Kelsey Minato has had dinner with Phil Jackson and Derek Fisher, practiced with the Knicks and competed against players on coach Mike Krzyzewski’s USA men’s basketball team.

Coach K, who is an Army alum, had Minato compete in a shooting contest against Stephen Curry.

“We know that a lot of our friends at different schools don’t get those opportunities,” Minato said. “For the athletic department to make those experiences available to all the athletes, it’s just special.”

All the while, Minato has won the Patriot League player of the year award three times, ranks first in career points at Army (2,500), first in scoring average (20.2), first in free-throw percentage (88.9), first in 3-pointers made (318), first in free throws made (562), first in field goals made (810) and fourth in assists (356). She was the first active player to have her jersey retired at Army.

On Friday, Minato will get a second shot to play in the NCAA tournament when No. 13 seed Army (29-2, 17-1 Patriot) takes on fourth-seeded Syracuse (25-7, 13-3 Atlantic Coast) in the Carrier Dome at 2:30 p.m. Her first ended in a 90-52 loss to then-No. 4 seed Maryland in 2014. A win could further a career that was close to never happening.

“Never once did she talk about herself or all the records she just broke,” Army head coach Dave Magarity said. “To me that sort of defined who she was. I realized then how special a person she was.”

Minato nearly didn’t end up at West Point. To attend Army, students apply in their junior year in order to give the academy time to review an applicant’s health.

She wanted to stay on the West Coast and attend California Davis, but when they recruited one of her AAU teammates over her, she began to search for other options. With only a couple weeks left to apply, Minato received a recruiting letter from Army.

“Even when they first started recruiting me … I kind of sat on it for a few days,” Minato said. “A lot of people on the West Coast don’t really know what West Point is about.”

Unsure of whether or not she would want to attend, she still quickly got in her application and was accepted. After taking a visit and speaking to her friends and family, Minato decided she wanted to attend Army.

“It’s been a great four years, and I’m just glad that everything worked out,” Minato said.

Minato looked like a kid embarrassed by her overly proud parents when her number was retired on her senior night. She tried to silence her teammates from chanting her name as they stood with their arms around each other. Minato became the first active player in team history to have her jersey retired. Senior Jean Parker said Minato started crying during the ceremony.

 

Courtesy of Army Athletics

 

Magarity has had a player drafted with the second pick in the NBA Draft and has coached various men’s and women’s programs for more than 30 years.

“There’s very little that I haven’t been around,” Magarity said. “That may have been the most special moment of my career.”

Whenever Army’s season ends, Minato hopes to play in the WNBA before fulfilling her mandatory five years of service. Her request to try out for a spot on a WNBA team after college has not been accepted yet, but Magarity believes the academy will give her a shot.

“(Senior night) was just an opportunity for us to reflect on the last four years,” Minato said, “and see what we as a class have accomplished and what the program has accomplished.”

And yet, when she runs onto the court at the Carrier Dome, there will still be more she can accomplish.

Published on March 17, 2016 at 6:57 pm

Contact Jack: jfupton@syr.edu