Kellogg’s approach leads to consistent success
By John Antonik, WVU Sports
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The best way to win 78% of your basketball games is by not losing a lot of them.
Sounds simple, for sure.
But more specifically, you win that frequently by avoiding long losing streaks, and that’s really been Mark Kellogg‘s secret to success over his 21-year coaching career.
Whether it was at Division II Fort Lewis, Northwest Missouri State or West Texas A&M, at the mid-major level at Stephen F. Austin or now in the Big 12 at West Virginia, Kellogg’s teams typically don’t lose a lot of games in a row.
With the exception of his first season at Fort Lewis, when his team endured a six-game losing streak, Kellogg has managed to steer clear of long losing streaks.
How?
Good fortune?
Maybe.
Good players?
Probably, although Kellogg has not been at places where he can pick his rosters like the handful of active coaches boasting a higher winning percentage than his.
More likely, it’s what Kellogg does and doesn’t do with his teams – particularly late in the year when players get worn down – that has played the biggest factor in his impressive success.
Late last week before West Virginia’s 70-60 victory over 14th-ranked Baylor, Kellogg touched on the subject of avoiding long losing streaks.
“I don’t know if I have an easy answer and every league is different,” he said. “Obviously, when you get to this level, this is the gauntlet that I’ve been talking about. At the mid-major level, it’s not like surviving the nonconference, but that’s where losses can pile up because you are playing buy games and those types of things.
“Then, when you get in the league, and you are one of the better teams, then you should probably be able to go on some really good runs where you don’t have multiples losses. You need talent, good teams and great players, and then it’s just trying not to dwell on one that can lead to another, to another and to another.”
He continued.
“Finding a way to move on quickly and having a new game plan – don’t get too high and don’t get too low. I do get frustrated after losses, but not too high after wins, whether it’s your staff or your players. We are not going to completely lose our minds after a loss, but the tone may sound a little bit different when we go to film or practice the next day, but the messaging hopefully stays similar.”
Kellogg is also mindful of his team’s workload late in the year when the games and long-distance travel begin to take a toll. That’s when he begins having more in-depth conversations with his strength and nutrition coaches.
“What was our output? How many miles did we just run in that game? What was the level of exertion? Those things are really important to me, because if you are tired going into the game, then you probably don’t have a chance,” he explained. “We can go prep them all we want, but if we don’t play hard and don’t compete, then I don’t care if we have a great game plan, it doesn’t matter.”
Consistency has been a hallmark of his coaching career.
Before transitioning to Northwest Missouri State in 2012, Kellogg’s Fort Lewis squad had a three-game losing streak in 2006, back-to-back losses to end the 2007 season and consecutive defeats once in 2011 before took over at Northwest Missouri State.
There, he had a couple of losing streaks before moving on to West Texas A&M where he didn’t have any before taking the Stephen F. Austin job in 2015.
At SFA, his Ladyjack teams dropped three or more games in a row only twice, and both of those came during his first season.
And now at West Virginia, his first Mountaineer team endured one three-game losing streak during a six-day stretch in late February with two of those defeats coming against 10th-ranked Kansas State and 24th-ranked Baylor when his team was unable to hold onto a late lead and lost on free throws.
Last year, WVU didn’t have any back-to-back losses, and so far this season, it has experienced just a two-game losing streak earlier this year against Ohio State and Villanova.
Overall, Kellogg’s teams have dropped three or more games in a row just SEVEN times in 21 seasons!
Furthermore, his teams have posted an impressive 86-37 record after defeats.
That’s how you win 78% of your basketball games.
And that’s how you win at much higher rate than his predecessors here at West Virginia. Kellogg’s .764 winning percentage is easily the best in school history.
“The most important thing to me is to make sure they are excited to be here, and they are excited when the game comes around and have the right energy and all those types of things. If you do, then typically you avoid a lot of big losings streaks,” he concluded.
