Greg Kelser

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Greg Kelser
Position forward
Height ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Weight 190 lb (86 kg)
Team retired
Born September 17, 1957 (1957-09-17) (age 50)
Panama City, Florida
Nationality USA
College Michigan State University
Draft 4th overall, 1979
Pro career 1979–1985

Gregory (Greg) Kelser (born September 17, 1957, in Panama City, Florida) is a retired American basketball player. He is a broadcaster for the NBA's Detroit Pistons as well as a College Basketball broadcaster for ESPN. Kelser played in the NBA from 1979-1986 and is best known for his stand out career at Michigan State.

Contents

[edit] College career

See also: List of college men's basketball players with 2000 points and 1000 rebounds

In his junior year (the freshman year for Earvin "Magic" Johnson and Jay Vincent) at Michigan State under coach Jud Heathcote, the Spartan 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. His nickname at MSU was "Special K" after the popular Kellogg's cereal of the same name. Kelser was often on the receiving end of alley-oop passes from Johnson.

[edit] 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 time with the San Diego Clippers and the Indiana Pacers.

[edit] Broadcasting

[edit] Detroit Pistons

Kelser has done games on television and radio since 1988, the past 10 seasons with Fred McLeod. Starting in the 20062007 season he did games with veteran Pistons announcer George Blaha.

In addition to calling game action, Kelser is featured on Coaches Corner segments on the pre-game show and is often used as an NBA analyst for FSN Detroit's Sports Report.

He formerly served as the Pistons' color commentator for WWJ radio during home games.

[edit] Other duties

He also has done work on college basketball television broadcasts, including regional Big Ten telecasts on ESPN Plus, the Big Ten Network, and the NCAA Tournament.

[edit] Trivia

  • In 2006, Kelser was inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame.
  • He wrote a book that came out in October 2006, titled Greg Kelser's Tales from Michigan State Basketball.

[edit] External links

Preceded by
Willie Banks
Robert W. Dugas
Steve Fuller
Dan Harrigan
James J. Kovach
NCAA Top Five Award
Class of 1980
Gregory Kelser
Paul McDonald|Paul B. McDonald
R. Scott Neilson
Steadman S. Shealy
Marc D. Wilson
Succeeded by
Darrell Griffith
Mark D. Hermann
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