‘It’s Always Been Home’: Gottlieb Discusses Coaching First College Game in Gallagher-Iba Arena

FIVE THOUGHTS ON OSU’S WIN AGAINST GREEN BAY

STILLWATER — Joy, gratitude and excitement — that’s what Doug Gottlieb said he felt coaching his first college basketball game in the arena he once (and to some extent still does) called home.

Gottlieb took his Green Bay Phoenix into Stillwater to kick off both teams’ seasons on Monday night, where the Cowboys bested Gottlieb’s squad 89-76 after Oklahoma State held just a one-point lead at halftime. Still a national radio host, Gottlieb did his show from Eskimo Joe’s just down the street earlier in the day. He said he also took his team to the Remember the Ten Memorial and asked his group to not only play for themselves and Green Bay, but also his friends.

Gottlieb’s gratitude for coaching on Eddie Sutton Court was evident during his postgame news conference. He thanked new OSU coach Steve Lutz for scheduling the game. He also thanked former OSU coach Mike Boynton, of whom Gottlieb credited for how he put together his first college team.

“I think in the moments leading up to it, it felt really special,” Gottlieb said. “I had Hayes, my son, there. There will be other games, but … I mean, I’ll play them again next year if they want to play. But the likelihood is like, ‘Are we gonna do that again?’ So this was like a one-night show. That felt cool. …

“My life, my trajectory of a human being changed because of this place. … It’s always been home.”

Gottlieb was also complementary of Lutz’s team. This was OSU fans’ first real look at the team Lutz has constructed that featured 10 new scholarship players.

The Cowboys rummaged the offensive glass, leading to a 43-25 advantage on rebounds. OSU converted 19 offensive boards into 20 second-chance points. The Cowboys also scored 27 points off 19 Green Bay turnovers, a tally that included 11 OSU steals. That fast, hard-nosed style of basketball is how Lutz teams ideally play, and it’s a style that Gottlieb said could suit them well this season despite being picked 14th in the Big 12’s preseason poll.

“They’re just as advertised,” Gottlieb said. “I don’t know how many they’re gonna win, but they’re not gonna beat themselves, now. They’re gonna make you beat them. They kicked the living crap out of us on the boards.”

Although it was a homecoming of sorts, Gottlieb said he did still get a little taste of what being a college coach on the road was like.

“There was a couple of honyaks behind me that were giving me the business a little bit,” Gottlieb said. “It felt like I was on the road. I was like, ‘Hey, I’m kinda one of you. Like, what are we doing here?’ It felt like a road game. It really did, but I mean, you look down, you see Coach’s signature, you see America’s brightest orange, you hear the ‘Hey Song’ — ‘We’re gonna beat the hell out of you,’ — and you realize, ‘Wait, that’s me now.’ It felt really cool. It felt gratifying.”