Keith Closs: "The Long Road Back"

[mkwest]

SOME OF KEITH CLOSS' earliest childhood memories feature drinking beer with his father. He couldn't have known it then, but the experience would one day shatter his basketball career and move his life to the brink of destruction.

Closs said his dad gave him his first drink.

"He figured it would help me get to nap time a little quicker," said Closs, a 7-foot-2 Tulsa 66ers basketball player with dreams of making it back to the NBA.

"I know he had a great summer league with the Lakers. He went from somebody you didn't know anything about to everybody pursuing him," said Mo McHone, who took an assistant coaching job with the Clippers the year after Closs departed. "The Clippers signed him to a multi-year deal, and they never sign a free agent to a deal like that. I think everything came on him so fast that he wasn't ready for it."

Closs said he was an alcoholic before joining the Clippers and discovered pressures in the NBA he couldn't anticipate. He did not know how to respond in a "mature way" and dealt with all his problems through alcohol.

Full article by James Gibbard @ Tulsa World

[thanumba2clippersfan]

I remember Keith Closs, I always wondered what happened to him. I was still in my pre teen years when he played for the Clippers so I couldn't have really understood why he left. I just remember that he was in the NBA one year and gone the next. I hope that everything works out for him and that he has not had a drink in awhile.

[mj_shoefanatic]

Maybe he can pull off a "Mikki Moore" type comeback. Good luck keith!!

[mkwest]

I'll never forget this freckled-faced 7'3" beanpole. I remember my dad telling me that a guy he knows saw Keith down and out after playing with the Clippers. I forget where exactly but I think it was a YMCA. The last time I saw footage on him, unfortunately it was him getting jumped in the parking lot while being drunk. I hope he conquers his demons and overcomes alcoholism.

[PlinkingPanda]

I was around my pre-teen/early teen years too I think when he was on the team. I don't remember much about him other than him being a fan favorite, and also this one time where he was on a fast break and did a behind the back dribble to evade a defender. Ralph and Bill were shocked that he did it so well. XD