Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

Kelby Telander spent three years waiting and countless hours working in preparation for a big senior season.

The wait was a little longer and the road slightly bumpier than Telander imagined but the Liberty High standout is finally getting the senior season payoff he dreamed of.

Telander missed all of football season after sustaining a serious wrist injury in an at-at-home accident while repairing a chandelier.

Following a long rehab process from the wrist injury that included torn flexor tendons along with nerve and artery damage Telander is enjoying a breakthrough season on the basketball court.

Telander is averaging a team-high 17.3 points and 9.3 rebounds per game for unbeaten Liberty High which is off to the best start in program history at 3-0.

“It’s fun that all of the hard work is starting to pay off now,” Telander said. “It’s been a slow process at times but everything is starting to come around at the end and it’s been great.”

It was a frustrating fall for Telander who was poised for a breakthrough season on the football field.

Instead of producing the strong senior season he had worked for Telander was forced to watch while working through rehab.

Rather than dwell on what he missed Telander, who will join the Iowa football team as a walk-on next fall, looked at what was ahead – starting with his senior basketball season.

“He was patient, he went through his rehab, he followed directions and he didn’t push it,” Liberty High co-head coach Ryan Kelly said. “We try to tell kids all the time not to push it too soon because they can get reinjured. He followed the steps, he followed the rules and he had that goal in mind that he is going to Iowa to play football and that is a big deal so he followed the rules.”

Telander got a ball in his hands for the first time in November and to his surprise it felt fairly natural after almost a full year away from the sport.

In preparation for what was supposed to be a summer full of football camp appearances Telander dropped AAU basketball from his busy schedule last summer.

That mean it had been nearly nine months since he last put in serious work on the basketball court.

“With the injury it had been a bit of slow process but once I got the ball in my hands things started going well,” Telander said. “I started getting a feel and a rhythm with my jump shot.”

Complicating the return to the court for Telander was Liberty High starting the basketball season with online only course – meaning no official practices.

Telander and his teammates found court to practice during that time and have hit the ground running when games started last month.

The Lightning are 3-0 for the first time thanks largely to the 6-foot-5 Telander who is shooting 63 percent from the floor including 50 percent from 3-point range.

“His athleticism is top of the charts and we can do a lot with that athleticism whether it’s offensively or defensively,” Kelly said. “We just have to get him under control sometimes but he’s so explosive it’s unbelievable.”

Due to the nature of his injury Telander started his on-court work slow, doing form shooting from inside the lane.

Kelly believes that work has helped Telander improve his jump shot this season turning him into an even tougher matchup for opposing defenders.

Through three games Telander is 3-of-6 from beyond the arc after hitting both of his 3-point attempts in an 80-50 win over City High on Tuesday.

“That’s the thing that was the biggest focus for him when he got back in the gym is he started out by doing form shooting close to the hoop because he had to get that motion back in his wrist and hand,” Kelly said. “Kudos to him for doing that taking some feedback once the season started.”

While Liberty High has been impressive during its 3-0 start to the season there is plenty left for the Lightning to accomplish.

Liberty High is seeking the first winning season in program history after set a program record for wins last season while going 10-13.

Telander is looking to go out with a bang in his final prep season and believes Liberty High has the team in place for a historic season.

“I think this team can be great,” Telander said. “It’s ridiculous how much experience we have, we’ve been playing basketball together since fourth or fifth grade so we have a lot of experience together before we even got to high school. We’ve always dreamed of going to Wells Fargo, we went to all the tournaments growing up and now we are finally giving ourselves a shot to do that so it’s exciting.”

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