Greetings, basketball fans, today is the day that I get to start my tribute to every current coach in the Horizon League in the style of video games. If you are a lover of both sports and video games as much as I am, then this series is definitely the one for you, especially if you are familiar with EA Sports’ NCAA March Madness / NCAA Basketball, the 989 Sports NCAA Final Four series, and the College Hoops series brought to you by Sega Sports and later 2K Sports.
So far, there are 14 coaches in the Horizon League that are in these games from NCAA March Madness 98 on PlayStation all the way up to NCAA Basketball 10 on PlayStation 3. Right now, we’re gonna kick things off with a very somewhat controversial figure in college basketball by the name of Doug Gottlieb, a first-year head coach for the Wisconsin-Green Bay Phoenix. For those of you that know about Gottlieb and others that don’t, he is a former NCAA star as a player and currently has a sportscasting career that has lasted a little over two decades with networks like ESPN, CBS, and the now-defunct Pac-12 Network. Besides coaching for the Phoenix, Gottlieb has his own show on Fox Sports Radio called The Doug Gottlieb Show, which he has hosted since 2017. Just so you know, all five games that Gottlieb is featured in are on the original PlayStation.
Background: Gottlieb’s late dad, Bob, was a basketball coach himself and was even the man in charge at Wisconsin-Milwaukee from 1975 through 1980 back when the Panthers were an Independent. His family also spent two decades as basketball season ticket holders for the UCLA Bruins.
Gottlieb started his NCAA career as a member of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish where he was a teammate of future NBA player Pat Garrity, who was tied for 8th in the Big East in scoring at 17.2 points per game. As a freshman in the 1995-96 season under head coach John MacLeod, Gottlieb played in all 27 games and started the final 23, averaging 4.6 points and 1.3 steals per game, ranked 4th in the Big East at 5.7 assists per game, and ranked 6th in the conference in total assists with 154. However, the Irish finished 9-18 overall with an abysmal 4-14 record in Big East play and ended up in last place in the conference’s Big East 6 Division.
Gottlieb transferred out of Notre Dame in 1996 after he was arrested and plead guilty to credit card theft. He stole credit cards from students in the dormitory and purchased $900 of merchandise on them, and faced three years in prison and a $10,000 fine if he was convicted. But Gottlieb was sentenced to a one-year probation, pay both a $500 fine and restitution for the items he stole, and required to attend counseling.
Gottlieb later enrolled at Golden West College in Huntington Beach, CA, where he received an Associate of Arts degree in business. Over there, he decided chose to not play basketball and his role was redshirt player/assistant coach. Ironically, the Golden West College Rustlers was coached by Gottlieb’s high school coach, Tom McCluskey.
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-09-13-sp-43414-story.html
Oklahoma State Cowboys legendary head coach Eddie Sutton, under whom Gottlieb’s father was once an assistant coach for at one point, later offered Gottlieb a scholarship. Gottlieb accepted the offer and not only became the starting point guard wearing #44, but was also a teammate of future NBA Slam Dunk Champion Desmond Mason.
That’s where the games begin as we kick it off in NCAA March Madness 98. Playing in all 29 games (27 starts) as a sophomore, Gottlieb averaged 5.4 points and 1.4 steals per game, led the Big 12 with 6.9 assists per game, and finished second in the conference with 201 total assists. That season, Oklahoma State went 22-7 overall and finished tied for second place in the Big 12 standings with rival Oklahoma (both teams were 11-5 in conference play). The Cowboys also made the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1995 and lost to Duke by six points in the 2nd Round.
NCAA March Madness 98
Gottlieb’s junior season features him in two games: NCAA March Madness 99 and NCAA Final Four 99. As a junior, he was the only player in the Big 12 to play all 34 games (26 starts), averaging 4.3 points and 1.4 steals per game. He was also the NCAA’s undisputed leader in assists at 8.8 dimes per night and finished with a total of 299. Gottlieb was named the 1999 Big 12 Scholar Athlete Community Service Athlete of the Year as well. That season, Oklahoma State recorded an overall record of 23-11 overall and finished tied with Nebraska for 5th place in the Big 12 standings with both teams goin 10-6 in conference play. The Cowboys also made their second straight NCAA Tournament for and lost to Auburn by seven points in the 2nd Round.
Gottlieb also set numerous assist records, not only becoming the first Cowboy ever with 500 career assists after just two seasons, but also broke the school record of 22 career double-figure assist games. In a game against Florida Atlantic, Gottlieb set a Big 12 record with 18 assists. Later on in the Big 12 Tournament, he set the record for assists in both a conference tournament game (14) and an entire tournament (38).
NCAA March Madness 99
NCAA Final Four 99
In Gottlieb’s last NCAA season, he is in NCAA Final Four 00 and NCAA March Madness 2000 for the 1999-2000 campaign. As a senior, Gottlieb once again played all 34 games (31 starts), averaging 5.9 points and 1.6 steals per game and finished 7th in the Big 12 with 53 steals. Gottlieb led the nation in total assists with 293 and was also second in the NCAA with 8.6 assists per game. As a result, he was named an All-Big 12 Honorable Mention. Oklahoma State would finish 27-7 overall and tied with rival Oklahoma for 3rd place in the Big 12 standings since both teams went 12-4 in conference play. The Cowboys also made their third straight appearance NCAA Tournament and made the Elite Eight for the first time since 1965 before losing to eventual National Runner-Up Florida.
Gottlieb has broken all of Oklahoma State’s assist records and currently ranks 10th all-time in NCAA career assists with 947. He graduated from the university in 2000 with a Bachelor’s degree in marketing.
NCAA Final Four 2000
NCAA March Madness 2000
As a professional, Gottlieb was the first overall pick by the Oklahoma Storm in the 2000 United States Basketball League Draft. He led the USBL in assists and led them to the USBL Championship Game where they lost to the Dodge City Legend. Here in the states, he also played for the Idaho Stampede Continental Basketball Association and the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Summer League. Overseas, he has played in France, Russia, and Israel, winning a 2001 Russian League Federation title with the Ural Great Perm.
Gottlieb is also a two-time gold medalist in the Maccabiah Games, winning one as a player in 2001 where he was the MVP and winning another as an assistant coach in 2017 under Bruce Pearl.
