Scott Kelley- From Galesburg to Kentucky

I am not sure what to do as an intro to my Q/A with Scott Kelly. There are so many directions that one could go.

I could focus on how Scott was one of those late maturing kids, who was the last player on his 7^th grade team. He was excited to just be on the team. He developed a passion for the game, and worked hard to improve. And he went from being 6’0” in JH to 6’7” in HS.

Maybe a choice would be how Scott is not the stereotype of the big time athlete who was just there to play. He got advanced degrees after graduating from Evansville, and today is a professor at the University of Kentucky. And he helped developed and administer a program geared toward sports marketing, which was recognized nationally.

All of those are things that we “talk” about, and are great stories.

But for me, the intro is to talk about “The Game.” In 1976, Galesburg defeated Richwoods, who was the #1 team in the State in the Regional championship game at Thiel Gym. Many feel this was the greatest game ever played in Thiel Gym. The game featured four D1 players (maybe I am missing another). The next year, three of the players would start games for Big Ten teams.

The year before Richwoods had dismantled Galesburg in the Regional Championship. Did that game have an impact on Scott and the other players? When I asked Scott about the game, as he described the game, he knew the score was 103-51. Do you think if you can remember the exact score of a game forty years later that it must have made an impression?

Early in the next year, Galesburg lost again to Richwoods. Richwoods remained a focus of the season. I was at the bottom of the ladder on the boy’s basketball staff as the sophomore assistant. I am not sure how many Richwoods games our staff was sent to watch that year. I honestly think Coach Owens either watched or had one of us watch every single one of their games.

I was very limited in my basketball knowledge and insight (still might be true). Coach Owens would just ask me to watch 2-3 assigned things. He was focusing in on details. Often he would just give me a chart to fill in that showed where each player got the ball, and a way to describe what they did after they got the ball. One of his big focuses was wanting to know if Mark Smith left his feet to pass. My point is that Mike Owens spent months as a coach preparing for this game. The players spent months thinking about the game. And Galesburg fans had been waiting for the game too!!

How big was the game? Forty years later many people from Galesburg and from Richwoods can still tell you what they remember about that night. So, with Scott, there are lots of things- but “The Game” never gets old for me!!

Massey- Start by telling me about where you are, what you are doing now, and about your family?

Scott- My family and I have been living in Lexington, Kentucky since 1984, with the exception of two years (1987-89) when we lived in Bowling Green, Ohio.  I have been on the Marketing faculty in the Gatton College of Business & Economics since 1989.  I moved through the faculty ranks from assistant to associate to full professor and am currently in my eighth year serving as Associate Dean for Undergraduate Affairs in my college.  My responsibilities are focused on all things undergraduate in the college.  My wife, Pat, and I met at the University of Evansville and were married in 1983.  We have three kids – Christie, Sean and Laira.  Christie is married (Zach Tribble) and lives in Atlanta.  Sean is also married (Lauren) and lives in San Jose, California.  Laira is a senior at the University of Kentucky majoring in Civil Engineering.

 Massey- What was your youth and JH basketball experience? If I remember correctly, you weren't necessarily a star as a youth and in JH? Were you kind of the typical tall kid, a little slower developing? Did you ever get frustrated to the point of wanting to give up?

 Scott- My youth basketball experience consisted of shooting baskets in my driveway and playing pick-up games in my neighborhood.  I was the rare kid that did not play any organized basketball until I got to junior high – no YMCA leagues, church leagues, etc.; just neighborhood pick-up games.  I attended Churchill Junior High and made the 7^th grade “team.”  At that time, in 7^th grade we did not play any games.  We just practiced.  In 8^th grade I made the team and was literally the last man on the team.  I played rarely throughout the season.  I did not score a single field goal the entire season and was 4-5 from the free throw line.  I was tall for my age and young for my grade (I did not get my driver’s license until November of my junior year in high school, and did not turn 18 until I was already off to college.).  I made the team in 9^th grade and moved up the ladder a bit.  I ended up playing a fair amount that year and even started one game.  At the end of my 9^th grade year I was 6’ tall.  By the time I started my sophomore year at GHS just three months later I was 6’5”.  I spent that summer eating, sleeping and playing basketball.

As noted above, I was always relatively tall for my age and I was also young for my grade.  So in addition to being tall and trying to keep up with my body, I was also younger than almost everyone else on the team.  I truly loved the game of basketball and really do not recall getting discouraged or frustrated even as the last man on the team in 8^th grade, or as a bench guy in 9^th grade.  Coach Bill and Coach Bob Morgan pushed me when I needed it and were supportive when I needed that.  I took to heart the notion of basketball teams being made from October to March, and basketball players being made from March to October.  Starting in 7^th grade I practiced and worked on my game year around in one way or another.

Massey- As you gained success individually and as a team your junior and senior year, how did Galesburg make you feel like a celebrity? Are there things you tell people about your experience, and you can tell they think you are exaggerating?

 Scott- My family moved to Galesburg in 1967.  My earliest recollection of Silver Streak basketball is when we got out of school in 1968 when the Streaks went to State.  I grew up with a sense of the Silver Streak tradition and remember listening to games on the radio on Friday and Saturday nights.  The Silver Streak heroes of my early days in Galesburg were guys like Dale Kelley, Barry Swanson, Ruben Triplett, Zack Thiel and others.  The notion of feeling like a celebrity as a high school kid is kind of hard to get my head around.  I don’t know that I ever felt quite that.  But being a Silver Streak and playing in gyms that were generally full was a pretty heady experience for a high school kid.  I have always told people that our high school games were typically sold out at home in a gym that seated around 3200 fans, and that we had the smallest gym in our conference.  I think this is accurate.  At least it sure felt that way.  My experiences at the University of Iowa and at the University of Evansville were similar to the one I had as a Silver Streak.  At both schools there was a certain “celebrity” status that went along with the experience.  Today the way I describe my high school experience when I am talking with people from Kentucky is to say that my high school experience as a Silver Streak was very similar to the experience a UK player has, but in a small town way as opposed to state wide.  I honestly think that is a fairly accurate parallel.

 Massey- Your sister, Carolyn, was playing basketball about the same time. Her experience was much different in terms of how the school and community treated girls basketball. They didn't always even get to practice in the high school but went to a grade school building. Their schedule had fewer games, small buried newspaper stories, and no radio. How did your family handle this? How did you and your sister deal with this? Since Title IX was just starting up girls sports, was it something that you didn't think about because it seemed normal?

 Scott- My sister, Carolyn, was a sophomore when I was a senior at GHS.  She did admittedly have a much different playing experience than I did.  Title IX was passed in 1972, so it was truly in its infancy while I was playing in high school.  I think everyone was trying to figure out what Title IX actually meant as far as implementing it went.  The question of how my family handled this is an interesting one.  I don’t remember it being a huge issue.  But you might get a different answer if you asked my sister!  I think it might have been a bigger issue if our playing days had overlapped more directly.  But I was off to Iowa as my sister entered her varsity playing days as a junior and senior.

 Massey- I was in my first year teaching your junior year and was a soph assistant trying to figure out teaching and coaching. Some of you had American Studies across the hall in the morning, and before school came over and shot the breeze. I was impressed that you never seemed full of yourself, and you were respectful even to someone who may not have deserved it. No offense to you, but I credit your parents for helping you be grounded despite being in the limelight. Accurate?

 Scott- My parents were great parents generally and were specifically excellent sports parents.  They were very supportive of my pursuits in the basketball arena even when I wasn’t playing very much, or playing very well.  My Dad always said the best investment he ever made was the basketball goal he put up on our garage when we first moved to Galesburg.  My teammates were all genuinely good people too, which made the whole Silver Streak experience that much better.

Massey- Obviously,  there were exciting moments being a Streak at that time. But there also was a significant amount of pressure on you as teenagers also. I remember in the hotel, the day before we coming back from State, Coach Owens had mentioned some of you would be asked to speak. One of the players mentioned they would like to personally thank the man who had stopped him in a local drugstore on a Saturday morning after a loss on Friday. The man had evidently wanted the player to know that he thought the player had played like crap the night before, and didn't think he was very good. How much pressure was there playing high school basketball?

 Scott- I think there was a fair amount of pressure playing in Galesburg at the time.  I remember my junior year there were really high expectations going into the season.  There was even mention of 2 state titles in a row on a radio interview.  I remember thinking at the time that we only had one guy (Mike Campbell) with any varsity experience to speak of!  The truth was we were going to be good at some point, but we were really young and inexperienced.  We did not have a single senior on the team.  So our junior year was not a great success.  As we headed down the home stretch there was some concern that we might not finish the season above .500.  We would have been the first Silver Streaks team in literally decades to finish below .500.  Fortunately, we won several games in a row at the end of the regular season and were several games above .500 entering regionals.  My guess is that the personal thank you incident mentioned above in your question probably happened in our junior year.  I suppose in hindsight it was a lot of pressure for 15-17 year old kids.  I think I was able to isolate myself to some extent by limiting the exposure to situations where outside critical influences could intervene.  

 Massey- Your junior year ended with a crushing loss to Richwoods at Richwoods in the Regional championship. They were very talented, but it also felt like they wanted to run it up. They had a bunch of young players and we had a bunch of young players, so it might have been wanting to send a message for the next year. What was the message that you and your teammates took from that game? It certainly could have left the message that, "We'll never beat them." Sometimes high school kids move on pretty quickly, but looking back, do you feel that game had any impact going forward?

Scott- The Richwoods game that ended our junior year served as a great motivator for our senior year.  We played Richwoods early in the season of our junior year and lost in a 12-15 point game (as I recall).  We stayed with them, but they were clearly a better team.  The Regionals game against Richwoods just got out of hand right out of the gate.  My recollection is that it might have been 19-2 before we even had a chance to call timeout.  Things just snowballed from there.  The final score was 103-51.  I don’t know if the intent was to send a message, but in reality this game left a sour taste in all of our mouths.  We played Richwoods at Galesburg in December of our senior year.  This was a close game that came down to a couple of possessions and we ended up losing by 10 or so.  But in our minds at that point clearly we could play with them.

 Massey- The Regional game vs. Richwoods at Thiel Gym your senior year is described by many as the most exciting game they have ever seen. Donnie Wright and I were scouting at Peoria Manual that night. On the way back we could get radio reception on the bridge by Brimfield, so we stopped and listened to the last two minutes. I have never seen the game tape, but have heard lots of stories. What do you remember about getting ready for that game? What do you remember about that game? Can you remember the matchups? Did either team have a chance to win at the end of regulation? How did it end? And what do you remember about the celebration? 

 Scott- First, about a year ago the game is posted on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qO5LS2Jnp7g. You should check it out.  Leading up to the game we all believed we could play with Richwoods.  That was the most important thing for us.  Others around town may have doubted us, but we were confident we would give them a good game.  And those that did doubt us only served as motivation for us.  We were all really focused prior to the game and ready to play.  I honestly do not remember this, but I have been told that Coach Owens really didn’t give us much of a pre-game talk.  I think he knew we were ready to play.  When we played Richwoods in December and lost, I had a pretty decent game.  I remember that prior to the regionals game the coach for Richwoods basically said that game was a fluke for me and that Mark Smith was a much better player.  This was a personal motivator for me, beyond the team motivation.  The starting line-up matchups for that game were:

 F Rance Berry – Alan Cornelius

F Scott Kelley – Mark Smith

C Mike Campbell – Derek Holcomb

G Carl Finley – Fred Dothard

G Michael Wilder – Bill Hostadt

We were up in the first half and in the second half Richwoods came back.  As I recall, it was a back and forth game most of the second half.  I don’t remember either team have a real chance to win it in regulation.  I do remember that when we went out for the jump ball in overtime and Derek Holcomb did not jump center, that was the first time I realized he had fouled out.  Eric Doss came off the bench and had a great game.  I don’t think we would have won without his clutch performance.  Mike Campbell had a great game too.  The gym was packed.  There were a number of college coaches there that night too.  When the final buzzer sounded at the end of overtime GHS students rushed the court.  It was a crazy and unbelievable ending to a great game.  I still get cold chills today thinking about it.

 Massey- You were highly recruited. Why Iowa? What were the highlights of your year at Iowa?

 Scott- During my recruitment I visited Iowa, Texas A&M, the University of Mississippi, Western Kentucky, University, St. Louis University and Marshall.  Growing up in the Midwest the opportunity to play in the Big Ten was something I had always hoped for.  Plus it was relatively close to home.  I attended Iowa for my freshman and sophomore years.  My freshman year I played a fair amount and even started our home game against Northwestern.  That was pretty cool as my Silver Streak teammate, Mike Campbell, also started that game.  During the summer between my freshman and sophomore years I broke a bone in my foot.  It healed over the summer, but broke again about two weeks into practice at Iowa.  In part due to this injury, 

I did not play much my sophomore year.  In hindsight, it might have been better to have redshirted, but that was never presented as an option to me by my coaches at Iowa.  Being injured and not playing much made for a long year and after the season ended I decided to look into other opportunities.

Massey- What made you decide to leave Iowa? And you arrived at Evansville, and they were still dealing with tragedy. How did your experience at Evansville end up?

Scott- The University of Evansville plane tragedy happened on December 13, 1977.  I remember hearing about it at Iowa, even back in the pre-ESPN days and pre-24 hour news cycle days this was a story that got a lot of play. As a college basketball player, it especially resonated with me.  At Iowa we typically traveled in 2 small planes.  I remember after the UE tragedy thinking about our travel arrangements at Iowa in a slightly different way. 

 The new coach at Evansville, Dick Walters, came to UE from the College of DuPage.  My Dad new the president of the College of DuPage and that is how I first connected with Coach Walters.  As it turned out two of my sophomore teammates at Iowa, Jimmy Hallstrom (from Moline) and Larry Olsthoorn (from Pella, Iowa) also transferred with me to Evansville.  After the tragedy the NCAA waived the transfer rule to help UE rebuild the program more quickly.  As a result we did not have to sit out a year and were all able to play immediately.  The community’s relationship with basketball in Evansville reminded me a lot of the Galesburg community relationship with Silver Streaks basketball.  The university is relatively small, but at that time played a significant role in the Evansville community.  When I transferred to Evansville I was 19 years old.  In hindsight, I know I was not able to completely comprehend the sense of loss experienced by the community broadly and those directly impacted by the tragedy.  I think it was probably a good thing, because I know I was not equipped to deal with a tragedy of that magnitude at that age.  The Evansville community and campus embraced us from the moment we arrived on campus.  Building a team literally from scratch is a very difficult proposition.  With the exception of Larry, Jimmy and me, none of us knew each other prior to arriving on campus.  As a team we had no common knowledge base.  Along with having to put in an offense and defense, we had to build a sense of team.  This was a difficult task to say the least. 

 I had a great experience at UE.  I enjoyed success on the basketball court and also graduated in four years despite transferring.  The smaller university environment at UE was a much better fit for me than the large state university environment I had at Iowa my first two years in college.

 Massey- With a degree in marketing, you have developed a niche in the area of sports marketing. Has that been away to feed your interest in sports?

Scott- My undergraduate degree from Evansville is in Marketing.  I also earned an MBA at Western Illinois University.  My doctorate is from the University of Kentucky and it is in Marketing too.  I got into sports marketing almost 20 years ago.  I have enjoyed learning about the field of sports marketing and teaching a class in sports marketing.  In some way it feeds my interest in sports, but in other ways it turns something I have grown up having a great passion for into a job.  The fact that sports is now a business has changed many aspects of the sports experience for everyone at all levels of sport.  Some of those changes have been for the good.  Others have not.

 Massey- I don't know if you realize but your career has some similarities to the legendary Adolph Rupp. Rupp first coached at Freeport HS and you coached at Highland CC in Freeport, then both ended up at Kentucky. I am someone who looks at Kentucky as being like the Yankees of college basketball. For me I find it hard to root for the Yankees and hard to root for Kentucky. Many people are critical of Coach Cal, and the one and done players. Surprisingly, when I read interviews of college coaches, who I respect, most of them are very respectful of Coach Cal. And when you were back to Galesburg, you expressed positive feelings about Coach Cal and Kentucky basketball. Do you go to games regularly? What do you admire about what Coach Cal has done at Kentucky?

 Scott- I did know about the Freeport connection for Adolph Rupp.  I was told about it as I was leaving Freeport to move to Lexington to my doctoral program. I know that your perception of UK basketball is not all that uncommon.  Many (most?) fans without Kentucky connections have a hard time pulling for UK.  Kentucky fans love Coach Cal and the Cats – others not so much.  Coach Cal mastered the one and done strategy before anyone else, but now most of the premier programs are employing it.  Duke, Kansas, UCLA, UNC and others have all used it.  Because Coach Cal was the first to take advantage of this rule, he ends up getting most of the heat.  I am not surprised that Coach Cal is respected by his peers.  He runs a very successful program and is genuinely interested in what is best for his players.  There is an interesting ESPN 30 for 30 on Coach Cal where his strong relationships with his players comes through loud and clear.  The 30 for 30 segment is not one sided as it also explores the dark side of his career.  The thing that I find most amazing about what Coach Cal does is how he builds a new team year after year.  The one and done strategy forces him to do this.  Have lived through the experience of building a team from scratch in my junior year at Evansville, I can definitely appreciate how hard it is to do.  Coach Cal is a master at building a team and motivating his players.  That is what I find fascinating about what he does. 

 I do not attend many UK games any more.  A few years ago I had the opportunity to serve on the UK Athletics Board.  One of the benefits of serving on that board was season tickets for UK basketball and football – really good season tickets I should say.  Unfortunately, that board was disbanded a few years ago.  I no longer have tickets, but do watch most UK games on TV.

 Massey- The summer after Wisconsin beat Kentucky in the Final Four, we were traveling and both my son and I had on Wisconsin basketball shirts. We made a special point to stop in Lexington to have lunch. Your sister has taught at the University of Wisconsin. Was there any family taunting before or after that game? 

 Scott- You are correct.  My sister does teach at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.  As I recall, we did have a “gentleman’s bet” on the game and I lost.  But there was no taunting.  It is too sensitive of a subject!

 Massey- When you came back to Galesburg for the Alumni Night, what was your impression of Galesburg today? 

 Scott- Galesburg was a great place for me to grow up.  I got a great education that prepared me well for college.  My basketball experience in Galesburg was also amazing.  I had great coaches throughout my Galesburg basketball experience.  Coach Bill Morgan and Coach Bob Morgan gave me a chance to be on the Churchill Junior High team in 8^thand 9^th grade.  The fact that they took a bit of a flyer on me at that point has impacted nearly every aspect of my life moving forward.  For that I am forever grateful.  I had great coaching at GHS from Coach Owens and his staff.  Coach Owens let me play out on the floor in high school which prepared me for college basketball significantly better than if I had been strictly a post player in high school.  All of my coaching in the Galesburg system focused on the fundamentals.  Focusing on fundamentals made me a better player.  It also was a life lesson.  Stressing the fundamentals, no matter what you are doing, is a key to success.

 When I was back in Galesburg for the Alumni Night and my high school reunion, it was great to see a lot of familiar faces.  Some things in Galesburg have not changed a lot.  Other things are nearly unrecognizable for me.  My parents moved from Galesburg when I was in college, so over the years I have not gotten back home as much as I would have liked. I have great memories of growing up in Galesburg and being a Silver Streak.

Massey- Scott, thanks for taking the time to “talk” to me. I really have enjoyed hearing your perspective on many things. For all your success, you are the same humble person you were in high school!!