As Calvin Thompson, Ron Kellogg and Greg Dreiling were making their mark during their senior year at KU in 1985-86, KU coach Larry Brown spoke about their lasting accomplishments to the Topeka Capital-Journal.
“They’ve made a contribution to this program that will carry over for a long time,” Brown said. “They’ve helped us learn how to win again, and hopefully that will carry over. I feel special about these kids for what they’ve helped us accomplish. I don’t think you can replace them, but I hope we don’t have to. I just hope we can continue to build on what they’ve done.”
The super senior trio, who were recruited by Ted Owens, helped put KU basketball on the map again during their careers after two straight losing seasons by Owens cost him his job. Thompson, Kellogg and Dreiling helped lead KU to the 1986 Final Four under Brown, their first national semifinal appearance since 1974. In their swan song against Duke in the Final Four at Reunion Arena in Dallas, where KU lost 71-67, Kellogg led Kansas with 22 points on 11 of 15 field goal shooting. Thompson added 13 points, five rebounds and three assists, while Dreiling recorded six points and six rebounds.
These seniors helped lead KU to the winningest season at the time in school history at 35-4.
During the previous game in the Elite Eight versus North Carolina State at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Dreiling dominated inside with 19 points and 12 boards. Then, in the Sweet 16 against Michigan State, Thompson was the hero in his hometown with 26 points, four rebounds and four assists.
Brown, who spent the majority of his coaching career in the NBA and ABA, spoke about the three seniors’ chances of making the NBA during the 1985-86 season on his Hawk Talk radio show.
“I think Greg is a definite. I think he’s going to go first round and I think he’ll probably go in the top 15 picks. He’s just made so much progress and they need big guys, and he’s a very very conscientious hard working kid,” Brown said.
“Ronnie and Calvin, it’s a little tougher. At their size, that’s probably a position that has the most gifted kids all over playing and trying for spots. They both I think have the ability. They both have the desire. They’re going to have to improve their ballhandling tremendously. I think they shoot the ball well enough and they’re good kids. They have to get with the right team, a team that needs their particular play. If they can work hard and improve their ball-handling skills, their chances will go up considerably.
“I hope they’ll all make it,” Brown added. “I think they’ve made tremendous improvement. Ronnie and Calvin, most people look at them as big guards. I think in order for them to make it as pros, they’re going to have to work on their overall game, but they’ve shown so much improvement in the last two or three years that I’m confident that they both will make it. Greg, everybody feels he has a chance to be a center in the NBA. I certainly do. He works hard. He’s got great character. He’s getting better all the time. I don’t know if they’ll step in and start. I doubt that will happen their rookie year, but I think they all have a chance to be pros for a long time.”
Thompson finished his illustrious career as KU’s fourth all-time leading scorer with 1,555 points, while Kellogg completed his magical career as the school’s fifth all-time leading scorer with 1,508 points. Playing just before the three-point line was implemented (the shot went into effect in 1986-87), both are regarded as two of the best outside shooters in KU annals with Thompson shooting a career 53.4 field goal percentage, including a scorching 56.6 percent his senior year. Kellogg, who never saw a shot he didn’t like, blistered the nets with a career 53.2 field goal percentage, including 55.2 percent his senior season and an even more eye-popping 57.6 percent his junior year.
Dreiling, who played three years at KU after transferring from Wichita State, improved tremendously throughout his career and completed his Jayhawk days as the 10th all-time leading scorer with 1,209 points and sixth all-time rebounder with 650 boards. Dreiling currently ranks No. 7 all time at KU in career field goal percentage (57.2).
With such impressive talent and NBA aspirations, their pro careers were met with major obstacles and adversity after leaving KU. Brown’s agent, Joe Glass, wanted the three seniors to sign with him. Instead, Kellogg, Thompson and Dreiling inked with different agents.
“We got a bad rap,” Thompson said. “The Glasses (Joe and son Keith) told me and Ronnie and Greg that if we didn’t sign with him, that we wouldn’t play in the league.”
Thompson said they were “blackballed” and rumors spread that they had bad attitudes.
“People don’t know but it was a good run,” said Thompson, who had a very successful career in the CBA and overseas.
Thompson was selected in the fourth round by the New York Knicks (No. 71 overall pick, first selection in fourth round), while Dreiling was a second-round pick by the Indiana Pacers (No. 26 overall and second pick in second round). Kellogg was also drafted in the second round by the Atlanta Hawks (No. 42 overall and No. 18 pick in second round) but was traded on draft night to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Thompson said he was at first excited to be headed to the Big Apple and reunited with former KU assistant coach and then-Knicks aide Bob Hill.
“I thought New York was the perfect fit for me because they needed some shooters,” Thompson said in an exclusive 90-minute Where Are They Now? interview at his home in 1999.
However, his time in New York didn’t end happily. Mysteriously, Thompson was placed on injured reserve and the only player in camp not to play in any games despite wowing everyone in practice with his skills.
“(I) kicked everyone’s butt,” Thompson said.
Thompson said that Hill “told me the truth” ... and “came into my hotel room after they had made a decision to get rid of me and told me, ‘Hubie thought that you were Larry’s (Brown) boy, and he doesn’t like Larry. He was drafting you to screw Larry.’
“It was always rumored that Larry was going to take Hubie Brown’s job in New York and become coach, and so he figured he would draft his boy to screw him over. I said (to Hill), ‘Did he know that I’m not Larry’s boy?’”
That didn’t matter. Hubie Brown, now a TV pro basketball analyst, was making his own statement by cutting Thompson.
“He drafted me to get back at coach Brown,” Thompson said.
That put Hill and Thompson in a tough spot.
“’He (Hubie Brown) told me if I (Hill) said anything to you, he would fire me,’” Thompson said Hill told him.
Despite not making the Knicks, Thompson learned from the experience and became even hungrier about the game.
“The New York camp is probably the best thing that could have happened to me,” Thompson told the Lawrence Journal-World on Sept. 6, 1986 after signing with the CBA’s Topeka Sizzlers.
“It opened my eyes and made me see what was going on. I’ve been through it now, and it’s made me grow as a player and as a person.”
Thompson, who was the first rookie selected to play in the CBA All-Star game, wound up having a
very successful career as an explosive scorer for two seasons in the CBA and seven years in Europe, including two seasons in France and five years in Israel.
He said playing in Israel was a remarkable experience. Thompson, who was having marriage problems at the time, lived his first year in the Nazareth Mountains.
“I loved it,” Thompson said. “The first thing I did when I got to Israel was swim in the sea of Galilee. I figured if Jesus could walk across the water, I could swim in it. It gave me a sense of peace in my life to be up in the mountains and see all the history that we learned about in Sunday school and in the Bible. That allowed me to breathe and live again, to appreciate life and not dwell on the negative that was happening.”
Kellogg didn’t have nearly the same success as Thompson after leaving KU. After acquiring Kellogg in a trade on draft night, Lakers general manager Jerry West said the former KU star “might be the best shooter I’ve ever seen.” Despite such high praise, Kellogg didn’t make the Lakers and never played in the NBA. He played in the CBA, though never came close to matching the successful career he had at Kansas. Kellogg was a poor ballhandler, and according to a former teammate, had to “start all over” once his college career ended.
“(Kellogg) thought he had it made,” the teammate said. “He wasn’t prepared. Kellogg didn’t have the mentality. Ronnie would break plays (at KU) if his number wasn’t called.”
Despite being “blackballed” by Brown’s agent, Dreiling wound up with a 10-year NBA career with the Indiana Pacers (seven years), Dallas Mavericks and Cleveland Cavaliers, where he was a solid role player and enforcer.
Dreiling posted career averages of 2.1 points and 2.1 rebounds in 8.9 minutes per game while starting 94 of 474 games. He shot 46.7 percent from the field and 64.9 percent at the free throw line. His best season came in 1990-91 with Indiana when his former KU assistant Bob Hill served as head coach. Dreiling averaged career highs in points (3.5), rebounds (3.5), games (73), starts (42) and minutes (14.1).
The former McDonald’s All-American (he was regarded as one of the top three centers in his high school class with Patrick Ewing and Stuart Gray) totaled 1,014 career points, 1,018 rebounds and 137 blocks.
Dreiling, whose last year came in 1996-97 with Dallas, played in four playoffs, where he started five of nine games (all five starts in five games came with Indiana in 1991) while averaging 1.9 points and 2.2 rebounds per game.
According to Baskeballreference.com, Dreiling made $2,627,500 during his career with his most earnings coming in 1992-93 with Indiana, when the former KU star made $650,000.
In the 1994-95 Rick Barry’s Pro Basketball Bible, here’s how Barry graded Dreiling’s performance and also how he evaluated him. He was an unrestricted free agent and unsigned at press time.
First, the grades.
Scoring D
Shooting B
Free-Throw Shooting C
Defense B
Defensive Rebounding B
Offensive Rebounding C
Passing C
Ball Handling C
Intangibles A
Overall C-
From Barry: “You want scoring? Dreiling will not give you scoring. Eight-year vet’s highest scoring average was 3.5, the only time he’s chalked up over 3 a night...If he’s going to score, it will be on a rare 15-footer, the occasional putback (thought he’s not a particularly effective offensive rebounder), or off the pick-and-roll...What Dreiling brings to the table are his six fouls. Not reluctant to hit guys coming down the lane. Yup, he’s foul prone. He’s a banger, though not a shot blocker...He won’t get you beat with his passing, nor will he beat you with his passing; indeed, he rarely touches the ball on offense. Sets good screens for jump shooters. Can catch the ball...Character, work ethic and attitude all are first-rate.”
“In Sum.”
“Give the man credit. He has lasted eight years with marginal ability on both ends of the court. Knows his role and knows his limitations. Makes for a solid third-string (not a back-up, mind you) center.”
In Barry’s 1995-96 Pro Basketball Bible, when Dreiling was with the Cavs, here’s his grades and report.
Scoring D
Shooting D
Free-throw Shooting D
Defense C
Defensive Rebounding B
Offensive Rebounding D+
Shot Blocking C
Passing D
Ballhandling D
Intangibles B+
Overall D+
“A good season for Dreiling is when he has more points than personal fouls. Guess that makes last season a good one. He scored 110 points and and committed 108 hacks in 483 minutes of 58 games...Scout: “He’s not much more than a big stiff whose greatest asset is that he takes up space.” ...He’ll battle people in the post and block an occasional shot, but he’s a big-time hatchet man. In nine seasons, he has 934 points and 858 personal fouls. Zero speed...Get serious...What floor game? For a veteran of nearly 10 seasons, he too often panics when he gets the ball. “The only thing worse,” said one coach, “is if he tries dribbling once he’s got it.”...There are a couple of plusses here (intangibles). He’ll set a decent pick, but forget getting him the ball if the action calls for a pick-and-roll. And he’s a decent practice player.”
“In Sum”
“A few years ago, when he played with the Pacers, Dreiling squawked about not getting enough playing time. He’ll be 32 in November and the squawking has ceased. He may be able to squeeze out another year or two in the NBA. If not, Europe beckons.”
Despite these critical comments by Barry, I was always a fan of Dreiling and thought he was a very hard worker and extremely conscientious. He worked with a dance instructor at KU to improve his footwork. How many college athletes would ever do that? He made great strides at Kansas after a sensational high school career in Wichita, where he was larger than life and dominated due to his sheer size.
I rooted for him in the NBA and saw three of his games, including an exhibition game in Topeka with the Pacers and two regular-season Pacer games at Market Square Arena, including one contest during 1991 Final Four weekend, where Dreiling and Indiana battled against Golden State and Paul Mokeski.
I believe Dreiling should be lauded and praised for having a 10-year NBA career with such marginal talent. And it also certainly didn’t hurt that he was white. During his Hawk Talk radio show in 1988, here is what Larry Brown said about Dreiling and white privilege:
“When you’re 7-foot and white, the chances of you playing in the NBA for a long time is really highly probable, and I think he’ll play for a long time.”
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