santa margarita

SoCal High School & Prep Report

Santa Margarita and Ryan Forehan-Kelly Profile--(February 6, 1998)

The Los Angeles Times this morning ran a very nice story about Santa Margarita in preparation for the Nike Extravaganza tomorrow morning and evening at the Bren Center in Irvine.

The thrust of the article was about how it's tought to standout when most of the top eight or so players for Santa
Margarita are "as interchangeable as "D" cell batteries in a boom box."

But among those seemingly interchangeable players, so the article says, Ryan Forehan-Kelly (6'-5" Sr. F) is the Eagles' leading scorer, averaging 14 points per game, and seems to be the best all-around player this year on the team. He'll be one of the weapons Servite will have to face on Saturday if the Friars (17-5) intend to pull off the same kind of upset that Newport Harbor managed the other night when it beat Santa Margarita, and Forehan-Kelly was held to only 5 points.

Santa Margarita (21-1) will play in the 1 p.m. game at the Nike Extravaganza basketball tournament in the Bren Center against Servite. If you can make it down to Irvine, don't miss it.

The point of the Times article seemed to be that Forehan-Kelly, who is black, is doing something special by playing at a mostly white school. Huh? So what. Why is this important? After reading the article a couple of times over, we still don't know why the Times devoted so much space to the skin color aspect of Forehan-Kelly's life (his father is black, his mother white, and he was apparently raised to be proud of his heritage-- nice stuff, but it has zero really to do with what kind of basketball player he is.)

We do know that Forehan-Kelly, has a brother, Tashaan, 14, who plays on the school's freshman team. We also know that his father Michael Kelly, lives in Northern California, where the brothers were originally raised, and that they now live with their mother Lisa Forehan, who is pursuing a doctorate in sports psychology at UC Irvine. Very impressive.

Forehan-Kelly said he's never taken any heat because of his skin color, and the only trash-talk he has heard has been from predominantly black teams. "There have been a couple of times where guys have said, 'What are you doing at that school?' " he told the Times. "But it doesn't really affect me; everyone talks during games."

But more important than the color of his skin, or his shorts, or what shoes he wears, is how he plays and his basketball history. He arrived at Santa Margarita in 1996. Although Forehan-Kelly was born in Long Beach and reared in Irvine, Lisa Forehan moved her family north in 1991, first to Mendocino and then to Santa Rosa.

"I wanted the kids to get some small-town atmosphere," she told the Times reporter. "It was tough academically for me because I was still in Irvine's doctoral program, but I just had to do my dissertation work, which I could do anywhere."

Forehan-Kelly began showing promise as a basketball player at Mendocino High in 1994, when he became the first freshman to play on the varsity. But in 1995, the family moved to Santa Rosa, where Forehan-Kelly enrolled at Cardinal Newman High. He started on the junior varsity but was eventually promoted to varsity as Newman made a run at the state title. His team reached the Division IV championship game in 1996, losing to Fresno Washington Union, 56-42.

Cardinal Newman Coach Pat Fitzgerald told the Times that he remembers Forehan-Kelly fondly. "I wish he was with me now," Fitzgerald said. "His fundamentals are excellent and he is a pure shooter. He is also the ultimate team player, always willing to sacrifice his game for the good of the team. He's not extremely quick, but he as the kind of court sense you can't teach. I'm not surprised he's doing well. He's very coachable, never a problem. He does things without question."

According to the Times story, Lisa had planned to keep her sons in Santa Rosa, but her school demands required the family's return to Irvine. He enrolled in Santa Margarita in November 1996 and asked DeBusk for a chance to make the team. Forehan-Kelly may seem soft-spoken, but don't be fooled. "He's not as quiet as he seems," teammate Carson Palmer said. "When it comes to getting business done on the court, he gets it done. And if you're not doing what you're supposed to, he gets in your face. Whoever plays or practices against him has to respect him. But he is also easy-going and funny. I knew the first time I met him we would be friends even after high school."

Forehan-Kelly believes the Eagles could be destined for a long playoff run next month. That's why he has put off making any decision about college. According to the Times, he has received an offer from UC Riverside and several NAIA schools have expressed interest. He also has applied to USC with an eye toward premed, and trying to walk on to the Trojans' team.

"I just want to play the year out," Forehan-Kelly said to the Times. "I'm not really worried about that pressure until after the season. Then whatever happens, happens. I don't want to close any doors. Hopefully something will come up." .