Pele Paelay

Pele Paelay (born June 15, 1984) is an American former professional basketball player. Although he was born in Liberia, he grew up in the state of Maryland before playing at Coastal Carolina University from 2002 to 2006. Paelay was named the Big South Conference Player of the Year in his junior season in 2004–05. Upon graduation in 2006, he began his professional career which has taken him to numerous countries abroad.

Pele Paelay
Personal information
Born (1984-06-15) June 15, 1984
Liberia
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight195 lb (88 kg)
Career information
High schoolMagruder (Derwood, Maryland)
CollegeCoastal Carolina (2002–2006)
NBA draft2006 / Undrafted
Playing career2006–2015
PositionShooting guard
Career history
2006–2007Minot SkyRockets
2008Great Falls Explorers
2008–2009Saar-Pfalz Braves
2009JL Bourg
2009–2010Étoile Charleville-Mézières
2010–2011S.Oliver Baskets
2011–2012UJAP Quimper 29
2012–2013Elitzur Yavne
2013Vestelspor Manisa
2013–2014JA Vichy
2015Sokhumi
Career highlights and awards

High school

Paelay attended Magruder High School in Derwood, Maryland. He graduated in 2002 after starring in both basketball and soccer. On the pitch, Paelay was named the Washington, D.C. Area Player of the Year in fall 2001 after scoring 19 goals, recording 12 assists and leading Magruder to their first ever boys' soccer state championship.[1][2] He scored eight goals in the playoffs alone, five of which were game winners. Among the game winners, Paelay scored with less than 30 seconds remaining in the state championship game to give Magruder the 3–2 win.[3]

In basketball, Paelay led Magruder to a 27–0 record and a state championship during his junior season in 2000–01.[1] He was named the Most Valuable Player of the state Final Four.[1] As a senior, he averaged 17.7 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game and was named to the Second Team All-Metro and All-County squads.[1] He was also a participant in the D.C. Capital Classic, a postseason all-star game featuring the best high school seniors from the Washington area.[1]

College

Paelay enrolled at Coastal Carolina in fall 2002 to play basketball for the Chanticleers. During his four-year career he recorded 1,178 points, 439 rebounds, 199 assists and 139 steals.[4] His best season came in his junior year of 2004–05: his career-highs of points (16.8) and steals (2.4) per game led the Big South Conference, as did his field goals made (175) and attempted (401), 70 steals, and total points (488).[4] Paelay was honored as the Big South Player of the Year and the Associated Press named him an Honorable Mention All-American.[1][5] Although Paelay did not have quite as much personal success the next year, his senior season in 2005–06, he was the second best player behind sophomore teammate Jack Leasure (who happened to be that season's conference player of the year), and the two of them teamed up to give Coastal Carolina a 20-win season and second-place finish in the Big South.[6]

Professional

No National Basketball Association teams showed interest in drafting nor signing Paelay to a contract upon his graduation, so he began his professional career overseas. Since 2006, he has played in leagues in France, Israel, Germany, and Turkey.[7]

Footnotes
  • a Pele Paelay was born in Liberia but is still considered American.[8]

References
  1. "Pele Paelay profile". GoCCUsports.com. Coastal Carolina University. 2005. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
  2. "All-Mets: Boys' Soccer". Washington Post. Fall 2001. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
  3. Max, Nathan (November 16, 2001). "'Perfect shot' nips Perry Hall late". Boys' soccer. The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
  4. "Pele Paelay statistics". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. 2013. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
  5. Zakour, Kent (August 3, 2011). "Former Magruder players head for Europe". Gazette.net. Archived from the original on September 21, 2013. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
  6. "2005–06 Big South Conference Season Summary". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. 2006. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
  7. "Pele Paelay". Eurobasket, Inc. 2013. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
  8. "Pele Paelay joins Vestelspor Manisa". Court Side Newspaper. February 13, 2013. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
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