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Calling the Shots:
CBS Sports Analyst Clark Kellogg talks about Jesus and jump shots.
By Todd Schulz
Millions of college hoops fans will hear Clark Kellogg hold court on power forwards, full-court presses and the Final Four this season.
The CBS basketball analyst hopes his love for God is as evident as his passion for the game—even if the conversation centers on jump shots instead of Jesus.
“We’re all ambassadors of Christ,” said Kellogg, who starts his 15th season with CBS.
“The aroma of Christ should be flowing out of our thoughts, actions and words. Who I am in Christ is my life. It’s consistently on display and I hope to God’s glory, in spite of my warts and occasional stumbles.”
Kellogg was a self-described “happy pagan” as a star at Ohio State, where he earned Big Ten Conference MVP honors in 1982. The NBA’s Indiana Pacers made him a first-round draft pick the same year.
But a chronic knee injury cut short Kellogg’s pro career and started his quest to find a deeper meaning to life than slam-dunks.
“[Retiring] was difficult,” said Kellogg, 46, who played five seasons with the Pacers and still broadcasts the team’s games. “The uncertainty that comes with that is uncomfortable. I was searching and probably open to the things of God.”
With the help of several spiritual mentors, including a Pacers team chaplain, Kellogg and his wife Rosy, both became Christians in November 1986.
“It was a freedom and a newness of purpose I can’t even quite explain,” he said.
Kellogg is rarely at a loss for words. His gift for gab is traced partly to his mother, who insisted he communicate clearly and effectively whenever he was interviewed as a rising basketball star.
“She told me, ‘If you’re going to be in front of a microphone, you’d better be able to put a sentence together,’” Kellogg said with a laugh.
Though he didn’t study broadcasting at Ohio State (he earned a marketing degree there in 1996), Kellogg jumped at the chance to call basketball games when his playing days ended. A successful stint at ESPN led him to CBS.
For three weeks in March, Kellogg’s life revolves around the wildly popular NCAA basketball tournament. He’s in the studio from the bracket-busting first-round upsets until the champion trims the nets.
“Those are long days,” he said. “But it’s so much fun, you’re operating on adrenalin. [The challenge] is staying energized ... and trying to come up with different ways to say the same thing. Part of the fun is playing around with words and analogies people can relate to without overdoing it.”
When Kellogg isn’t broadcasting games, he’s watching his kids play them. Kellogg’s daughter, Courtney, plays volleyball at Georgia Tech and his son Alex is a basketball player at Providence. His son Nick is a high school hoops star in the family’s home of Westerville, Ohio.
“It’s a real treat and a blessing to watch them,” Kellogg said. “I try to be as low key as a 6-8 black man can be. I don’t get too boisterous. I just try to encourage and support my kids.”
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