Kellogg long You tube video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkk6y5b0xM0
Ames center Kellogg thinks Minnesota is a good fit
By Ben Gouldsmith
Published: Tuesday, June 23, 2009 11:02 PM CDT
Kionna Kellogg’s trip to Minnesota’s elite basketball camp last week was an audition of sorts for the Ames High senior-to-be, who was offered a scholarship by Golden Gophers coach Pam Borton after the three-day camp.
Kellogg moved to Ames from Marshall, Minn., in elementary school and still has family in Iowa’s neighboring state to the north. She quickly gave the Gophers a verbal commitment, turning down a scholarship offer from Iowa State.
“Now I can just play all summer and not have to worry about my decision,” Kellogg said.
The 6-foot-1 post player averaged 13.4 points, 9.7 rebounds and 3.1 blocks a game as a junior in helping the Little Cyclones to a 23-3 record and a runner-up finish at the Class 4A state tournament. She is playing AAU ball this summer for the IBCA Iowa Select Red team. Though she plays center for Ames during the high school season, she said Minnesota is likely recruiting her as a small forward.
At last week’s camp, Kellogg said, she mostly worked with guards.
Ames coach Joel Sullivan said Kellogg looks the part of a Division I athlete.
“She’s long, she’s lean, she’s athletic and she can run really well, and I think that’s something that really attracted a lot of schools to her,” Sullivan said. “She really does a nice job of being able to finish around the rim, she’s a tremendous competitor, and I think that’s something that really serves her well.”
Besides the offer from Iowa State, Kellogg said Drake and Northern Iowa were among other Division I schools that showed interest.
But when Borton offered Kellogg a scholarship last week, the allure of the Twin Cities was too much to turn down.
Kellogg said she had taken a couple unofficial visits to Minnesota before last week, and she left impressed with the campus. When she saw how the Gophers’ coaching staff worked together at the camp and met a couple of the players, she envisioned herself wearing the maroon and gold.
“I always thought it would be cool to go there,” Kellogg said, “so when they offered, I just really knew that was a place I wanted to be.”
Minnesota advanced to the second round of the 2009 NCAA tournament. The Gophers finished 20-12 overall and 11-7 in the Big Ten Conference.
Kellogg, the fourth player to commit to Minnesota’s 2010 recruiting class, will cross paths with former Ames teammate Trisha Nesbitt a couple of times a year in the Big Ten. Nesbitt, a guard on the Little Cyclones’ 2009 state runner-up squad, is a freshman walk-on at Iowa.
In Kellogg’s final high school season, Sullivan said he’d like to see her work on improving her shooting range and ball-handling. Along with adding some bulk to Kellogg’s wiry frame, those skills should help her navigate the rigors of Division I basketball.
“She’s a phenomenal athlete with tremendous upside,” Sullivan said, “and I think that’s really what drew a lot of colleges to her in the first place.”
