Greg Kelser

Greg Kelser

Personal information
Born	(1957-09-17) September 17, 1957 Panama City, Florida
Nationality	American
Listed height	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Listed weight	190 lb (86 kg)
Career information
High school	Henry Ford (Detroit, Michigan)
College	Michigan State (1975–1979)
NBA draft	1979 / Round: 1 / Pick: 4th overall
Selected by the Detroit Pistons
Playing career	1979–1985
Position	Small forward
Number	32, 3, 20, 11
Career history
1979–1981	Detroit Pistons
1981–1983	Seattle SuperSonics
1983–1984	San Diego Clippers
1985	Indiana Pacers
Career highlights and awards
NCAA champion (1979) Third-team All-American – AP (1979) No. 32 retired by Michigan State
Career NBA statistics
Points	2,961 (9.7 ppg)
Rebounds	1,402 (4.6 rpg)
Assists	411 (1.3 apg)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Gregory "Greg" Kelser (born September 17, 1957) is a retired American basketball player and current television color commentator. Kelser played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1979 to 1985 and is best known for his standout college basketball career at Michigan State.

Early life

Kelser grew up in a military family, spending part of his childhood in Okinawa. He credits his exposure to military discipline with contributing to his later success in athletics.

College career

Upon graduating from Detroit Henry Ford High School in 1975, Kelser was brought to Michigan State by Gus Ganakas, who left the head coach position after Kelser's freshman season. His impressive on-court skills earned him the sobriquet "Special K", after the locally-made cereal. In his junior year (the freshman year for Earvin "Magic" Johnson and Jay Vincent) under coach Jud Heathcote, the Spartans squad had an impressive season, racking up a 25–5 record, the Big Ten Conference title, and a berth in the 1978 NCAA tournament, where they made it to the regional finals before losing narrowly to eventual champion Kentucky. As a senior, he along with Johnson led the Spartans to the 1979 NCAA tournament championship, the first in the school's history. He was often on the receiving end of spectacular alley-oop passes from Johnson. He later wrote a book about his basketball experiences at MSU.

Kelser finished his career at Michigan State as a 2-time Academic All-American, something he credits Jud Heathcote for keeping him on task to achieve. He was the very first Big-10 player, and remains the only player in Spartan Basketball history, to score over 2,000 points with over 1,000 rebounds.

NBA career

He was drafted by the Pistons in 1979, but was later traded to the Seattle SuperSonics in exchange for Vinnie Johnson in 1981. Kelser also spent a season with the San Diego Clippers and part of a season with the Indiana Pacers.

Post-NBA career

Since leaving the NBA, Kelser has worked extensively as a sports announcer and/or commentator on radio and television. He is a commentator for Pistons games on Fox Sports Detroit with his partner George Blaha and on the Big Ten Network.

See also

• List of NCAA Division I men's basketball players with 2000 points and 1000 rebounds

External links

• Career NBA stats
• Where Are They Now? Greg Kelser, by Steve Grinczel, March 18, 2004

Preceded by Willie Banks Robert W. Dugas Steve Fuller Dan Harrigan James J. Kovach	NCAA Top Five Award Class of 1980 Gregory Kelser Paul B. McDonald R. Scott Neilson Steadman S. Shealy Marc D. Wilson	Succeeded by Darrell Griffith Mark D. Herrmann Donald J. Paige Ronald K. Perry Randy Lee Schleusener
Preceded by Debbie Brown Ann Meyers Drysdale Dale Kramer Kenneth MacAfee Warren Moon Gifford Nielsen	Silver Anniversary Awards (NCAA) Class of 2004 Trish Millines Dziko Bruce Furniss Virginia Gilder Stacey Johnson Gregory Kelser Kellen Winslow	Succeeded by Mark Johnson Gary Lawrence Paul McDonald Greg Meredith Joan Benoit Samuelson Dave Stoldt