KELLY'S HOME ON COURT, NOT THE FOOTBALL FIELD; HE HAS SKILLS TO MAKE IT ON NEXT LEVEL.

Byline: Chris Cocoles Daily News Staff Writer

The college football coaches that frequented the talent-rich Antelope Valley High School campus always assumed Le'Tre Kelly was just another football player.

Kelly never played a down at Mays Field but did give football one try. It nearly ruined his basketball career.

Kelly, a freshman post player at Antelope Valley College, possesses the kind of physical qualities football coaches get excited about.

At 6-foot-6, 265 pounds, Kelly could don a red A.V. helmet and fit right in as perhaps a hulking defensive end.

For a couple two-a-day practices prior to his junior season, Kelly saw himself on the Antelopes' defensive line as a tune-up to basketball season.

``My (basketball) coach, (Tom Mahan), told me not to play football, but the scouts would see me at school and ask, `Does that great big guy play football.' ''

Kelly wanted to answer them, but during the first week of two-a-days, also known as `Hell Week', his left knee buckled under a teammate. He suffered a strained nerve and he has never fully recovered.

``I wanted to play defensive end,'' Kelly said. ``But I had played basketball all my life, and my knee affected me all season (as a junior).''

The numbness made standing upright a chore for Kelly, who basically did nothing for the three months prior to basketball season. He gained 30 pounds in the process.

Kelly got himself back into shape during his senior season, where his surprisingly soft touch and size made him one of the area's top players.

The Antelopes' trio of Kelly, Ziaire Williams and Marc Buckner, who together migrated across town to AVC, dominated less athletic teams.

``I watched (Kelly) during his high school career, and he was effective because he so much bigger than everyone else,'' Marauders coach Newton Chelette said. ``Tre is just a big old gentle guy. He's very soft-spoken. But he does some things you don't expect from someone his size.''

One such attribute is Kelly's ability to step back and drain 3-pointers.

``Every day in practice we end up shooting a lot of 3s. Coach wants me to take a 3 if it's there. I want to be an all-around player, not just a low-post guy. Anything to help my team win.''

It sounds like a slam dunk for Kelly and the Marauders. He has the body of a Danny Fortson but the range that can complement AVC sophomore John Burrell. But Kelly's work habits need to improve if he wants to jump to the next level.

``A lot of young guys from high school don't know what it's like to go extra hard,'' Chelette said. ``He has a lot of ability, and if he decides to make a commitment, he can be a Division I player.''

Said Kelly: ``That's the key for anybody to be successful in sports. You can do anything you want to do if you work hard enough. I don't want to ask myself `What could have I done to be better?' ''

That question could have been, `Why did I ever experiment with football?' But Kelly recovered sufficiently from his injury and is a starter for the Marauders. He's scored in double figures in three of AVC's four games.

``Sometimes I think back and wished I never played football. (The knee) still bothers me a little,'' Kelly said. ``People always say I'm very quick for my size.''

Even with his tender knee, they're still providing Kelly with similar endorsements.

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PHOTO Le'Tre Kelly, shown playing last season for Antelope Valley High, is making an impact at AVC.

Michael Owen Baker / Daily News