(Editor's note: University of Providence media release)
GREAT FALLS -- University of Providence men's basketball player Zaccheus Darko-Kelly was named an NAIA Preseason All-American by Basketball Times magazine.
Darko-Kelly was one of 20 players across the NAIA that the subscription-only magazine named a preseason All-American. He is one of two players in the Frontier Conference featured; Jovan Sljivancanin from Carroll College is the other.
"It's a great honor for him," UP head coach Steve Keller said. "He's been in that mix since last year. I'm glad to see him get the recognition he deserves."
Darko-Kelly looks to improve upon one of the most stellar season in program history. As a junior, he averaged 22.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game while shooting 52 percent from the floor and 43 percent from beyond the arc. He was named the Frontier Conference player of the year after being named the Frontier Conference player of the week six times.
Nationally, Darko-Kelly was the first player in NAIA history to win the NAIA national player of the week award three times in a row. After the season, he was named a NAIA first-team All-American. He was also named a finalist for the Bevo Francis Award, an award given to the top player of all small college basketball programs.
The magazine also released a preseason top 20 poll and has the Argos ranked No. 9. Carroll is the only other Frontier Conference school in the rankings. In the official NAIA preseason top 25, Providence is ranked 11th while Carroll is ranked 21st.
"It's a nice honor for our program that people nationally are thinking of us," Keller said. "It means there's a lot of respect out there for our program that we're trying to build."
Basketball Times is a monthly print publication that has covered college basketball for more than 40 years and dubs itself as "The Real Voice of College Basketball." It is one of the few sport-specific print publications still left and is only available by subscription.
