Another helping from "Special K"

Keeping in pace with my Alexi Lalas story and blog (see below, "Talking futbol with Alexi Lalas), I’d be remiss to leave out some extra tidbits from my interview with Gregory Kelser that didn’t make it into the story about his expanding basketball camp.

Kelser, the former Michigan State basketball star and current Pistons TV broadcaster, was also very kind to not only have a lengthy chat with me, but especially to do so in person.

So here’s a few extra items from the local hoops legend from our sit-down interview a few weeks ago.

First and foremost, Kelser described why he enjoys putting on youth basketball camps so much, to the point that he’s expanding them from West Bloomfield to Grosse Pointe.

“It’s great. It’s gratifying to see youngsters come in, … see them improving,” Kelser said. “That’s the thing we hope for — that they’ll be better on Friday at the end of camp than they were on Monday. Hopefully, they will have learned something that they can take and continue to develop, as far as basketball is concerned.

“But we also hope we change some attitudes and some mindsets, too,” he continued. “We’ve planted some seeds that will cause them to maybe want to do things differently, to help their own personal growth, on the court and off the court — educationally. It’s always a little bit melancholy when it’s time to let them go.

“One of the biggest thrills I get is when I have youngsters, later on — now adults — tell me that they attended my basketball camps,” Kelser said. “And it’s always interesting to have them come up to me and say: ‘I remember this, you said that, and it had impact. I just want to thank you.’ I get that a lot.”

Now on to the fun extras. I spoke with Kelser during the NBA Conference finals. Back then, he had these thoughts on the eventual champion L.A. Lakers and the runner-up Boston Celtics.

“I’m surprised to see Boston play as well as they played, after an inconsistent regular season,” he said. “It’s a testament to the championship spirit of veteran ball players.
The Lakers look as good as they have ever looked, looking to be a factor in the championship quest.”

The where-will-LeBron James-go? saga was just as big then as it is now, while I’m writing this, so I asked Kelser his thoughts on where the superstar will end up.

“I’ve always felt that he would stay in Cleveland, but now when you hear all this talk that he’s interested in Miami, Chicago — New York, of course — I’m not so sure where he’s going to end up.

“It’s not about money with him, because he’s going to make his greatest fortune off the floor anyway. So he can be anywhere and do well financially. I think for him, it’s just a matter of where he feels his best chance to win a championship might be.

“If he wants to be compared to the greatest of all time, those players got to their initial teams, stayed there and made them champions. Bill Russell with his 11 championships in one city, Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson with his five in one city, Jordan with his six in one city. Kobe now with the Lakers (up to five after the recent finals win over Boston), Tim Duncan … all these guys stayed and got it done there.

“One thing, if LeBron were to go and hook up with Dwayne Wade in Miami, than it’s not so much his team and his championship. He had to leave to try and find it, as opposed to making it happen where he was drafted. That’s the only difference that I would see.

“I envision him winning championships before his career is over, it’s just a matter of where I guess.”

Onto the current state of the Pistons, largely in flux with the upcoming NBA Draft (June 24) and impending free agency period (begins July 1).

“I have a lot of faith in Joe Dumars, because he’s done this before. This team is in similar position as the 2000-01 team that it won 32 games and looked to be nowhere close to the playoffs. Then they hired Rick Carlisle, win 50 games and get to the second round of the playoffs. Next year, they win 50 more and get to the conference finals, and then the championship after that.

“So that was a quick turnaround. I’m envisioning that they can possibly have another one. I think the key thing will be the two or three players that Joe is able to add. That was the recipe back then. So you had the pieces in place, you just had to augment the roster with some veterans and some youth, and they did that. And they’ll try and do the same thing this time, through the draft with the youth, free agency with the experience and trades as well.

“So I’m looking for them to be back in the playoff picture. I don’t see this as being a lengthy project.”

Finally, I asked Kelser about how proud he was of his Spartans men’s basketball team’s recent run of success and what his plans were had they made it to the final this past season. Mind you, this took place before Tom Izzo’s courting by the Cavaliers.

“I’m so thrilled to see them getting there; Tom Izzo is a genius. Even with the odds they faced, playing without Kalin Lucas, some of the other guys injured, they got there. It’s very exciting, heartbreaking at the end. I was in Atlanta when the Spartans lost to Butler doing a Pistons game. I had a little monitor to the side. It took all of my professionalism to get through my game — all that I could muster to maintain my upbeat demeanor to finish my game after watching the Spartans lose. I would have been in Indianapolis had it not been for my Pistons responsibility.”