Doug Gottlieb
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Doug Gottlieb is a former NCAA collegiate basketball player for Oklahoma State and current ESPN analyst and host of the ESPN Radio show The Pulse.
[edit] Early career
Originally hailing from Orange County, California, Gottlieb had a successful career at Oklahoma State from 1996-1999, leading the nation in assists as a junior after averaging 8.8 assists per game - .2 assists better than his senior season, when he ranked 2nd in the nation with 8.6 assists per game. He currently ranks eighth all-time in NCAA career assists with 947.
Gottlieb was infamous for being a very poor shooter, especially for a guard, as he averaged 36.8% from the field and a paltry 45.7% from the free throw line. Said Gottlieb, "I've never seen people not guard somebody the way they do me." Nevertheless, playing alongside future NBA star Desmond Mason, he became one of OSU's most popular players, leading coach Eddie Sutton to successful runs in the NCAA tournament.
In 1995-'96, Gottlieb's freshman year at Notre Dame, he stole credit cards from a roommate and ran up $900 worth of charges. He was kicked off the Notre Dame basketball team and convicted of fraud.
[edit] Life Before & After O.S.U.
His scholarship to Notre Dame came on the heels of a productive Amateur Athletic Union and high school career, in which he was awarded the Orange County Player of the Year. Gottlieb's father, Bob Gottlieb, coached Jacksonville for two seasons and led the team to the NIT in 1974, before settling in southern California. He still coaches AAU yearly. After graduating from college, Gottlieb was picked by the Enid, Oklahoma USBL team the Oklahoma Storm, who made him the first overall draft pick of the 2000 USBL Draft. After a short stint with the Storm, Gottlieb pursued a short-lived basketball career overseas, which included a stop in Israel after signing with Maccabi Ra'anana. Because Gottlieb had to apply for citizenship in order to play for an Israeli team, after Gottlieb left, he was drafted into the Israeli military in absentia, and his absence led the government to file official charges of draft dodging against the unknowing former-point guard. The charges were later dropped.
Gottlieb married former OSU cheerleader Angie Collier in August 2001. Gottlieb is known for his colorful analysis and biting humor, and can be heard on ESPN Radio's GameNight nightly alongside co-hosts Jeff Rickard, Freddie Coleman and John Seibel. Gottlieb is also a frequent guest on ESPN television shows including SportsCenter and also on College Basketball Gameday Final.
[edit] Strained Relathionship with OSU
In recent years Gottlieb has developed a strained relationship with his alma mater. In 2006 when Gottlieb's former coach, Eddie Sutton was going through a difficult time, Doug suggested that Sutton should step down as coach. Doug has also been critical of his alma mater's baskeball team in recent years. OSU faithful have taken issue with Gottlieb's lack of loyalty to the school that gave him a second chance after he stole a credit card from a roommate while he was a student at Notre Dame. Gottlieb complained in a 2006 interview, "It's as if I never played there." Gottlieb steadfastly refuses to apologize for his comments about his alma mater rating his need for objectivity above his loyalty to the Oklahama State University basktball family that gave him a second chance.
