| Contract information | |
| Contract year | 2022 |
| 2026 Salary | $14 million |
| Player Contacts | |
| (IC) Agent | Unknown |
| (OOC) Creator | BladesDaRaccoon |
| (OOC) Actor | BladesDaRaccoon |
| (OOC) Usage | Ask me before any use |
Biography
Early life
Born to a vocalist mother and a state senator father, Blake grew up with a bit of a secluded life between his parents' careers and his two older siblings Markelle and Kira away with the Air Force and Army respectively, Blake was rather shy and insular; very to himself and curteous to a fault seen as the 'good church boy' who was more seen than heard. While his father was usually away, when he did come home from his senatorial duties there was one sure fire thing him and Blake always bonded over...basketball. Whether it be shooting the basketball in their driveway or watching a game together, Blake and his father, Christopher always seemed to click when it came to basketball...even if they were always rooting for different teams with Christopher being a long-standing Minutemen fan, even having a signed Stan Shields jersey in his office in the state capital whereas Blake grew a fondness for the Moonshiners, the rivalry was healthy and light-hearted.
While his home life was happy enough, school was a rather different case...being as shy and secluded he was, viewed as a loner by many it made him an easy target for bullying which at first only seemed to make him more insular. Eventually at age of sixteen alongside his friend Ash Van Zant, and with some encouragement from the team captain Blake eventually tried for the team on a dare and to snap back at his main bully. At tryouts he found himself edging said bully out of the team to get one of the last slots.
High School
Sophomore year, Blake was the starting shooting guard who loves driving and slashing to the basket as well as putting up mid-rangers. He seemed to gain more and more confidence as the year rolled on having averages of 16 points, 5 rebounds and a steal per game. Despite initial chemistry issues, Blake was part of a smooth functioning unit as the primary scoring option. Come semi-finals, they would take home the bronze trophy but at a cost...Blake landed badly after a shot in the consolation finals which resulted in a severely twisted right ankle and a contused knee.
That year quickly turned into a tragedy for Blake...with the lack of activity due to injuries and a raging sweet tooth he found himself gaining weight and becoming insular again. The gain was to the point where come summer break he was almost fifty pounds heavier. It was a dark time for him, seeming like he'd given up a bit on himself...However Coach Smythes hadn't...She took him under her wing that summer to help both rehab his injuries and carve the extra weight off of him and while not at prime weight come junior year, he seemed to respond well to her hard-nosed and gritty, drill sargent-esque style.
Junior year, due to still needed to lose about twenty pounds Blake came off the bench for the first half of that season as not to risk re-aggrivating his injuries. Even in limited minutes he was still effective even if he had to rely more on his jumpshot which beyond the arc was a little shaky. Still 11 points and 4 assists was nothing to sneeze at. Once he'd finally lost the rest of his extra weight his output for the season almost doubled to 18 points a game still with those 4 assists though his rebounding dropped to 2 a game given his dusty athleticism. They would go on to state finals but lost in the quarter final.
That summer would prove somewhat tumultuous. Good in some ways such as with the continuation of his summer training with Smythes which made him even stronger and brought back his athleticism nearly two fold, however other things about him would soon prove to be a problem...his budding homosexuality was coming closer and closer to the surface, already having come out to his younger sister Avery. On her advice, he decided best to come out on his own rather than they find out...It was a bit of a mess that night...
His parents' reactions were polar opposite, divorcing soon after. His mother ended up leaving with his twin brothers, shouting that Blake was a 'Freak, deviant and monster' His father and Avery were strongly in support of him, his father even taking the ire of his conservative colleagues and nearly losing his re-elecction and Avery taking a stand for the first time in a long time, refusing to go with her mom when she stormed out of the Kelly house. Despite the strong show of support Blake still felt like he was to blame for the breaking of his family...He felt like the basketball court was the only place he belonged...
Senior year, it was clear the hardwood was his home. The one place that Blake could take out his emotions in a healthy manner. He seemed to play with a nigh unmatched anger and ferocity. His playstyle made some notable changes with his driving to the basket more and playing more physically.Now putting on an even more explosive show with his athleticism, putting up almost 25 points a game paired with roughly 8 rebounds for good measure. It was this which was an integral part to the Rosewood Ravagers' state championship run.
College Days
Blake had elected to attend NC Wolfpack along with teammate Rodney Blackburn, partly as a show of gratitude to his father for his love as it was the alma mater of one of his father's favorite players Stan Shields. First year was a bit of a blunder between his being the only prey animal on the starting lineup and getting started at point guard despite play making being one of his known weaknesses which led to a strange season which ended in a first round FCAA exit. Fair to say...between all his personal trauma and the dud of a season, it was another low point for him...
Second year in NC Wolfpack rolled around...Blake was a whole new buck! Seemed that while mentally he was under distress...his body was a different story. He'd had a growth spurt which found him standing at six foot nine as well as packing on some extra muscle thanks to Coach Smythes coming out to help him get his head and body right after an incident involving a mirror. In addition he'd also done several modifications unto himself such as getting several piercings, putting wild colors in his hair and having many of his teeth filed to points and eating a more meat-centric diet to be 'One of the Wolves' as he put it, thus embracing the once degrading nickname Freakshow. With the added height Blake now found himself back at his old Shooting Guard position as well as filling in the Small Forward and even Power Forward position as a stretch four. Between his optimised role, increased bag of skills and the addition of Skylar LaNocha, NC Wolfpack became a team to fear making a splash in FCAA upsetting the 2nd seed before their second round exit.
As the end of his college time rolled around he knew the FBA was almost his destiny...What would he add to the Kelly family name? How would his twin brothers ever see him? Show his mother that he was living well, the best revenge? Give his father and siblings something he could say he did all for them? Become the next great 'Shiner hopefully? All pointed to the FBA...
FBA Career
Rookie Season
It was one of that draft's worst kept secrets that when Seattle traded up they had eyes on the big deer with the rainbow rings in his ear and the bull ring in his nose. Maybe the hat with the antler holes was the dead giveaway...regardless, they knew they'd landed something good...not to mention the tallest backcourt in the league.
The drastic change in culture was a shock at first for the buck, able to be more open about his sexuality being only the tip of the iceberg. He seemed like a bit of an icon around the city all before even touching the court, seen regularly around clubs socializing and singing with the locals not to mention getting just a little crazy at times. Most chalked that up to a bit a culture shock, Summit's front office included.
At first on the court it seemed like Blake was a bit lost in the shuffle, settling for scraps on offense and sometimes doing very little. While others would call for changes, the coaching staff kept the faith in the deer and by season's end he seemed like a natural. Able to play with pure muscle and strength yet also using some of his cervine grace to outmaneuver his defenders. He became the deer who'd put you in the headlights.