The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Kellogg adds name to N-H award
Player of the Year to be announced March 27
Since the late 1970s, Clark Kellogg has been synonymous with greatness in the game of basketball, especially at the high school level in Northeast Ohio.
Now Kellogg’s legacy will carry on throughout the area. The News-Herald and Kellogg have partnered to honor the boys basketball player of the year each winter.
Beginning this season, The News-Herald boys basketball player of the year will receive the Clark Kellogg Award — similar to the Tony Fisher Award, which goes to the area’s football player of the year.
“I am excited and grateful for the blessing of having The NewsHerald Player of the Year award named after me,” Kellogg told The N-H. “What a humbling and special honor for me, my family, and the many others who’ve impacted my life through the years.
“As far back as I can remember, The News-Herald has always provided excellent coverage of high school sports, which makes this honor even more special to me.”
The first Clark Kellogg Award will be handed out March 27 at Hooley House in Mentor during a special edition of the Varsity Chalk Talk Show, which is hosted by Bill
Tilton. That night, finalists for the News-Herald’s boys and girls basketball player of the year will be on hand, with the winners being announced.
Kellogg burst onto the scene as one of the nation’s top high school players for St. Joseph, leading the Vikings to the 1979 state championship game
as a senior. In that game, Kellogg scored a state-record 51 points, a mark that still stands today. He also had 24 rebounds. As a senior, he averaged 26 points and 18 rebounds, and was named Class AAA Ohio Player of the Year. He was a member of the Parade Magazine high school All-America
team that featured future college and NBA stars Ralph Sampson, James Worthy and Isiah Thomas.
After the 1979 state final, Kellogg played in the McDonald’s All-American game, but also made time to make a local impact. He played in the first-ever News-Herald Classic boys all-star game.
Kellogg went on to play at Ohio State, then the NBA. In 1982, he won the Big Ten Player of the Year award.
Kellogg then played five seasons with the Pacers before knee injuries cut short his career. He averaged 18.9 points and 9.5 rebounds. He’s one of the few rookies in NBA history to average
20 points and 10 rebounds, a feat he accomplished in 1982-83.
The longtime CBS college basketball analyst is one of the most popular sports TV personalities on air today.
Kellogg was a member of the first News-Herald High School Sports Hall of Fame class in 2013.