The students were taking part in the 10th annual MassMutual Academic Achiever Conference sponsored by MassMutual and Western New England University.
Kellogg, who grew up in Springfield and played basketball at UMass under famed coach John Calipari, outlined his odyssey from growing up in the Hungry Hill neighborhood to becoming head basketball coach at his alma mater.
He described his first college basketball coaching stint at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. It only paid $9,500 a year, but Kellogg said he worked 14 hours a day.
"It is not about the money. It is about the ability to do what you want to do," Kellogg said.
"You be the champions. You be the leaders. You push for it," the coach urged the students, telling them to disregard statistics and material on the Internet that discourages them from thinking they can be successful.
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