The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Zydrunas Ilgauskas receives Lifetime Achievement Award
The most conspicuous person at the Greater Cleveland Sports Awards dinner Jan. 20 also received the organization’s most prestigious recognition.
Zydrunas Ilgauskas, 7-foot-3, received the Lifetime Achievement Award for work that goes beyond playing basketball for the Cavaliers for 12 years.
“This city has given so much to me and my family,” Ilgauskas said before the awards ceremony began. “I can only hope to give back half as much. I’m just humbled to be here.”
Ilgauskas joked about receiving a lifetime achievement award at age 42, but there was nothing funny about the humility he feels.
Ilgauskas, picked by the Cavaliers 20th overall in the 1996 draft, was a study in perseverance during his career with the Cavaliers. A foot injury limited him to five games in 1998-99 and robbed him completely of the 1999-2000 season. He played only 24 games the next season, but after that played no fewer than 62 games.
“If I can be an inspiration for others, I’m glad I can help somebody that way,” Ilgauskas said. “I was no special physical specimen. If I can come back, anybody can come back.”
Ilgauskas recovered from more than physical injuries. In 2007, his wife, Jennifer, lost a set of twins when they were born three months premature. Two years later, Zydrunas and his wife adopted a pair of brothers from Ilgauskas’ native country of Lithuania.
Ilgauskas started 673 of 771 games he played with the Cavaliers. He averaged 13.8 points and 7.7 rebounds over 12 seasons. He played with the Miami Heat in 2010-11 before retiring.
The Cavaliers retired Ilgauskas’ No. 11 jersey in 2013.
“He was a multi-talented guy but an even greater person to be around every day,” said LeBron James, a teammate of Z’s for seven years with the Cavs. “He came to work every day, showed up every day and he gave everything he could to this franchise.
“You talk about adversity and what he had to go through when he started his NBA career with the foot injuries he continued to go through, the foot surgeries he had to go through being that size and at some point thinking he’d never be able to play a game and to see him getting all the way back to him becoming an All-Star while I was here being the impact player that he was.”
Ilgauskas now works as a volunteer basketball coach with St. Ignatius.
Kluber is best
Indians pitcher Corey Kluber was chosen as the Pro Athlete of the Year over LeBron James of the Cavaliers, Joe Thomas of the Browns and Jose Ramirez of the Indians.
Kluber, the 2017 Cy Young Award winner, was not present. Catcher Roberto Perez accepted the award on Kluber’s behalf.
Thome honored
Hallie Thome, a former basketball star at Chagrin Falls High School, was honored as the Female College Athlete of the Year on Jan. 17 at the 18th annual Greater Cleveland Sports Awards dinner.
Thome has carried her success to the University of Michigan, where she was named All Big-Ten First Team.
“It’ such an honor to win this award,” Thome said. “Being from Michigan and having this connection to Cleveland is something special. You can take the girl out of Cleveland, but you can’t take Cleveland out of the girl.”
Thome credits her success from her days playing with Chagrin Falls, where she was Ohio Ms. Basketball and Gatorade State Player of the Year in 2015.
“I definitely learned a lot at Chagrin,” she said. “My coach Brittany Anderson and I are still in a great relationship. I talk to her all the time.”
Thome, in addition to being All Big-Ten First team, was just the third sophomore in Michigan history to reach 1,000 points. She averaged 17.8 points and 6.7 rebounds a game in 2016-17.