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South Range's Cullen to receive Paul Walker Award
By Tom Williams
When veteran basketball coach John Cullen saw a list of nominees for this year’s Paul Walker Award, the last thing he expected was to receive it.
“I was shocked,” said the South Range High School boys basketball coach of being notified by the Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Association that he’d been selected for the honor.
“I don’t compare to those people,” said Cullen, a long-time coach at Canfield. “So I was just amazed.”
Today in Columbus after the first quarter of the Division IV boys state basketball championship game, Cullen will be presented with the Walker Award at Ohio State University’s Schottenstein Center.
The Paul Walker Award is presented annually by the OHSBCA to an active coaching member of the association who has made significant contributions to high school basketball.
The award is named in honor of the late Paul Walker, the longtime coach of Middletown High School. At the time of his retirement, Walker had the most wins as a boys basketball coach in Ohio history.
Cullen, whose record is 508-265, said he might be the first from the Mahoning Valley to receive the award, saying it’s possible that Sebring’s Rick Brook might have earned it years ago. The award has been presented the past 28 years.
“It’s a nice award,” Cullen said. “Paul Walker was such a big deal.”
Cullen graduated from Canal Fulton Northwest High School in 1968. He earned his undergraduate degree from Kent State University and his Masters from Youngstown State University.
His coaching career began as an assistant at Brookfield High School. The Warriors won four district championships in five seasons, leading Cullen to the head coaching job at Badger High School.
A year later, Cullen returned to Brookfield as head coach. Three years later, he took over at Canfield High School and was head coach for 28 seasons. That stint earned him the Bob Arnzen Award that goes to those who coach 20 years at the same school.
In 2010, Cullen stepped down at Canfield to work with the Youngstown State University women’s team for three seasons.
In 2013, Cullen returned to the high school ranks by taking over at South Range High. This season, the Raiders went 21-1 in the regular season, losing only to undefeated LaBrae in the season finale.
Cullen said he plans to keep coaching as long as the students are showing plenty of interest and his health hold ups.
“We’ve got good kids [playing] all the way down,” said Cullen, who praised his staff for helping change to culture at South Range. “If I feel that basketball no longer is important [to them], I’m out.”
Cullen’s teams have won 13 league championships, 20 sectional championships and five district championships.
Over the year, 47 of his former staff members or players have gone on to become head coaches.
“I feel fine, I enjoy practices,” Cullen said. “What’s not to like?”