Wichita basketball legends Aubrey Sherrod and Greg Dreiling have both celebrated their 60th birthdays on back-to-back days; Sherrod turned 60 on Sunday, then Dreiling did so on Monday.
Aubrey Sherrod, a left-handed shooting guard, was MVP of the 1981 McDonald's All-American Game; he was the youngest of five brothers. His senior year at Wichita Heights high school he averaged 27.5 points & 7.5 rebounds per game, ranked among the top two guards in the country together with Michael Jordan.
During his high-school career he scored 1,735 points, ranking him second all-time in Wichita behind Dreiling from Kapaun Mt. Carmel HS.
Sherrod ended his four-year college career at Wichita State placing sixth in scoring with 1,765 points, fifth in assists with 384, and was the all-time steals leader with 148.
In the 1985 NBA draft he was selected in the secind round (34th overall) by the Chicago Bulls. He joined the team for the pre-season but was waived, the last player cut just before the start of the season. The Bulls already had a young shooting guard in Michael Jordan they'd selected 3rd overall the previous year.
The new three-point line was put in for conference games-only late in Aubrey's college career at WSU; his scoring totals might have been greatly augmented had he played during the 3-point era.
Dreiling, standing 7'1", dominated his years in the Wichita City League for KMC; he was a two-time high school All-American, leading the Crusaders to a trio of Class 3A state championships. He finished his high school career with nearly 1,900 points, the all-time leading scorer in the state of Kansas, a record he held for 34 years.
Dreiling played his freshman year of college at WSU, then transferred to Kansas for his remaining three seasons. He had 19 points and a dozen rebounds in the Regional Finals of the NCAA tournament in 1986, leading the Jayhawks into the Final Four. Dreiling shot 57% from the floor during his career at KU, fifth-best all-time for the Jayhawks. He also finished among the Top 15 rebounders in KU history.
Dreiling was taken in the second round of the NBA draft by the Indiana Pacers, and he played for a decade in the NBA.