Pros vs. Joes No. 19: Think you’re a sports fan? You don’t match up with Rob Closs
Rob Closs was a guard at Oregon from 1975-79, a three-year starter who led the Ducks in scoring and assists as a senior in 1978-79 (courtesy Rob Closs)
Do you want to know how seriously Rob Closs is taking his participation in the “Pros vs. Joes” Bracket Challenge on kerryeggers.com?
The former Oregon two-sport standout flew to New York City last week to check out the likes of Villanova, Providence, Creighton and UConn in the Big East Tournament.
When Closs asked for per diem, I declined. But I told him I’d post his scouting report after watching Villanova’s uninspiring 54-48 win over Creighton the championship game.
“Creighton can do some damage (in the NCAA Tournament),” Closs says. “That’s a good team. (The Bluejays) picked a bad night to shoot it bad. Give Villanova credit. That’s a good defensive team. They’re all on the same page. They do a great job of on-ball defending, on keeping people in front of them, on getting weak side help. (The opponent) has to initiate offense two or three steps farther (from the basket) than they want to.”
Collin Gillespie, a 6-3 senior who was voted the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, nailed a pair of late 3’s to save the Wildcats, who were 8 for 32 from 3-point range compared to Creighton’s 3 for 29.
“(Villanova coach) Jay Wright says Gillespie just makes plays at the end of the game,” Closs says.
Closs watched 10 games in four days at Madison Square Garden, his first visit to the sacred arena since his sophomore year at Oregon in 1977, when the Ducks lost to St. Bonaventure in the NIT quarterfinals. Closs attended the Big East Tournament compliments of former UO teammate Stu Jackson, now executive associate commissioner/men’s basketball for the conference. Jackson set up Closs and another ex-Duck, Frank Rourke, with great seats and access to media areas.
“One of the things on my bucket list was attending a Big East Tournament,” Closs says. “Stu took good care of us. We had what amounted to a backstage pass. It was fun to be a fly on the wall and see what it takes to run a tournament like that.”
How does Big East basketball compare to the Pac-12?
“Biggest difference is they play better defense in the Big East,” Closs says. “The play is more physical, and the referees let a lot more go.”
Earlier in the season, Closs traveled with friend Rob Fenk to Lubbock, Texas, to watch 14th-ranked Texas Tech beat both Mississippi State and Texas. Former Portland State coach Barret Peery is now associate head coach at Texas Tech; he set up Closs and Fenk with tickets behind the Red Raider bench.
Texas Tech’s 77-64 win over Texas — the Longhorns’ coach, Chris Beard, is a former Tech coach — was high voltage basketball.
“The fans were crazy,” Closs says. “The place just shook. Only two arenas I’ve been in compare — Mac Court and Memorial Coliseum for the final game of the 1977 NBA championship series between the Blazers and the 76ers. Yes, I was there, sitting in the second row of Section 2 with my friend Jeff Sanders.”
From left, Kasey Closs, Klay Thompson and Rob Closs. Kasey, Klay and Trayce Thompson — Klay’s younger brother — played together on the Lakeside Lumber Lake Oswego Little League team. Rob was the coach. (courtesy Rob Closs)
Closs was a 6-3 left-hander who played basketball for Dick Harter and baseball for Mel Krause at Oregon in the late 1970s. The Sunset High grad picked the Ducks over an offer from Washington State, his father’s alma mater.
“I was all ready to sign (with Wazzu) when I got the offer from George Raveling,” Closs says. “I chose Oregon because I went to the 1974 Oregon-UCLA game at McArthur Court (won 56-51 by the Ducks), when Bruce Coldren knocked down 12 of 14 shots from the field. I sat in the student section at halfcourt. The place was absolutely rocking. After the game, Dick Harter, (assistant coach) Dick Stewart and Ronnie Lee took me to a late dinner at Valley River Inn. (Harter) offered a scholarship. I said, ‘Where do I sign?’ ”
Harter was at Oregon for eight years. Closs was the only in-state player ever to play a full career there under him. He played junior varsity ball his first year, then redshirted the next season. Closs was a starter through his final three seasons playing in the Pit.
“They call me the only guy dumb enough to redshirt under Dick Harter,” Closs jokes.
Closs loved playing for Harter and wound up being a close friend in adulthood.
“Those were exciting times,” Closs says. “Standing-room only for every home game I ever played in. We had a great brand of basketball. We had some huge wins. It was a defense-oriented program. Unless your name was Greg Ballard or Ronnie Lee, we had the five-pass rule. You couldn’t shoot until you passed it five times on each possession.”
Three-hour practice sessions were legendary.
“The first hour and a half was defense,” Closs recalls. “The next hour and a half was offense and situations. We’d have conditioning drills in between offense and defense. We’d run a ’17’ — 17 times across the width of the court in a minute. If you didn’t make it, you had to run it again. We had guys throwing up. Gary Nelson threw up about every day. If Gary didn’t throw up, Dick said we weren’t working hard enough.”
Harter had ropes in Mac Court for the players to climb.
“I did it with no legs,” Closs says.
Closs once took 25 stitches for a gash in his head during a drill in which Harter would roll a racquetball onto the floor and two players had to chase it.
“I dove and Greg Graham’s chest and hip hit my head, which opened up like a watermelon,” Closs says. “I came back from the infirmary with a bandana. Dick made me run conditioning drills afterward.”
Harter left for Penn State after Closs’ junior season in 1977-78. Closs wound up as the Ducks’ leading scorer (10.3) and assists (3.0) under Jim Haney as a senior. He ranks third in career free-throw percentage (.868) in program history.
Years later, on a golf course, Closs thanked Harter for lessons in work ethic and punctuality.
“I’m always a half-hour early for any appointment,” Closs says. “Dick is one of the top five influencers I’ve had in my life.”
Closs was a three-year starter, playing first base and the outfield, in baseball. His season would always start later than the other players because of basketball.
“I love baseball,” he says. “It was a great break for me.The first couple of weeks, trying to hit a little white ball was difficult after a full season of basketball. And your arm had to get in shape.”
Closs enjoyed a successful business career, first working in the export department at Georgia Pacific, then in commercial real estate, then for Sunrise Shipping. For the final 25 years, he was a financial planner, retiring in 2019.
For 10 years from 2001-11, Closs served as an insightful TV analyst for Oregon basketball. He worked with play-by-play voice Joe Giansante during the Ernie Kent era, plus the first season of Dana Altman.
Bob Akamian and Closs calling a game for Fox Sports Northwest. Closs was a basketball analyst for Oregon basketball for a decade (courtesy Rob Closs)
“I made about $2.50 an hour because I spent so much time going to teams’ practices, trying to learn more about them,” Closs says. “I took copious notes. Didn’t want to butcher guys’ names. I loved doing it. I’d have done it for free.”
If Closs isn’t Portland’s No. 1 sports fan, he’s on a short list. He and wife Deb — an Oregon State graduate — have season tickets for Oregon State and Portland State football, Oregon and Portland State basketball and Oregon State gymnastics. For years, he had season tickets to Oregon football and baseball and still attends several games a season. Part of his interest in PSU football is that son Kasey was a fine receiver there in 2013 and ’14, third-team All-Big Sky as a junior.
“On any given night, I’ll be watching a high school or college basketball game in the area,” Closs says. “I went to three Oregon State gymnastics meets this season. I’ve probably been to more Oregon State than Oregon football games the past 10 years because of my wife.”
Rob and his wife of 32 years, Deb (courtesy Rob Closs)
Closs is an avid golfer — he is a member at Tualatin Country Club and carries an 8 handicap — fisherman and bicycle enthusiast. In September 2018, ex-Oregon athletic director Pat Kilkenny asked him to organize a bike trip through Oregon.
“I picked Bill and his wife Lori at the Portland Airport,” says Closs, who turns 66 on April 7. “We went directly to Condon and started the ride.”
Bill Walton and Closs spent seven days biking the state of Oregon together in 2018 (courtesy Rob Closs)
Closs, Walton and several members of the “Challenged Athletes Foundation” averaged 60 to 70 miles a day for seven days.
“Bill has a great motor,” Closs says. “He doesn’t go the fastest up the hills, but he never quits. He says, ‘I love my bike, I’m the luckiest guy in the world,’ and he truly believes it. It’s his exercise of choice.”
The 6-3 Closs attributes his active lifestyle and “pushaways” at the dining table to being able to maintain his playing weight of 185 pounds.
“I don’t eat as much,” he says. “I exercise on the stationary bike, ride my bike a lot and always walk when I play golf.”
One of Closs’ proudest moments came in 1999, when he received the Oregon Alumni Athletic Award, given to an alum letterman on the basis of at least 20 years of achievement and service since graduation. Among the other winners: Norm Van Brocklin, Johnny McKay, Dave Wilcox, Ahmad Rashad, Dan Fouts, Tinker Hatfield, Chris Miller and Terrell Brandon. That’s pretty good company.
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