By Neil Schmidt
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Mike Kelsey was talking to his older brother, Pat, about the big week Mike's Northern Kentucky University team has in store, playing host to archrivals Southern Indiana and Kentucky Wesleyan.

"He said, `Yeah, we've got Duke and Maryland,'" Mike said of his brother, a Wake Forest men's assistant coach. "This week for us is basically our Duke and Maryland."

Just another big basketball week for the Kelseys.

Pat, Mike and sister Katie parlayed high school stardom into exciting college careers, giving parents Mike Sr. and Linda a nearly two-decade tour of Midwest gymnasiums.

"I don't know what we'll do when it's all over," Linda Kelsey said. "It's just our life, chasing our kids all over the country. It keeps us young."

Mike, a sophomore guard, has emerged as a star for the 19-3 Norse, a team ranked No.10 nationally in NCAA Division II. He is the team's second-leading scorer at 14.1 points a game and leads the team in minutes (35.4 average), made 3-pointers (53, shooting 39.3 percent) and foul shooting (84.3 percent).

NKU, which at 13-2 leads the Great Lakes Valley Conference by a half-game over Kentucky Wesleyan (19-2, 12-2 GLVC), plays host to the fourth-ranked Panthers on Saturday. That's in between big games Thursday against Southern Indiana (16-5, 10-4), which beat the Norse Jan. 18 in Evansville, and Feb.22 against Indianapolis (15-6, 10-4), which beat NKU Jan.2 in Indy.

Kelsey's development is one of the key reasons the Norse have become a national contender after being unranked in the preseason. He has a streak of 14 consecutive games scoring in double figures, and he stands out as the ironman on a deep team for which no other player averages 30 minutes a game.

Not bad for a player whose top scoring average at Elder High was 15.9 as a senior, just a shade more than what he's scoring now.

"I had no doubt he'd play this well," NKU coach Ken Shields said. "He had a really good summer in the (Deveroes) Basketball League at Oak Hills," making the all-league team.

"He's been consistent. He takes care of his assignments in all facets of the game. His conditioning is such that he doesn't tire as fast as other guys. He's like his brother-in-law; he never takes a bad shot."

That brother-in-law is Paul Cluxton, who set the NCAA all-time career free throw percentage record at 93.4 percent, including a 94-for-94 senior season at NKU. Cluxton and Pat Kelsey run the Improve Basketball Camp each summer, with Mike and Katie working as counselors.

"A couple of years ago, when I was trying to become a college-type player, Paul helped me out," Mike said. "Not just with free throws, with shooting the ball. Coach Shields calls him one of the greatest shooters he's ever seen."

What's more obvious is the impact his siblings had.

Mike saw Pat lead Elder to the 1993 Ohio Division I state championship. Pat played at Wyoming, starting 21 games as a freshman, then came home to walk on at Xavier.

Then Katie led Roger Bacon to the 1995 Ohio Division II state title. She was a four-year starter at point guard for the Norse and owns the school's career assist record with 514. As a senior, she led NKU to the 1999 Final Four.

More family ties: Mike Sr. starred at Roger Bacon and at Xavier in the 1960s. Linda Kelsey's brother, Jim Stoll, won the Ohio Division I boys state title in 1995 in his first year as Purcell Marian's coach. And the youngest Kelsey sibling, Mary, played at Seton, though she didn't play college ball.

"We just enjoy it," Linda said. "We're basketball nuts. My parents (Willard and Mary) are in their mid-80s, and they don't miss a (Norse) game. Mike and I will watch NKU, then hop on the AA Highway and head down to Winston-Salem to catch some home games."

As a redshirt freshman last season, Mike Kelsey started the last 17 games, averaging 7.6 points for the season.

"I just try each year to keep growing, improving," he said. "We think this team has a chance to be pretty special."

E-mail nschmidt@enquirer.com