FAIRBANKS, Alaska – Alaska head coach
Mick Durham announced today that the men's basketball program signed a pair of transfers to National Letters of Intent as
Dallen Bills (Inkom, Idaho/Walla Walla CC) and
Andrew Kelly (Gilbert, Ariz./Chandler-Gilbert CC) will both join the team in the fall with two years of eligibility remaining.
“What you see is what you get with Dallen,” Durham said. “He's going to be physical, compete and give you great effort every day. Dallen is a power forward who brings strength and experience to our front-line.”
“We're excited to have Andrew join our program,” Durham said. “Andrew gives us a lot of versatility at the forward position. He's long and athletic and brings a ton of energy to the court in the way he plays.”
Bills, a 6-5 power forward, is coming off a year where he averaged 11.7 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game. His blocks and rebounding ranked him 11th and 32nd, respectively, in the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges. He ended the season on a particularly solid note as he tallied 25.7 points, 8.7 rebound and 2.0 blocks per outing over the final two weeks of the season. Bills held season-highs of 34 points, 17 rebounds and four blocks in 2011-12.
He helped Walla Walla finish 19-10 last season with a 10-4 mark in the East Division to clinch a berth into the 2012 NWAACC Championship. The Warriors fell to eventual champion Tacoma in the first round.
“This is a big opportunity for Dallen because as a freshman, I didn't foresee something like this happening,” Walla Walla head coach
Jeff Reinland said. “He improved so much between his freshman and sophomore year. He's probably one of the most improved players I've ever coached in just a year's time. He's one of the hardest-working guys I've ever coached.”
“Dallen runs well and is also an outstanding athlete,” Durham said. His competitive spirit is what convinced me along with his 3.75 GPA and his pursuing of a psychology degree.”
Kelly, a 6-7 forward, played the last two seasons at Chandler-Gilbert Community College in Arizona. This past season, he was the second-leading scorer on the team with 12.6 points per game as well as with 8.1 rebounds per outing. Kelly also dished out 2.7 assists, garnered 1.7 steals and made 1.2 blocks per game. He appeared in all 30 games for the Coyotes as they went 14-16 on the year.
“He'll bring necessary quickness and athleticism making him extremely hard to guard offensively,” Chandler-Gilbert head coach
Mark Berry said. “Defensively, Andrew has become a tremendous shot blocker and is an excellent rebounder. He plays the game with an incredible enthusiasm and loves the game. I'm really excited for Andrew. Coming up to play with a good coach and a good school will be great for him.”
“Andrew has grown six inches since high school, so his game has changed in a short time,” Durham said. “He will give us a different look on the front-line and I believe his best basketball is ahead of him.”
Bills and Kelly join
Ronnie Baker (Vallejo, Calif./Diablo Valley College),
Zach Ngawaka (Keysborough, Australia/BYU-Hawaii),
Cody Pierson (Twin Bridges, Mont./Twin Bridges) and
Pat Voeut (Bellingham, Wash./Whatcom CC) on the list of incoming men's basketball student-athletes.
