Kenny Gregory taking former NBA lottery pick Marcus Fizer to the hole in Euroleague action.
Around the same time that a dude from UNC was making people forget who Jerry Stackhouse was as he crammed on some heads, another player was showing tremendous hops and the same abilities. Kenny Gregory honed his game at Independence HS in Columbus, OH, earning the state’s Player of the Year Award, plus a ‘97 McDonald’s All-American Game MVP. A certified sky walker, he played for Coach Roy Williams at Kansas U. from ’97-01’.
During Gregory’s tenure at KU, he balled with future NBA players Jacque Vaughn, Raef LaFrentz, Paul Pierce, Billy Thomas, Nick Collison, Kirk Hinrich, and Drew Gooden. Upon seeing Kenny’s performance at the McDonald’s Game, I felt as though league stardom was a certainty in his path. With modest career averages of 11.4 ppg, 4.3 boards, and 1.7 dimes, the Greenville Groove drafted Gregory in the NBDL’s inaugural season.
The last times Kenny played in the States were in the summer of ‘02 with the USBL’s Dodge City Legend*, and then a tryout with the Bulls in ’05. Playing the ‘07-08’ season for Efes Pilsen Istanbul in the Turkish League, Gregory had averages of 11.2 ppg, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.1 swipes. He has also balled with the Chester Jets (England), Pallacanestro Pavia (Italy), and MSB Le Mans (France), where he was a two-time All-Star selection.
The pro career of Kenny Gregory is like many other talented players in the sense that he is missing something that prevented him from making it to the highest level. What cats do you know that killed in High School, College, and AAU runs, but never were never able to get mustard in the NBA?
*Note: In ’02, I attended a USBL Dodge City Legend vs. Pennsylvania Valley Dawgs game. I have never seen a player with springs like Kenny’s; jump game was crazy!
July 29th, 2008 at 11:17 am
Kemp4Prez08 says:
Word, i used to think Kenny would be KG 2 back in the day. As for a cat around my way that never made his mark in the big league, that would be Nik Caner-Medley. He was MR. Basketball in Maine and then went on to star at the University of Maryland and he did great. He played at Rucker the day Kobe came to the park and didn’t do much, but he played. Now he’s trying to make it in the L, after a stint with the D-League and some Vegas action.
Close but no cigarillo!
July 29th, 2008 at 11:32 am
splash20 says:
i don’t know how that kansas team never won a title. the team with gooden, hinrich, and collison also had keith langford, aaron miles and wayne simien, who were all some of the best college players at the time.
July 30th, 2008 at 12:00 am
gabrielo says:
thats the team that lost to melo’s syracuse squad
July 30th, 2008 at 12:18 am
da Coach says:
One question, is that by chance Marcus Fizer in the picture with Kenny? Sure looks like it to me.
Ahh, remember the life and times of Iowa State with Fizer and Tinsley…
August 3rd, 2008 at 6:02 pm
Andy says:
Yes, that is Marcus Fizer. He played for Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel last season. Maccabi lost the Euroleague champioship to CSKA Moscow last season.
September 20th, 2008 at 8:21 am
friend says:
Like most of you I first heard of Kenny G. when he showed out in the 97 MAAG and Slam Dunk contest. I thought he’d kill at Kansas and be a surefire lotto pick by his sophomore year.
BUT HERE IS THE TRUTH WHY KENNY G. NEVER MADE IT TO THE LEAGUE:
Kenny suffered from what I call the “Skywalker’s Cure.” he is a classic case of a guy who had all of the physical tools but Kenny could not shoot or dribble well enough to play the wing in the league. The guy has huge (and I mean HUGE) hands and from what i heard this was a large part of the problem.
I wish Kenny well and hope he is enjoying life.
September 20th, 2008 at 8:26 am
friend says:
Skywalker’s CURSE… That was Kenny’s challenge.