The Gateway High girls basketball program will look to continue its successful ways going forward as Ramses Kelly has been named the Panthers’ head coach.
Kelly takes over for Justin Marino, who led GHS to two regional championships (2023, 2026) and coached the program through its most successful era. Marino stepped down following the season after eight years.
Kelly was the varsity coach at Liberty High in 2009-10 and at Gateway in 2013-14. He was Marino’s assistant last season, when the Panthers reached the Class 5A state semifinals. Kelly was also an assistant for Osceola when the Kowboys reached the 6A Final Four in 2004.
A return to the Jacksonville Arena in March will be a challenge, as Gateway will be replacing a number of its starters who took them there.
“The focus (this past season) was on getting into the state playoffs,” Kelly said. “Going forward it’s going to be a developing process; we’ll likely have two freshman and a sophomore starting.”
Kelly, 56, knows the game and developing players and programs. He was a standout player at Division II Springfield (Mass.) College (where fellow alum James Naismith invented the game) from 1987-91 and ranks second all-time in assists, third in scoring and third in total rebounds. He was inducted into the Springfield Pride Athletics Hall of Fame in 2018. He has also coached professionally overseas.
Part of his connection to the game as a proven skills developer is running clinics, skills camps and training sessions in the area.
“It’s going to be a developing process,” Kelly said of the task at hand. “We’re going to get comfortable in the weight room, and we’ll have to practice hard to develop the skills and learn situational basketball.
The plan is to stick together, grow together and develop together. We’ll be creating a new Lady Panthers program one game at a time, one season at a time. We can compete but because of the success this program’s had we’ll still have a target on its back.”
Marino said the program is in good hands.
“Ramses’ love for the game and training background working with kids of all ability levels will keep the program successful,” he said. “He will most definitely put in the time with the kids.”
