Background
Kelser grew up in a military family, spending part of his childhood in Okinawa.
Kelser grew up in a military family, spending part of his childhood in Okinawa.
Kelser played in the National Basketball Association (National Basketball Association) from 1979 to 1985 and is best known for his standout college basketball career at Michigan State. He credits his exposure to military discipline with contributing to his later success in athletics. 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.
As a senior, he along with Johnson led the Spartans to the 1979 National Collegiate Athletic Association 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 Moscow State University. 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. 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.
Since leaving the National Basketball Association, Kelser has worked extensively as a sports announcer and/or commentator on radio and television