Ron Kellogg
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| Born | December 16, 1962 Yakima Sun Kings | ||||||||||||||
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| Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |||||||||||||||
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Ronald Allison Kellogg Jr. (born December 19, 1962) is a retired American college and professional
College
Kellogg enrolled at Kansas in 1982 after a standout career at Northwest High School in Omaha, where he was a three-time all-state selection and was recruited by over 150 colleges before choosing KU over
As a junior in 1984–85, Kellogg was plugged into the starting small forward position opposite heralded freshman
Kellogg's senior year in 1985–86 proved to be one of the most successful seasons in Kansas basketball history. With "Special K" moving to shooting guard alongside fellow Omaha native
Professional
Following his career at Kansas, Kellogg was selected in the second round of the
Legacy
Kellogg's claim to fame was his silky left-handed jump shot, which netted him a reputation as the best shooter in Nebraska prep history[9] and one of the greatest ever to wear a Jayhawk uniform. When the Omaha World-Herald asked four scouts to recall Kellogg's game as part of a 2008 retrospective, each of them responded with the same two words: "incredible shooter."[1] This sentiment was shared by Chuck Woodling of the Lawrence Journal-World, who claimed that “in nearly four decades of watching KU basketball players I’ve never seen a more accurate shooter than Ron Kellogg.”[10] Kansas head coach Bill Self, a graduate assistant on the 1985–86 KU team, describing a shooting drill at practice in which the players would launch 30 to 35 jump shots from the elbow within a five-minute span, recalled, "On the fourth day we ran it, Ronnie finally missed one. Do you hear me? He went three consecutive days in a rapid-fire shooting drill without missing!"[1]
During his KU career, both Kellogg's basketball talents and his colorful persona were the subjects of entertaining writeups in Sports Illustrated. In the magazine's 1985–86 college basketball preview, he was characterized as “a streak shooter who gets so worked up when he's hot that he sometimes forgets the score, the time remaining and the law of averages. . . . [He] thinks he's open even when someone's hanging on his arms.” His shot selection was summarized courtesy of coach Larry Brown: "I'm always yelling, ‘No! No! . . . Great shot!’”[11] In another column, he was labeled a “born flake” who, during a critical time-out in a game against Memphis State his junior year, allegedly told a bewildered Brown, “Coach, we need to fix the whirlpool.”[3] The magazine later reported that Kellogg, along with fellow seniors Thompson and Dreiling, showed up for his final home game at Allen Fieldhouse wearing a tuxedo.[12]
References
- ^ a b c d e Hoop Heritage: Kansas found three wizards
- ^ a b c d Rock Chalk Zone: Ron Kellogg
- ^ a b Kellogg Went Snap! Crackle! Pop!
- ^ 1952 team: KU’s best ever
- ^ TheDraftReview – Ron Kellogg
- ^ Wheelin' and Dealin': Draft-day trades of the past 15 years
- ^ Valenti, John, "Swee'pea and Other Playground Legends." New York: Michael Kesend Publishing, 1990.
- ^ "1991–92 Continental Basketball Association Official Guide, page 282". Continental Basketball Association. Fall 1991.
{{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires|magazine=(help) - ^ Nebraska Sports Hall of Fame: Ron Kellogg
- ^ Kelloggs two-deep on talent
- ^ 1985–86 Men’s College Basketball Preview: #7 Kansas
- ^ The Week: Feb. 25 – March 2