The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Clark Kellogg Award finalists unveiled
Nate Barnes unveils the three finalists for the inaugural Clark Kellogg Award, given to The News-Herald boys basketball player of the year in an upcoming ceremony at Hooley House in Mentor.
The News-Herald will present the first Clark Kellogg Award to the area’s boys basketball player of the year as part of the Varsity Chalk Talk Show at Hooley House on March 27. The show begins at 7 p.m.
In alphabetical order, the following players are the three finalists for the award.
Michael Bothwell, Cornerstone Christian
Bothwell was named Ohio’s 2017-18 Division IV Player of the Year on March 19 for the second time in three years. The 2016 NewsHerald Player of the Year has helped lead Cornerstone Christian to another state final four berth after the Patriots won the 2016 D-IV state title.
Bothwell led all scorers with 22 points in Cornerstone’s regional semifinal victory against Rittman on March 13. Bothwell scored a game-high 21 points in the Patriots’ regional title win over Mansfield St. Peter’s, the state’s No. 1-ranked team, which was 27-0 prior to its matchup with Cornerstone.
Bothwell scored 29 points in a district semifinal win against Warren JFK on March 5 and a game-high 13 in a district final victory over Bristol on March 9.
The 6-foot-3 Furman commit averaged 24.6 points, 7.1 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game during the regular season. The Mr. Basketball candidate finished third in the area with 57 made 3-pointers and shoots 47 percent from 3-point range. He was named the Division IV Northeast Lakes District Player of the Year.
Jerry Higgins, VASJ
The defending NewsHerald Player of the Year led VASJ to a regional final as the only returning member of the Vikings’ rotation from last year’s state championship team. Higgins concluded his high school career as VASJ’s all-time winningest player with 87 career victories, and was 24-2 in the state tournament.
Higgins earned first team All-Ohio recognition in D-II.
Higgins scored 30 points in VASJ’s regional semifinal victory against Cortland Lakeview on March 15 and led all scorers with 35 in the Vikings’ regional final loss to Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary on March 17. The weekend prior, Higgins scored 25 points in VASJ’s district title victory over Lake Catholic.
Higgins has a Division I scholarship offer from Winthrop and interest from the College of Charleston, Marist and numerous Division II college programs.
The Vikings senior point guard led the team during the regular season with 22.8 points on 47 percent shooting, 6.1 assists and an areabest 4.1 steals per game. Higgins was named NCL White Player of the Year for the second consecutive season and earned recognition as the D-II Northeast Lakes District Player of the Year.
Alex Sulka, Chardon
Sulka earned third team All-Ohio distinction in D-II. He scored 25 points to lead Chardon in a sectional final loss to Edgewood.
Sulka led the area in scoring with 27.8 points per game. Sulka owns the career scoring record at Chardon, and posted games of 51 and 45 points this season.
The Hilltoppers’ 6-foot senior forward was a D-II first team all-district selection. He has interest from a handful of college programs, headlined by John Carroll.