My name is Loren Kielly. I grew up in St. Mary's Bay and attended Dunne Memorial Academy. I have been involved in basketball for a long time when I think about it, lol. Currently I coach at the junior high school, club , and provincial levels. I enjoy spreading any knowledge I have of the game with my kids and their generation.
What got you hooked on basketball?
Dunne Memorial was a grades 4-12 school when Loren moved to that school (80’s) and started attending some of the basketball games after school. He was hooked on the energy and immediately wanted to be a part of it. It gave a lot of them something to do outside of school as well, initially putting up our own nets like Carl English! He can recall his Dad putting up a old fish scoop made out of rebar any fish net on our house at an early age, which he and his brother Darren would shoot on. His other brother Jeremy and sister also got in on their action!! It was an easy game to get into. They used any ball they could get get their hands with at the time. Eventually, the town built a caged in asphalt sport court, with basketball hoops. Called The Cage by locals let's just say it was an excellent investment where they got a great return on their cash!!
His friends basically lived there, meeting up after school, with friends coming from neighboring towns. Good times. In general, they spent a lot of time outdoors as kids, so welcomed and dabbled in all sports. Basketball stuck though, there was just something about the game, the culture, the energy. Still feel it today to be honest.
Best Coach you ever had?!!
Can’t pin point the ‘best’ coach, but can name influencers for sure. Bill Hurley was a major influence in the beginning, coaching the men's team when Loren started. Mr Hurley had a passion for the game, which he enjoyed sharing, and he’s still involved with the game today. Cheers Bill! (Also, in 2002, Bill was inducted into the NLB A hall of fame in the builder category. (He thas been involved in the Newfoundland basketball scene for close to 50 years as an official!)
Bill and Henry McDonald really set the groundwork in St. Mary’s Bay for a lot of kids love of the sport, starting minor basketball, which we used to really look forward to in Junior High on Saturday mornings.Loren recalls the nervous energy just waiting for Saturday morning to come. Wayne White is a coach he had briefly in high school, who really wanted to see them succeed and put in the effort to coach when there was really nobody around to coach at the time., he had a love of the game, and they liked his style. Loren's Uncle Larry Felt, who grew up in New York and played basketball in college had a big influence on Loren as well. He had a love of the game that was infectious, and he took him along during a summer family trip to Syracuse where they played a lot of hoops on the courts there. It had a lasting memory. Of course his head coach in University, Glenn Taylor, was a major influence as well. He took a chance on a walk on red shirt, during what he considers the golden age of hoops in NL, and Loren intended to make the most of it!
Tell me about your high school gym. Big? Where did fans sit? How was the level of fan support?
Loren's school gym was typical of the time, a smaller size gym with concrete floors. Though small the gym would be packed for games. Loren's regular season games betweenf. St. Josephs (Enright) and Mt. Carmel were always jam packed. Those were our A-Zone’ teams. Being smaller schools they were considered Zone A. Enright had a gym similar to ours, but Mt. Carmel had a gym with some of the lowest ceilings Loren remembers playing in. Any arc at all would hit the ceiling, so plenty of line drives went up lol. They had a cheerleading squad who occupied one corner of the gym, with remaining sidelines set up with rows of chairs for the fans. like most teams, probably a couple a year, with regular yearly trips to towns like St. Brides, Harbour Grace, and Placentia area. Loren recalls intense games with a young Carl English, and his brothers Kevin and Peter. The small towns always had intense rivalries on the court, good times.
The stage was also full, with rows of chairs. Great fan support for sure. They played games and tournaments Harbour Grace (St. Francis) having a yearly tournament which we all really looked forward to. (The tournament Loren references here is the infamous Brother. Duffey Tournament an invite only tourney hosted by Cy Simmons at St. Francis school in Harbour Grace.)
Tell me who were your top 3 teammates over the years?
Hard to pick this one as well since he had so many great teammates over the years. From a pure passion and desire to succeed standpoint Loren would pick Peter Benoite and John Coaker. Peter was an All Canadian shooting guard and Coaker a top notch point guard. They played together on the Sea-Hawks. Three of them trained hard together over the off-season and throughout for many years, and as a result they developed a great connection on the floor. They put together their own plyometrics and strength training program. (much like Mac McClung NBA dunk champ this year! )
Over the summer months, which was really intense, followed by high energy games of 2 on 2 and 3 on 3 post workouts. Finding people that enjoyed the training and spending hours together grinding to get better, makes for great connections on the floor. They still have that connection today. Post University Loren moved to Colorado where he continued to play at a fairly high level (as did his wife Jennifer - A super star who also played for Sea-Hawks as well)z for many years, including pro-am summer leagues. Loren's good friend Jason Hershberger (standout at Northwestern University) and Loren played so many games together over the span of 12 years there, really enjoyed playing with him. He was another shooting guard with a great handle and super court vision.Great times. Shout out to Dave O’Keefe, Glen Squires, and Jermaine Bruce as well, great memories with that bunch!
What was your record for points per game in high school? Best guess? Most points in a single game?
Honestly he can’t remember his highest points per game. Loren was putting up numbers though in high school. He would venture to guess that he hit the 20-30 point mark numerous times through high school. His stat line would be pretty spread out on the score sheet, with rebounds, points, assists, steals. That’s just the game Loren played, all over the map on the stat sheet. With that mentality and that style of play it wasn't long before he was leading the pack! After two seasons of grinding it out on the most talented MUN team ever, he finally cracked the starting line up and went on to average 12.7 and 13 to round out his career. Loren still has one year of eligibility remaining, he jokes about wanting to go back and finish off that 5th year!!!
Have you played any basketball in the summer camps? NLBA?
Back to your original original question on what drew me to hoops. While early years in school peaked the interest, it was MUN summer camps that sealed the deal. Back then it was a rite of passage to attend a camp, and it was invite only for ‘super camps’. Early years he enjoyed the camps, organized by legends in the basketball community like Bill Redden and others. Those camps are where Loren met people like Peter, John, Tim and Steve Beckett, Mike and Glen Sooley, and Chris Gill, to name a few. Those super camps would be intense with great energy, filled with training and games all week at different gyms around St. John’s. For a kid coming from ‘around the bay’ it was something else. Again, it’s the energy that hit me, and the fun with those guys. You wanted to get better and hang with the best, and you learned a lot of things from those camps that you could take back home with you to continue working on. Loren did play one year on the Junior National (U19) under Gary Sooley, which was in Waterloo. Most of the guys I just mentioned
played on that team. He is a great player that had an opportunity to play U17 one year in St.John’s which he passed on for a different opportunity. That particular team won that year under Doug Partridge at the old Torbay Recreation Center. (I attended MUN Super Camps in 1988 and 1989....they were awesome!)
What is your most memorable basketball moment?
Honestly, basketball gave him so many memories. There are just too many to remember over the years. Basketball brought Loren so many unique, and life changing moments and experiences. He played on Weathershore Windows during the ‘golden years’ of basketball in St. John’s, in the 90’s. Games were intense and winning games was the provincials, well let’s say it’s one of those pride things. They won a few with that team. Loren recalls staying in a cabin in Harbour Grace with Clarence Sutton, Gord Wall, and John Blake one night before a championship game just sitting around a fire hearing old stories. Their desire to win and stick to a game plan, play your role, and leave it all out there wasn’t lost on Loren who learned a lot from guys like that. He remembers a long Xmas tournament through Nova Scotia during his second year on the University team. He hadn't been playing too much at the time. It was at Acadia, and he guessed our starters had started a game slow, which happens, and Loren got the call to come in. Let’s say he brought the intensity on both ends. He recalls coach calling Loren out during half-time in the locker room, noting to the team ‘that’s how we should play’, clean version of course :) It was just one moment in one game, but he had been training so hard for that one moment, he felt like a bull coming out of the gate. I remember a winter tournament in Winnipeg, in his third year. Had been playing well, actually had a record game with highest double double in Canada at the time that year (20 plus pts, 18 rebounds and earning all-star in the tournament. That rebound record was blown out of the water by various players later on however, including Matt Chapman, a former Sea Hawk teammate. Brief moment in the sun though, thanks Matt lol. Post University, he remembers traveling with a team of ex college hoopers around Nebraska and Kansas, and stepping into Kansas State to play an exhibition game, playing against guys who had just finished conference tournaments and march madness. Of course he was thinking, ‘yeah this is cool’. So many more trips and lifetime memories. Basketball has been a gateway to meeting great people and enabling experiences you wouldn’t typically have. Basically all of his closest friends Loren met on the court.
Where have you traveled for basketball? Provincials?
Loren has traveled from one end of North America to the other for basketball. Coldest place was Winnipeg, warmest probably Florida, windiest and wettest definitely Newfoundland and it’s towns. Stayed a weekend in the weight room of the old American base at Argentia during a weekend Provincial tournament, and drove through the corn fields of Nebraska to attend a March Madness tournament in Hastings. Back to sea level, he has entertained the crowds at the old "Nest’ at MUN (that energy was something), and a mile up in Denver he was crowned (dunked on) trying to block a fast break lob against a Colorado School of Mines forward. The experiences and friendships that were opened for Loren because of basketball, can’t put a value on it.
He can name quite a few very skilled players that he always found it a challenge to guard at the highest University level, but Loren wanted to name a couple that he found quite impossible to guard. Chris Anderson was one (aka the birdman!) and played in the NBA when he lived in Denver, and ended up playing on a team that played in our hoops league He remembers him rolling up the rec center in his decked out El Camino and thinking, what is this all about. Out pops Birdman. He played big guys before but not someone who played big minutes in the NBA. It was a pointless taks really only shoot long range, and even then his length and quickness covering ground was insane, so more arc then normal. And he was playing, so that wasn’ t good for any of us lol. Just owned the key. He also played occasionally against Earl Boykins, a guard for the Nuggets who would come to a regular Sunday morning run with us. It was impossible to keep up with him. Loren wold pick him up on a switch in most cases, and it was funny and definitely embarrassing to try and guard him. This guy was still playing in the NBA at the time, and just wanted more reps, he was having a great season asking him why he was coming and what he does all day. He looked at me, blank stare reaction ‘I play ball man, that’s what I do’. Dumbest question he ever heard for sure like these two who played at the highest level, really show you what that level is all about. It’s another level that 99% of us would never reach. Was cool to experience. Closer to home, I recall battles with Shane Harte, in practice in particular. Loren enjoyed his style of game, just a hard-nosed type player skilled on offense and super tough defender. He was a tough guy to guard. You need that in practice, and you learn a lot from it.
Favourite NBA team? Favourite player?
No real favourite at the moment though if I was to pick one it would be Miami. He always liked the style of play at Miami and the culture they created. Come fit, and work hard. Jimmy Butler’s game I like as well. But, nobody beats the real GOAT, you all know who that is! ( LeBron right everyone?!?) lol
Advice for today’s youth playing basketball
My advice to today's youth would be simple. It doesn’t matter where you are from, big town or small town, you just have to make the most out of whatever circumstance or challenging situation you find yourself in. Dream big, put in the work, make fitness your lifelong religion (critical for healthy body and mind), try and make good educated decisions, and surround yourself with goal oriented, like-minded people (this can’t be understated) who are genuinely happy for your successes. Nothing is going to come easy and nothing is given to you, so don’t expect it to and you will handle disappointing outcomes better. Deal with challenges and obstacles head on, it’s character building, and block out the noise. If you really like the game of basketball and want to take it as far as you can, all the cliches matter. Like the effort you put in when nobody is watching and the same people that you make on a weekend to get better. All of this combined will get you to a state of readiness, so that when it’s your time to shine, you will shine bright. Hard work and dedication will open doors you never thought could be open, which will hold true for the ‘real world’ as well!
I usually write a conclusion to my articles but anyone trying to top the responses and insight Loren brought to the table would be sorely lacking. Looking forward to meeting you in person one day Mr, Kielly! Thanks for your input and highlighting the path we can all take to meeting our life goals!
Where are they now?!
Loren is currently living in St. John’s, Newfoundland. Having spent many years living in the United States after finishing University, he and his wife (former Sea-Hawk star Jennifer Devereaux) moved back to Newfoundland with their 2 children, Jonah and Reese. Both kids play basketball, and both Loren and Jen are helping prepare the next generation off basketball players. Loren is a digital professional. He owns Mile One Digital (www.mileonedigital.com) , with a key focus on developing websites and digital strategies for business-businesses, jhelping them sell their products and services by Byblos and succeed in the digital marketplace. Reach out to Loren if you have any specific web and digital needs.