Gottlieb Is Money

Do you guys remember the scene in the Count of Monte Cristo when Edmond Dantes and Jacopo find their treasure hidden in the bottom of the ocean and try to load it in their life boat in one trip because they’re scared if they leave it somebody else will find out about it and steal it before they can return?

That’s how I’ve felt about this Gottlieb/Joe Adkins story for the last two weeks. Somebody emailed it to me randomly and I was scared someone else with a lot of followers would tweet it or somebody from ESPN would pick it up and mention it on air or Scott Van Pelt would literally just read it on his radio show. That’s how awesome it is.

You should really take the time to read the whole post put together by the good folks over at The Kingsbury Factor, but I had to whet your appetite with this jewel of an answer from Doug about great shooters:

Kingsbury Factor: So basically, we define “the Kingsbury Factor” as the quality possessed by a guy who isn’t afraid to bomb it from 27 feet, and just keeps gunning no conscience. You ever play with anyone like that?

Gottlieb: Dude, of course. I played with Joe Adkins. My best Joe Adkins story is, so Brooks Thompson, who’s probably the best point guard to ever play at Oklahoma State, and another guy who would shoot it from anywhere. We were playing UNLV my junior year, Brooks is like a grad assistant, so basically he was done playing. He hurt his back at some point and he couldn’t move, but he could still shoot. So we’re playing at Thomas and Mack and we’re shooting around the day of the game. Somehow they get into this shooting duel, and everyone starts playing with money in Vegas. So they’re shooting $100 a shot for these deep threes. Brooks can’t move, but he’s up $1700 on Joe. Joe’s a college student, and a poor, cheap one at that. So we agree that Joe’s either going to have to work for Brooks, some sort of slave labor for the rest of the summer, or he’s going to have to hit a shot from the U in the UNLV in a game, to even out the bet. True story, you can go back and watch the film. December 23, 1998, they had Shawn Marion, they had Brian Keefe, he was a gunner. We had put them away, we were up double digits, and they maybe cut into it to get to like eight and the crowd’s going crazy. Shot clock’s running down, and Joe hit a 3 from just about the U in UNLV. Ball in the air, and he yells, [does a good hilarious voice here] “Ballgame, bitch! We’re even!” So yeah, I totally get the Kingsbury Factor. Joe Adkins is the black Chris Kingsbury.