Oak Park’s Kelty adapts to new role

Today’s teenagers like their gadgets. Caroline Kelty is one of them.

Oak Park-River Forest’s junior guard learned how to go without her cell phone last weekend on a trip to an AAU tournament in Indiana.

Kelty’s club basketball coach with the Chicago Hoops Express prohibited players from using cell phones on the bus ride to Fishers, Ind., for the Indy 100 tournament.

“He does not want cell phones during the ride,” Kelty said. “He does not want us to take them. He wants us to talk to other players and get to know them.”

But even Kelty admitted that with phones, a bus load full of high school athletes would be busier texting instead of talking.

The Express will bypass the AAU-affiliated Nike Summer Showcase in the northwest suburbs this week for another tournament. Kelty is trying to balance both teams this summer and hopes to return Thursday for the final day of the Trinity summer league with OPRF.

“I’m trying to get my shot better and quicker,” Kelty said. “I’m trying to get a quick release. I also hope to get a little bit stronger. We do not have many rebounders on the team.”

Kelty led the Huskies to a 1-1 record Friday at the Minute Man Classic at Riverside-Brookfield. OPRF played without starting senior guard Stekara Hall and was expected to play without Hall and Kelty in Saturday’s semifinals due to the trip to Indiana.

The Express fields five different teams during the AAU tournament season this month. Kelty is playing for the 2013 team with Fenwick’s Kendall Boardman and Jade Owens and Trinity’s Makayla Leyden and Shannon McGinnis. Hall, who recently committed to Illinois State, is playing for the Express’ 2012 team.

With Kelty and Hall in the backcourt, the duo give OPRF one of the area’s best guard combinations for the coming season.

The Express will compete in the Midwest Summer Challenge July 13-15 at the Lake Barrington Fieldhouse. There is a good chance Hall and Kelty will reunite for the Maine West Observation tournament Friday through Sunday.

Kelty and Hall will return to their Express team after Maine West to compete in the Best of the Midwest Jam July 25-27 in Schaumburg and then the Summer Final Midwest July 28-30 in Waukegan.

“Playing with Stekara is really fun. I know her game so well and know what happens next,” Kelty said. “We’ll definitely miss her (after) next year.”

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