Greg Kelser IN STUDIO on the Detroit Pistons Rebuild

Greg Kelser IN STUDIO on the Detroit Pistons Rebuild

hey welcome back to wake up wward we appreciate you guys for choosing a kickoff today with the Wake Up wward crew as the legend grg CER you keep calling me Legend I’m going go home and tell my wife you are the legend bro I’m going to go home and tell her I’m a legend and see what she says you know what no I’m not going to try that I’m not going to try that at all I know my wife loves me but she ain’t going to lie to me right but thank you guys chat family for uh being engaging for staying tapped in and as I always say being on one word to Eduardo O’Neal go on ahead and smash that like button for the woo crew and for Greg keler let’s jump back into the thing yeah it’s been it’s been awesome like I said hearing about your connection with Earl kurtin George Blaha um everything that you want to do as it relates to the camps and your journey in media it it’s been uh it’s been an awesome thing to hear so far and uh we got to jump into Detroit Pistons conversation as well you’ve seen a lot of Detroit Pistons basketball and I I think one of the things I like a lot about you as an analyst is you don’t mince your words you’re very very real and you you get right to the truth of the matter with the detroy Pistons and obviously the last couple years have not been good I just wanted your kind of quick take on what they were and kind of what you’re seeing in this transition to trasan Lon I think last year was truly uh uh a very very tough experience for everybody that was involved in it um not just the players on the floor and the coaches uh we as broadcasters but just everybody in the building everybody Affiliated it was a tough year because no one saw that coming the year began with a lot of enthusiasm expectations we thought that you know with with uh Monty Williams coming in new coach uh few new players that they would begin to make a path towards um play in or playoff contention yeah uh and then the season started wonderful I remember after the first three games hopes were incredibly High yeah you know after they go down to Miami and nearly beat the heat in a great game and then go to Charlotte and went on the road and come back home and beat the Bulls in their opener to two and one they were um they seemed and and they seem to be doing it with defense first yeah uh and then all of a sudden the bottom just fell out you know we lost to Portland I think we lost to maybe OKC or something and we were uh on our way to a 28 game losing streak who could have ever ever have envisioned that it still seems uh you know unreal to even say that 208 game losing streak from distance man yeah so uh it started very difficult and then we started losing players and we just couldn’t keep a firm firm line up in there steady and and it just it went it it got even worse and when the season ended just 14 wins um truly truly disappointing for everybody um but I say to you know I like to say that you know through adversity and that was great adversity uh you grow you learn you become better and I got to believe for the players that experienced that that were a part of that it’s going to be a motivating uh force or factor for them moving forward because you don’t ever want to have that happen again it’s it’s not who you are uh you didn’t get to this point by being a failure um so I would think that the energy and the focus to get to the season and get it going as soon as possible has to be foremost in everybody’s mind Minds um you want to clean that up you know it’s like in golf you know you have a bad hole you can’t wait to get to the next hole because you want to try and erase that well that’s what these guys are you know living with right now it’s a long summer or long offseason when you have a season like this and you’re not in the playoffs you got six months to marinate on this so everybody should be working hard to get better and come in the camp healthy and ready to get it going um I I still believe in this team and after what we saw yesterday and what’s happening right now with the new um leadership yeah I’m encouraged I I left the building and you’re right you hear that same thing all the time every time there’s a press conference introducing a new coach or a new GM or new president it’s usually always the same uh Expressions but there was something that felt a little different because uh maybe of the stoicism that we saw in the faces of the gentlemen that were on this on the post Podium yeah um making no promises uh acknowledging that there’s a lot of work to to be done but they seem to have a clear path and View and and and uh plan yeah for making it happen and hopefully sooner than later so yeah uh listening to JB bicker staff and of course Trent langon yesterday I left there thinking okay let’s get it going let’s get it going and Mr keler I not to focus on the losing too much but I just have sort of one final question how how thin is that line where a young team young players um the line be between being deflated or feeling defeated vers using that losing as motivation I know when you were drafted the Pistons it wasn’t like a dick vital was a coach if I remember correctly it’s not like it was the most winning environment at that time it took a little bit of time how how do these how does this young team tow that line of being defeated versus using it as motivation to never happen again well I speak to you from from experience I had the same thing happen to me uh coming off a national championship in Michigan State I’m drafted by uh the Pistons who were in a rebuild and um you know we only won 16 games and I can tell you when when you lose that many games I could easily go back and find you 10 wins for the Pistons this past season because there were at least 10 10 games that they could have should have won facts and it was the same thing with us back in 79 we were a young team we had five rookies on the team we had two more players that were in their second year so we weren’t going anywhere in a 23 Team league uh you you you weren’t going to win with youth like that and and we knew it but we worked hard we gave it the best we could and and we tried to stay together this team this year did stay together they they still pulled for each other there was no dissension or cracking or splintering or anything or finger pointing anything like that uh that’s good that speaks to the leadership that was there that kept that intact because when you’re losing it can easily fragment uh most of the times it does um but the line you speak of is is a very fine line so fine that if you go back two three years we had a game in Oklahoma City late in the season Oklahoma and the Oklahoma had a bunch of guys out there You’ never heard of they were trying to map out their future and what they were going to do and the Pistons were pretty much in the same boat I mean I really had to have a a big roster in front of me to know who these players were cuz many of them on the Oklahoma City side I had not heard of Oklahoma city has the best record in the uh in the Western Conference last year two three years later okay so that’s how fine that line is and that’s why you have hope that uh you know it doesn’t have to stay this way for very long if you’re a Pistons fan um you make the right decisions you catch some luck you get some good health uh you know you you make a couple of good drafts and and that sort of things things can turn around in basketball maybe much quicker than they can in some of the other sports yeah and speaking of that fine line you mentioned there were about 10 games where the Pistons maybe let it slip away some of their problems with their youth or coaching or whatnot maybe cost them some wins do you believe the Pistons brought in the right players the right coach the right president of basketball associations to help get those 10 wins plus maybe some more I certainly hope so and yes I do think so um there’s one loss that stands out in my mind and still bothers me because it happened right at midc Court in front of George and myself in New York late in the season you know there was a foul that occurred right there y uh as uh Divan chenzo just Ram roded assar Thompson off of a loose ball Pistons had a lead it was in the waning seconds of the game it was a clear foul the NBA admitted it afterwards but that played to the respect that you don’t get when you’re a a struggling basketball team Arad Thompson was blown up football Style off the ball no call New York gets the basketball and then scores and gets an n one at the bucket with under 10 seconds to go to to win that basketball game that should not have happened now that was on the officials in my mind but there were plenty other things that the Pistons themselves were responsible for whether it was not getting a key rebound uh maybe missing a a free throw or uh you know a shot that they would normally make that could have spelled the difference between winning and losing missing defensive assignment whatever uh I know they lost two games I believe on tapions where if they could have got a rebound tapions at the buzzer so again easily could go back and and find your 10 wins but yeah the the the people coming in I like what they’re doing they’re mixing really good solid veterans with the youth that they have and the veterans can still play they still got a lot of juice left they can perform on the court but traditionally these guys that they’re bringing in are used to playing not missing games that’s a and that’s a good a lesson for the young guys to see and be around and experience these guys going out there regardless to whether they you know are nicked up a little bit they go out they play they perform they be they’re professional that’s what you want your young players to see on a day in day out basis in The Practice Facility how they gear themselves up how they prepare to get ready how they come with the right attitude so that’s why you try and mix veterans with the young players and you hope that it mix mix mixes and meshes uh the way it’s supposed to Houston’s doing that very thing right now and they’re having success with it they are absolutely and Greg uh thanks again for joining us uh today man um K Cunningham just signed his rookie Max 5 years $224 million and last year you can just see the the toll that that the season took on this kid man with all the losing and everything going on but even through all of that he’s still stuck through it um the best he could at the podium and things of that nature now Tron wants to build this the right way and I I’m in total agree into that but on the same token you never want to tell a Detroit uh fan to be patient you know so while Tran wants to not cut corners and build this thing the right way I do feel like there needs to be some kind of urgency to to not you know let the losing continue tooo long because you have a star like K Cunningham now on a rookie Max contract that could ask out you know uh you know before the the contract is over where do you feel the balance needs to be between trying to accelerate this process but also taking your time and doing it the right way it’s a delicate blend but you have to uh you I think you have to understand that uh we’re patience is required you can’t resist it you got to you got to go with it now if something materializes that can help you accelerate but not derail the progress then you make that decision at that time yeah um I like the approach I like the fact that they’re not promising playoffs next year they don’t have to get to the playoffs for the season to be a tremendous success yeah um but we want to see that progress yeah you know think about the Lions and what they did year before last yeah you know they started off miserably he did and then they got it going and then people got in you know got a little bit more excited about it and they finished that season beautifully couple of years ago I remember they won that game in Green Bay kept them out of the playoffs and uh you know won in a place that’s very tough with the Lions to win over the decades and then they were able to Parlay that into what happened last year same thing with the uh same thing with the Pistons there’s no magic uh Elixir that you can sprinkle over everybody and and have it and guarantee that it will change but here’s the thing I find when you start to get a few wins when you start to experience a little success now you start to expect those wins and and even in the most uh dire situations you start to believe that we’re going to we’re going to we’re going we’re going to achieve you know we’re going to be okay it’s the same thing with losing when you lose a few games and and then you know people get hurt and then the bottom starts to to become a little shaky you almost expect something bad to happen right so you know it it it can happen I think uh it can happen fast but you have to be smart and Leadership has to be um very very wise in uh in knowing when to accelerate and maybe when to you know pump The Brak just a little bit Yeah that’s the responsibility that tran Langan and his staff now has and as far as Kate Cunningham I’m very happy they signed him I think he’s an absolute Beast I think he’s a stud I mean he demonstrated that when he played especially late in the season and they were going nowhere but when he was out on the floor man he was fun to watch because he was Unstoppable yeah and the things that he’s able to do with the ball in his hands and the mid-range nobody can guard him um the one thing I say he has to improve on he has to improve on his ball care because he’s going to draw double teams he’s got to be able to pass out of those double teams without the ball being deflected or stolen um I’d like to see him get maybe a few more rebounds but he can pass the basketball he can score it and on nights when his three-point shot is going then 30 points is pretty much guaranteed nice I love to hear that and you know what Greg we got one more question we got our Sparty in the house JB smooth ah Mr keler thank you so much once again as kg said for joining us here today and let me tell you right now it’s just an uphill battle cuz I’m the only Spartan on the show D that makes you unique I know right so every single day you don’t understand how much of an uphill battle it is but I want to take you back for a moment and just show you a picture of not only yourself but you and Magic Johnson back in 1979 at MSU and my question to you is are connection with Magic Johnson do you all talk uh have you seen lately what’s new with Magic Johnson it’s probably been a uh maybe uh maybe a year since I last saw Urban um and yes we are still very much in contact all my teammates we’re very close uh you know we experienced something that is uh rare and unique and uh it bonded us for life so um uh you know I might talk to Jay Vincent one day I might talk to Terry donelly another day I might talk to urvan I might talk to Ron Charles uh you know all we were all very close and uh that picture that you just showed uh was taken at the uh at the Brody Brody complex on the basketball court we had just got brand new Mercedes really okay go on yeah we had just bought brand new 1979 Mercedes 450 mine was a beautiful uh shade of red and his was a a powder blue and we were very happy proud and so we decided you know a photographer got with us and we rode around campus taking pictures we took pictures in front of Jennison Fieldhouse we took pictures on the uh basketball court and we didn’t know that those pictures were going to be in pretty much every National publication the next day they were newspapers newspapers all across the country uh with the heading uh this is what NBA startom or basketball you know great future in basketball ball can provide uh and believe it or not I still have mine I still have my car yeah 40 45 years it looks just like it does on that picture and uh and it and it runs beautifully that is awesome this has been this has been awesome man on and kind of hear about the man behind just the basketball this has been if I had known you were going to show that picture I would have I would have driven it and put it right out front wow we have to set something up that might come back and we yeah we got to do a round two we got to do round two we’ll definitely come by and check out the camps as well and you know was cool to hear about you and Magic I know you expounded on that at St cilia when they were doing their uh their kind of rededication uh to the renovation of the gym in that area it was just cool to hear all the different Legends including you and magic all of the different relationships that started right in Detroit yeah that’s it was a it was an awesome story to hear yeah I met Irvin on the steps of uh St Cecilia we we we met each other for the very first time shook hands right there on the steps I was was a senior in high school he was a sophomore uh we met we greeted each other I knew who he was he knew who I was um one of the thing I was one of the things that uh Michigan State said to me when they were recruiting me was that our goal is to sign you in 1975 signed Urban Johnson in 1979 and we believe that if we’re able to do that you guys will win a national championship before you leave and it happened wait wait wait wait so they knew they called the shots with Special K yeah Magic Johnson and knew that that was a formula and it worked out it did work out I mean you know it’s easier said than done but um Urban was right there in Lancing so they were well aware of him as a high schooler you know if this were today uran wouldn’t play high school basketball he’d go straight to the pros cuz he could have done it then he was that good wow guys thinking one last Pistons question related to your time in Michigan State too cuz you were um if I’m not mistaken the first Big 10 player ever with 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds as a forward I want to ask about jayen Duran what advice would you give or what’s the next step in his game he’s so young but there’s so much potential he does have a tall playmaking guard to get him the Rock from your experience what would you say to Jaylen derer what is that next step I would encourage him to watch as much film as he can of Miami’s bam out of Bio because they are similar we just said this yesterday I love this we did that’s crazy great their their their bodies are similar let’s go their skills are similar both have great jumping ability big hands um excuse me God bless you healthiness hey fever in here no I think that um I think this the sky really is is the limit for Jaylen durren because he’s gifted he’s athletic uh he doesn’t ever have to be a three-point shooter because bam isn’t I think bam I think bam maybe made five or six three-pointers last year one of them took the Pistons down we were there yeah we were in the building that that was4 night that’s what I’m talking about see stuff like crazy stuff like that you know could have help the ball till the end of the game he took the shot too early yeah there you go learning lessons yeah learning lessons so I think that that I think that durren can do the same thing I can be I think he can be a great rim protector he does have to maybe improve his footwork around the basket understanding what is a good shot what is not uh continue to work on the offensive glass and he could he could be an Allstar in this league he’s young he’s only like 20 so uh it it I think it all will depend on how hard he’s willing to work study and put the time in to make himself one of the best players in the league let’s go I like this man Community impact hope for our Detroit piss uh and just being able to talk to an absolute Legend I’m keep saying that in Greg keler you know we’re going to hold you to it now we got to have you back for a around two and next time you got to bring that Mercedes I will yes it’s got to be in the uh it’s got to be in the spring summer or fall though it sees no it sees no snow let’s go doing it right go he already right that that’s how you know that he is from Detroit I love it thank you for your time has been awesome uh I’ve enjoyed it hey hey chat family definitely smash those like buttons I’ll P whatever Emoji you can to support Greg keler giving us his time this morning also make sure you guys stay tapped in with the basketball camps as well I have that that email address as well or the website to sign up Gregory kel.com basketball Gregory keler Gregory keler yes yes can’t wait man thank you Greg

Longtime Detroit Pistons analyst, former NBA baller and Michigan State legend, Greg Kelser joins Brandon “Detroit Koolaid” Dent, Matt Broder and Flannel Sam to discuss the Detroit Pistons and their ongoing rebuild. Like, Subscribe and leave your comment below!

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