Before Adell Harris took over as coach of the UNC Wilmington women’s basketball team in 2012, she was already familiar with Kelva Atkins, who had just finished her freshman year at Columbia State, a junior college in Tennessee. 

Coach Harris had been recruiting several players in the same conference as Atkins to come play for her at Tusculum College, a Division II school in Tennessee, where Harris coached for three seasons. Harris knew that Atkins wanted to return to her home state of North Carolina eventually, but she didn’t think much of it at the time, and after seeing Atkins play, she knew that the guard was a Division-I talent, so she didn’t pursue her heavily to come to Tusculum.

After Harris accepted the job at UNCW, she contacted Atkins and her family to inquire on her interest in coming to play for the Seahawks. After signing her letter of intent, she became Harris’s first recruit and the only recruit she’d bring in during her first year as head coach. 

Entering her senior year and third season at UNCW, Kelva Atkins has built a decorated résumé, becoming one of the best players in the program’s history. As a junior, Atkins led the team in scoring with 15.5 points per game, minutes played with 37.1 per game, total assists with 101, which was more than double the next closest player, and finished second on the team in rebounds at 5.5 per game.

Her impressive season earned her Second-Team All-CAA honors, and her success in the classroom earned her All-Academic recognition in the conference. 

Coach Harris’s vision and goal of winning the Colonial Athletic Association Conference Championship and becoming a top mid-major program has always included Atkins, but the success has been a slow-building process. 

The duo have been patient, though, and the two feel as though this season will be more in-step with their visions for the program.

“We’re doing some things internally that people on the outside may not see,” Harris said. “But to me, that’s winning. That’s chipping away at that final goal. Now it’s breakthrough season—on this court it has to be breakthrough season—and we’re playing home games, we don’t have to go on the road to do it, we don’t have to play Notre Dame to do it. We’re going to do it right here versus comparable competition on our own floor.” 

For Harris, Atkins is an integral part of not just what the Seahawks wish to accomplish on the court, but also off the court. 

“Kelva’s just an extension of me as it relates to who I am at heart,” Harris said. “I’m about family. I’m about more than just points and rebounds for our kids. I want to love them, and I want them to love me. I want us to matter to each other. And Kelva epitomizes that.”

The Seahawks enter the season with a full roster, which was last year’s biggest weakness, playing with only seven people, and for the first time since arriving on campus, Atkins has the benefit of focusing on her true position: shooting guard.

In previous seasons, Atkins has been responsible for handling some of the point guard duties, but this year transfer Shatia Cole, who sat out all last season per NCAA transfer rules, will be the primary point guard. 

“I’m not really a point guard,” Atkins said. “So it feels pretty good to have a point guard on the team to where I don’t have to bring the ball down the court, and I’m just more comfortable off of the ball.”

Despite filling a void for Harris’s Seahawks over the past two seasons, Atkins ranks ninth in all-time scoring average with 13.1 points per game. She enters her senior year with 827 points in her two seasons at UNCW, and she has her sights on breaking 1,000 points before she leaves. 

It’s one of three goals for Atkins, which also includes winning a CAA Championship in her last year as a Seahawk and competing for the CAA Player-of-the-Year award. 

Whether the Seahawks can send Atkins off as a winner will be determined on the court, but with a full roster and returning the entirety of last year’s team, UNCW will be in a better position than before. 

No matter when Harris reaches her goals for the program, Atkins will have had a large part in helping her achieve them.   

“I love her,” Harris said. “She means a lot to me, and means a lot to the future of our program. She’s a part of the foundation.”