As a basketball player, Clark Kellogg reached the mountain top, but all too briefly.
He was a standout on a nationally elite level at Cleveland St. Joseph’s High School, a prep superstar who was mentioned in the same breath with Isiah Thomas, James Worthy and Mark Aguirre. In his last game for St. Joe’s, Kellogg scored 51 of his team’s 65 points in a loss to Columbus East at St. John Arena, a record that still stands for most points scored in an Ohio state final.
He had a fantastic three-year college career at Ohio State that left fans wanting more, even though he was named Big Ten MVP in 1982 and clearly was ready for an elevation to the pros after averaging 15.0 points and 10.2 rebounds as a Buckeye.
After being selected with the eighth overall pick by the Indiana Pacers, Kellogg was at it again, averaging a whopping 20.1 points and 8.4 rebounds per game as a rookie and putting up similar numbers in 1983-84 and ’84-85. However, after five seasons in Indy, Kellogg was forced to retire because of persistent knee soreness.
He was just 25 years old and still had a burning desire to reach a level of excellence and make a mark on the game. That’s when his next profession – perhaps his destined one – found him.
“It’s been an enjoyable ride,” Kellogg told Bucknuts.com Monday. “It’s been wonderful from the standpoint that my playing career was cut short in 1987 due to knee injury, and I got a start in broadcasting with the Pacers on their radio network in the fall of ’87 and at the same time I was contacted by a general manager of a station up in Cleveland, WOIO, that was televising Cleveland State University games and they thought I might be a good fit for that network for the coverage of CSU basketball.
“So a few months after retiring from playing NBA basketball I was doing 70-plus Pacer games on radio and ended up doing a dozen or so Cleveland State University games on local television. So I jumped right into the water. I showed an aptitude for it, and obviously I loved the game, I knew the game and I played at every level, and I always enjoyed communicating. So I said, `Hey, I’m going to go after this just like I went after playing. I want to be outstanding, I want to be distinguished, I want to be good, and I’m going to put the time and energy into doing that.’
“And I had a lot of people help me along the way. It’s been a nice, steady rise.”
With that rise, Kellogg reached another pinnacle yesterday: He was named to succeed Billy Packer as the top analyst at CBS, meaning he will team with veteran play-by-play man Jim Nantz to call the 2009 Final Four. The assignment will end a 34-year run by Packer in that spotlight.
If the sometimes abrasive Packer feels shoved aside, he didn’t portray it. In fact, he wished his successor well.
“I’ve known Clark since he played at Ohio State and I’ve always had great respect for him from the standpoint of his intellect and his professionalism,” he told Bucknuts.com Monday. “He, without question, understands the game. He has more than paid his dues in terms of the years that he spent while working his trade, both in play-by-play and studio. And I know that he’s totally committed to the preparation necessary, the professionalism necessary. I think he’ll do great.”
Both Kellogg and Packer admitted the move had been in the works for a while.
“About a year ago I got a call from the upper management at CBS indicating they were contemplating looking at maybe making a change in the lead analyst chair and gauged my interest,” said Kellogg, who turned 47 on July 2 and recently celebrated his 25-year wedding anniversary to his wife, Rosy. “I said I would love to (do it) at the right time and in the right way. So here we are. That time has come. I’m excited about the opportunity. It certainly seems as though CBS and the NCAA is excited about it. Hopefully the viewers will be pleased with it over time.”
“These are really good circumstances,” Packer told The Associated Press. “This decision was made with myself and CBS over a year ago. Their timing to announce it is their business. I have nothing to do with that. I was working on a series of 1-year contracts for several years. ... I did say there would be no mention during the season so as not to detract from the games and the guys involved.”
The network clearly felt there was reason to celebrate the move.
“With his unquestioned popularity and performance over the years, Clark Kellogg earned all rights to this top spot,” Sean McManus, president of CBS News and Sports, said in a statement. “Like Billy Packer, Al McGuire or any of the most highly regarded broadcasters, Clark is an original voice with his own style and perspective.”
Kellogg found that voice quickly. He established himself as articulate, fair, insightful and entertaining while serving as color analyst for Pacer games on FSN-Indiana and WTTV out of Indianapolis. By 1990, he was doing similar work for the Big East Network, Prime Sports and ESPN.
From 1993-94, Kellogg served as a game analyst for CBS’ coverage of the NCAA Tournament. In the four years after that, he served as a studio co-host for the early round coverage of the tournament. In 1997, Kellogg joined CBS Sports full-time as a studio and game analyst for college basketball coverage.
In recent years, Kellogg has had a familiar spot in the studio next to host Greg Gumbel and Sports Illustrated’s Seth Davis. He has excelled in a time of great flourish as “March Madness” draws the most consistent and top ratings of any sports program on American television.
“I’m excited about another chapter,” said Kellogg, who was reached via phone while in Morgantown, W.Va., to watch his youngest son, Nick, play in an AAU tournament. “I don’t know if you can go any farther when you talk about being the lead analyst for one of the premier sports events on television. So clearly it is a milestone of sorts.”
Kellogg was known as a willing interviewee while at Ohio State and he eventually came up with his own style as a broadcaster, using such phrases as “spurtability” to describe a team’s penchant for making a run or “squeeze the orange” in reference to steady ball handling.
His flair and deep knowledge of the game made him a popular analyst, one that now is in the highest setting.
When asked what enabled him to become top dog at CBS, Kellogg said, “I think it’s very subjective when you talk to viewers or even media critics or coaches. They all have different criteria for what makes one an exceptional broadcaster. But I enjoy the game, I have a unique style. I looked at it differently and I talk about in maybe more of a player’s jargon in terms of some of the analogies I use. I like to play around with words.
“I’m genuinely enthusiastic about it. That’s me. I’m kind of an extroverted personality. I think some of that plays into it. I think most viewers enjoy – and I’ve gotten feedback on this – that the game is the show with me. It’s not about me. It never will be, it never has been. It’s always about the kids or the pros playing and the folks that I’m working with. I think when you keep that in the middle of the equation as the focal point you can be you, enjoy what you’re doing and hopefully you help other people enjoy it.”
Kellogg constantly watches game tapes, asks respected people in the business to critique him and talks to coaches to get their feedback. His rigorous preparation is very much like that of Packer. However, the differences outweigh the similarities.
The 68-year-old Packer, who once starred at point guard for Wake Forest, has been a lead college analyst on network television for half his life, an unparalleled run of 34 years. He’s called every Final Four since 1975, first for NBC and the last 27 years for CBS.
But in recent years Packer’s reputation has dwindled and he’s been more associated with making harsh criticisms of coaches and the work of the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee.
He had to apologize for demeaning comments to two female Duke students when he was asked for a credential at a game at Cameron Indoor Stadium, and years earlier when he referred to former Georgetown guard Allen Iverson as a “tough little monkey.”
His serious, sometimes dour tone was the antithesis of fellow college analyst Dick Vitale of ABC and ESPN.
Not surprisingly, Packer picked up his share of critics after more than three decades behind the microphone, something even the likable Kellogg could endure eventually.
“When you start doing the national game or major games, in the eyes of the listener and the ears of the listener they will create these so-called prejudices,” Packer said. “And it’s something that I found where you prepare for the game, you say what you see and then you live with that. And then you never can be concerned with what people feel unless you yourself know. And on two occasions in my career I knew that I was rooting for a team of all the games that I broadcast. It’s something that unless you’re trying to fake yourself out you definitely know what you’re doing.
“All the rest of the thousands of games that I did I honestly could say to myself when the game was over or to any fan that I could care less who won the game, and that’s really where it is. I’ve never been a sports fan where I rooted for teams or had an interest for them and/or players, so it was always easy for me to say what I saw. But from the standpoint of the fan, who doesn’t go to all those games, it’s very easy for him to believe that you’re rooting against his team. But I’ve never concerned myself with that, and only time will tell if it affects Clark or not.”
Kellogg was ribbed in the studio by Gumbel and Davis for being giddy about Ohio State’s march to the national championship game last year. He makes no apologies for his adoration for OSU – he graduated in 1996 with a degree in marketing – but knows he has to strike the right balance while courtside.
“It’s OK for me to love my alma mater,” he said. “I have a job to do professionally and I’m unabashed in my love for the university and I will continue to be that way. But during games I will always try to be fair and objective, and it’s on the viewers to determine whether that is the case. As long as I know that I’m attempting to be fair to all parties then I won’t fret too much about how the public receives me – either way.
“Sometimes I can’t cheer and sometimes fans want me to cheer for the Buckeyes even when I’m doing game. I can’t do that.”
Kellogg added that he has no intention of giving up his lower-bowl season tickets at Value City Arena.
“No, I won’t do that,” he said. “I enjoy the perk.”
Kellogg said he will remain under contract with the Pacers to do 20 to 30 games a season, mostly on the road.
As for his promotion as it relates to his hectic schedule, he added, “It won’t impact it significantly. Obviously during the regular season as a No. 1 guy I’ll have a few more games on my plate than I did as a No. 2 guy. In other words, during the regular season I might do 10 to 15 games. Now maybe I’ll do 15 to 18 games during the regular season. March will be the same other than I won’t be in the studio. The time commitment will the same in terms of me being absent from the Pacers the whole month of March.”
Packer, meanwhile, has another iron in the fire but wouldn’t elaborate when asked by Bucknuts.com. He reportedly also will end his long run as an analyst for Raycom, a regional network that covers the Atlantic Coast Conference.
“I am not going to broadcast any more games but I am working on a project that will involve college basketball and various aspects of television,” he said. “I am not interested in doing other games.
“I’m really glad that I was able to do a game and walk away from the game not affecting the game. By that I’m talking about as a broadcaster. I’m not a professional broadcaster. Basically I said what I saw. I loved studying for the game and the preparation. But I never really reflected back, maybe in the history of the games themselves, but I’ve not really thought about it in terms of a personal situation.
“It’s kind of like guys who played basketball and they still dream like they’re still taking shots. My last game that I ever played was against UCLA and the game before that was against Ohio State (in 1962), but I couldn’t even tell you what my number was as a player. But it was a great experience. As a player or as a coach or as a broadcaster or as a businessman I’ve never been a person that spends any time dwelling on what my place was in the past.”
