Raijon Kelly is No. 14

Smooth Cretin-Derham Hall combo guard Raijon Kelly became the 14th Minnesota player to commit/sign with a Division I school this year when he committed to Samford after his visit this past week. Kelly led the Raiders to a 23-win season and wrapped up his three-year varsity career with an appearance in the state tournament that saw CDH take 4th in Class AAAA.

This year, Kelly averaged 14.9 points, 5.5 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game while shooting 55.2 percent from the floor, 49.3 percent from behind the arc and 82 percent from the foul line. Raijon ended his career with 1,225 career points while leading the Raiders in scoring for the last two years. He was was their second-leading scorer as a sophomore.

At about 6-foot-2, Kelly has a boatload of smooth skill. Over the past year, Samford, St. Cloud State, Minnesota State-Mankato and the University of Mary offered - plus interest came from Loyola-Chicago, UTEP, Illinois State, Southwest Minnesota State, North Dakota, Minnesota-Crookston, South Dakota, IUPUI, Concordia-St. Paul, Nebraska-Omaha and Valley City State.

After the season, Kelly planned visits to Samford and Minnesota State-Mankato. Raijon went down to Samford last weekend, and things went so well that he ended his recruitment.

"The trip to Samford was awesome," said Raijon. "The coaches were approachable and easy to talk to; the players are a good group of guys. The campus was beautiful, and the whole atmosphere was really nice. The facilities were new. Yes, I did commit."

Kelly joins Eau Claire, Wisc. standout Connor Miller, Birmingham point guard Devin McNeil, and Georgia shooter Brandon Hayman as Samford's committed recruits for 2011.