Kellogg
Morgantown – 1968 was one of the revolutions, yes, and equally an evolutionary year. It’s called the “year that changed the world.”
There were political unrest and assassinations, wars that ripped the nation apart in Vietnam, civil rights protests and violence, which all led to head-on clashes between riots and patriots. It was the era of rebellion and rock and roll with the emergence of Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix, but at the same time we were running towards the moon and protesting at the Olympics.
At the same time, considering the size of what has become out of control, the tobacco ad campaign is not causing the same type of blip on the public radar, and the tobacco ad campaign combines tobacco sales with the women’s movement, with Virginia Slim being sold as “You’ve come a long way.”
It proved to be a term that has made women’s moves into the new decade and even today, the latest aspects of women’s basketball games being fought on basketball courts all over the United States.
Certainly, what happened here in the West Virginia sports at State University has come for the rise, and even the second loss to North Carolina in the NCAA Tournament could not deter or discourage forward momentum or deter star guard JJ Quinerly and other teams from failing to create in a 25-win season.
Yes, they have come a long way, as Kellogg was recognized in the ashes of defeat that are difficult to accept… not because they lost, but because this has played so far under the level of excellence that has been injected into the program.
He talks about how this group of seniors leaves behind a legacy and makes things better than what they are waiting for when they arrive in Morgantown.
“We ran, we had a great season,” Kellogg began. “We were a bit short on some of our goals? Yes, we did, but it’s sports. That’s life. Especially in this tournament, only one team wins. We’re not.
“When I got to work two years ago, you have a vision and try drawing, and I hope that the current players, whose two on my right were part of that roster, will, of course, get what we’re doing,” he continued.
“They did it. They had a lot of fun coaching. We have a great environment. They changed the way we view our program. We were a perennial top 25 teams. Attendees are taking shots through the roof.
“We hope we can continue to build it and use it as a growing pain for those who have returned. Again, we are extremely proud of them. We are truly, truly, truly talented individual coaches.”
Considering how far they’ve come, you might probably go back to the time when Virginia slim slogans came out. Although there was no women’s basketball in West Virginia, progress was slow despite the efforts of the late Kitty Blakemore to create the sport.
By the time the 1990s looked to the new century, teams had improved and the sport had grown, but it wasn’t what it is today. In 2000, as the Coliseum was closed to remove asbestos buildings, the team played home games at Morgantown High, moving on to 6-22 and 5-22, experiencing the pair, including a 100-28 home loss for UConn, the game’s ruler.
Mike Carrey came to the scene and changed expectations for WVU women’s basketball, coached 2017 and won 441 games. There was a better basketball brand and was competitive, but it didn’t peak, usually pushing 2,500, but no more.
Kellogg’s offensive defensive basketball brand at the now competitive Big 12 Conference has raised excitement levels to the point that attendance this year has increased to over 4,000 per home game, turning Morgantown Arena into a place where the game is fun and anticipated.
“It’s fun to work every day when you have staff and teams like in the past few years,” Kellogg said. “It’s part of coaching now. Since kids graduate every year, that’s not unusual. Finding scoring is usually okay.
“I think you’re going to the portal now, and that’s how you can go about it at this point.”
The woman now roaming the courthouse learned a year ago when she was facing the inspiring Kate Linklark and the Iowa Hawk Eyes in an arena that showed how women’s games take over cities and countries when the season ended in Iowa City.
This could be bigger than ever, and players understand that.
Quinerly stayed three through coaches to finish his career at WVU in an era when players were free to move from school to school. This kind of loyalty spread across the team.
“To be honest, the group of girls around me were Kyah Watson, Jayla Hemingway, the girls who stayed, Kylee Blacksten, the girls who stayed, especially Jordan Harrison, especially Jordan Harrison, who could have left at any time in my career, but probably chose to stay in West Virginia.”
“Like I said, I think I did it, and yeah.”
Kyah Watson, who rounded out her career with 15 viewing performances, reflected Quinerly’s comments.
“I’ll say that every year was special. I can’t thank Coach Kellogg and the coaching staff enough. I love them all. They helped me grow as a person on and off the court,” she said. “My teammates have been great all three years and the West Virginia fan base is amazing. They love us. We love them. I think we’ll just miss that.”
And she moves on. Quinerly moves on. Whether Kellogg will stay hasn’t been addressed yet, but athletic director Len Baker seems to be intending to keep him as he understands the team has come a long way, but there’s still a long way to go.
