Keith Closs gets life in order after drinking sabotaged...

[mkwest]

You remember Keith Closs? Maybe you don't. He was one of those cult figures the NBA seems to have a singular knack for producing. A backup center for the Los Angeles Clippers from 1997-2000, Closs bore a physical resemblance to the map of Chile, standing 7-3, weighing 212 pounds. He occupied some space, blocked a few shots, wore his hair in various styles -- a mountainous Afro one night, braids the next. He was short on minutes but long on attitude. He was an early victim of the cell phone paparazzi -- "One of the first!" he said proudly -- when he was jumped by an L.A. street gang, the beating caught on video that, inevitably, went viral.

He also drank himself out of an NBA career.

"People thought of me as uncoachable with a bad attitude," he said. "That was the drinking."

During the 1998-99 lockout, Closs picked up two DUIs. He called NBA headquarters directly for help. Not recovery help but "how do I get out of this?" help. Nevertheless, the league sent him to a rehab clinic in Georgia. It didn't work.

"I heard these war stories from everyday people but I couldn't relate," he said. "I hadn't lost my job or my family. I'm thinking, 'Hell, I'm not like these people. They're the ones with the problem. I'm young, have money. Once the lockout is over, I'm back in the NBA! You're calling me alcoholic? That's like you're cursing my mother.' "

Closs is 35 now, married and living in Los Angeles. He's also healthy, fit and still 7-3. Which means he can still play basketball. He recently played in something called the West Coast Basketball League. Along with his buddy Priest Lauderdale (another NBA cult figure), he is looking into playing in China or Australia. He is sufficiently self-aware to know that a return to the NBA isn't realistic.

The sting of knowing he sabotaged a career is offset by the pride he takes in his recovery.

"I was sloshing my way through life in a drunken stupor, I got my ass kicked and I was lucky enough to see what I was doing to myself before it was too late," Closs said. "I look at it that way and life is good, man."

Jon Wertheim, Sports Illustrated

[thanumba2clippersfan]

I remember Keith Closs, never knew he had a drinking problem. Glad that he has gotten that under control now. Good luck to him to stay sober in the future.

[mattfish]

Now this video makes a lot of sense.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=201VN1m44j8[/youtube]