Which OSU point guard had a great draft?
Published: 6/23/2011 10:08 PM
Last Modified: 6/23/2011 10:08 PM
Is the 2011 NBA Draft lacking in regard to local ties?
Maybe you’re not looking deep enough. A former Oklahoma State point guard had a great draft, again.
Again?
Doug Gottlieb was part of the crew handling the draft for ESPN Radio. From Gottlieb’s detail-heavy commentary, it was evident that he left nothing to chance when doing draft homework. (I should ask Eddie Sutton if Gottlieb took his “real” homework this seriously while attending college.)
Switching back and forth between ESPN’s television coverage and ESPN Radio’s coverage of the draft, I found that I much preferred the radio version and it was mostly because Gottlieb was providing specifics about draftees (and their families and where they went to high school) that were above and beyond the call of duty.
Gottlieb was sort of getting back to his roots. It was an NBA draft performance that catapulted him into a high-profile position at ESPN.
Gottlieb was “only” a game analyst when he talked his way into the radio booth for the 2003 NBA Draft. He had played with or against many prospects and, therefore, came equipped with unique insight. But he also poured himself into research and showed up on the set with a homemade encyclopedia of notes. When Gottlieb’s broadcast mates ran thin on material, he rose to the occasion and became a go-to guy.
Because Gottlieb made the most of the opportunity, he soon found himself hosting a national radio show.
“Most people get into the business of sports talk because it is fun, but at some point it becomes more of a job,” Gottlieb’s brother, Gregg, told the Tulsa World during a 2010 interview.
“I think that, for (Doug), he has always had a passion for all those sports, so for him, doing all that research and being prepared is just something he does because he would be doing that whether he was working there or not. That’s who he is.”
Essentially, Gottlieb agreed to do all the homework and share it with the rest of us. What’s not to like about that arrangement?
--Jimmie Tramel.
Written by
Jimmie Tramel
Sports Writer
