South East Melbourne Signs Trey Kell

Thursday, July 14, 2022

The South East Melbourne Phoenix has added another piece to their NBL23 roster, signing import shooting guard George Earl Kell III to a one-year deal.

Better known as Trey, Kell completed four years of college at San Diego State before beginning his professional career in Bosnia in 2018. Since then, he has plied his trade in Canada, Hong Kong, Poland, and Italy.

Kell, a naturalised Syrian, represents his adopted country in international competitions after agreeing with the Syrian Basketball Federation to represent the country. On his debut in the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup qualification, Kell recorded 35 points, six rebounds and six assists.

“We are excited to have a player of Trey’s quality joining the roster. Alongside Gary Browne and our local Australian talent, we believe they will be one of the toughest backcourts in the league,” said CEO Tommy Greer.

“I believe I can bring to the team a well-rounded player that can do a bit of everything, a high IQ, and that can impact winning in many ways,” he said.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">TREY ?<br><br>The <a href="https://twitter.com/SEMelbPhoenix?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SEMelbPhoenix</a> have locked in their second import for <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL23?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL23</a>, with the addition of shooting guard, <a href="https://twitter.com/trey_kell?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@trey_kell</a><br><br>Check the resume.<br><br>Full details at <a href="https://t.co/bvx2iHQc0a">https://t.co/bvx2iHQc0a</a> <a href="https://t.co/iEHtMf14Hm">pic.twitter.com/iEHtMf14Hm</a></p>— The NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1547333211625123840?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 13, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Coach Simon Mitchell spoke highly of what Kell brings to the team and is excited to have another two-way player.

“Love the two-way ability of Trey. Last season he excelled as a potent offensive player with Varese in the Italian League. We were blown away with the defensive tenacity he displayed in the EuroLeague with Milan,” Mitchell said.

Kell has never been to Australia before but is excited to be heading down under for the first time.

“I have never been to Australia, but being from San Diego, people tell me they are similar, and if that’s the case, I will be excited to experience it myself.

“I’ve also heard nothing but great things about the league from players I know that have played there. I am very excited to experience it for myself because I truly haven’t heard one negative about it,” he said.

Kell joins contracted players Kyle Adnam, Ryan Broekhoff, Gary Browne, Mitch Creek, Owen Foxwell, Dane Pineau and Junior Madut.