Chas Kelley brings guard versatility and leadership to Boston College after ‘a breath of fresh air’ at Phelps

When John Harmatuk took the head coaching position at The Phelps School last summer, he didn’t have much time to get his team together. Harmatuk, who had spent the previous nine seasons as the coach at Malvern Prep, joined the program just days before the high school live period in June.

With Division I coaches set to observe his new team in action, Harmatuk had to establish trust with his team quickly. Fortunately for Harmatuk, over 1,500 miles away from his hometown in Houston, Texas, he found a connection who’s been integral in Phelps’ 2021-22 season.

Chas Kelley came to Phelps after finishing a playoff run with his Cypress Creek High School team. Afterward, the Houston native began speaking with his longtime trainer, Dante Mathis, about the best way to spend his final year of high school. Mathis, who had experience dealing with Phelps — he had sent current Memphis freshman Sam Onu there for a season to help Onu’s recruitment — recommended the Malvern-based prep school.

After many conversations with Onu about Phelps and what playing there could mean for his career, Kelley knew the opportunity was worth pursuing.

“[Onu] told me ‘you really have to want it, you have to make sure this is something you’re willing to do and you’re willing to sacrifice leaving friends and family at home,’” Kelley said. “I feel like that was a big step I wanted to take.

“I was never really looking to leave [Cypress Creek]. This situation was more of an opportunity that was presented to me, and I just saw it as an opportunity to get better. It just really worked out for me.”

Kelley arrived at a Phelps basketball program that was undergoing changes of its own, with Harmatuk replacing former coach Trey Morin. The changes at Phelps prompted other schools to begin trying to attract Kelley to their programs. But the 6-foot-5 point guard remained committed to Phelps, looking at the situation as a chance to prepare for coaching changes he might face at the next level.

“Coaches move every day for any type of reason,” Kelley said. “I feel like me staying has been [good] for me because I know how to handle this if it happens at the next situation. It’s just another thing I’ve been through, so now if it does happen at the next level, it won’t be a huge curveball.”

Kelley was also encouraged by Harmatuk’s Texas roots. Cy Creek, is just a half-hour drive away from Cypress Springs High School, where Harmatuk got his head coaching start. The connection runs even deeper. Harmatuk’s former assistant coach at Cypress Springs, Dan Trocquet, was Kelley’s head coach at Cy Creek. When he found a connection that strong that far away from home, Kelley was sold.

“It was a breath of fresh air,” Kelley said. “I say, and I stand by this, Texas is like no other. I mean getting that home feel, that family feel [and] being able to connect on certain conversations … [I thought] ‘this guy’s from Texas, we have a chance to connect, we have a chance to really build something special together.’”

The connection also proved useful for Harmatuk, who had found a player he could lean on. In his first weeks with the team, Kelley became someone who helped other players buy into what Harmatuk was trying to build at Phelps.

“To have that connection with Chas, I leaned on him right away,” Harmatuk said. “And I found out right away that he’s an incredible leader [with] an incredible basketball IQ. So, we pretty much gave him the keys to the car. But if we don’t have that connection from Texas, I don’t know how quickly we could [have] gotten our relationship started as we did.”

Since those early months with the team, Kelley has continued to be a key factor in Phelps’ on-court success. Whether it’s scoring, running the point, or creating mismatches on defense, Kelley has filled every role on the court for Phelps this season.

Kelley was instrumental in Phelps putting together a regular season worthy of both a No. 3 seed and first-round bye in the Pennsylvania Independent Schools Athletic Association tournament. Phelps lost in the quarterfinals Saturday, but will continue its season at the Great Atlantic Conference tournament.

“We have a whole bunch of pieces that fit well together, and Chas is the leader of that,” Harmatuk said. “He’s kind of sacrificed a little bit of his game for us to play like we’re capable of playing. I mean, Chas could score 20-plus points per game if he wanted to, but he’s willing to get everyone else involved.”

Said Phelps assistant coach Mike Narzikul: “The biggest thing for me that I learned quickly is that guys listen to the best player. And for us, our engine is Chas, and the guys listen to him. He’s just got this charismatic leadership about him. He takes to coaching, and when your best player wants to be coached and wants to be pushed, then all the other guys follow behind him.”

Kelley’s willingness to be coached and play selflessly can be traced back to his time at Cy Creek, where he from playing on the freshman team to contributing off the varsity bench as a sophomore to stepping up as a junior starter.

“He really understood that ‘if I want something, I have to go get it, and nobody’s going to give it to me,’” Trocquet said. “I think that that’s really made him better, and I’m really confident that when he goes [to college] next year … if there’s a stretch where he’s not playing as much or maybe he’s playing behind somebody, he’s going to handle it the right way because he’s been there before.”

Kelley’s approach to the game helped heat up his recruitment. After having just one offer before arriving at Phelps, Kelley earned an additional 19 offers since he made the move. He committed to Boston College in September. Coach Earl Grant’s defensive-minded approach to the game attracted Kelley to the program, as did Grant’s “gritty, not pretty” style of basketball.

Kelley was also excited to join the ACC and have the chance to compete against college basketball blue bloods in Duke and North Carolina. But while basketball was the primary factor in his decision to commit to the Eagles, Kelley also thought about how attending Boston College could set him up for his future, something his coaches feel perfectly demonstrated the off-court maturity Kelley has become known for at Phelps.

“As far as academics, Boston College is a top school in the country,” Kelley said. “I’m majoring in business and finance, and as far as networking, Boston is probably the No. 1 city in America as far as social networking.”

Said Narzikul: “His recruitment just had a maturity about it that you appreciate because it wasn’t just for the basketball. He has the potential to play for a long time, but he’s looking at it more from a business point of view and how he can prolong his life, not just his basketball career.”