Clint Keown

[crazed_hoosier2]

Those who followed HS basketball back in the late 90s might remember a player from Evansville named Clint Keown. He was an Indiana All-Star in 1998.

Clint passed away today in an automobile accident.

Went on to play 2 seasons at UE for Jim Crews and then transferred to D2 South Carolina Aiken. He had a standout career there in both basketball and baseball. He played minor league baseball briefly.

The guy was almost larger than life here in Evansville. He became a tremendous prop gambler and poker player. He bet with the likes of Kevin Hart, Nelly, and Tobey Maguire. The stories he racked up doing that were legendary. He once hit 90 out of 100 free throws on roller skates for $50k.

More recently, he became a fantastic amateur golfer - a game he didn’t pick up until his 20s. One of the best players in the area.

Apparently he was over in Robinson, IL to play golf with a friend. RIP to a local legend.

 

[indianasportstickets]

Clint was a good dude. He actually won a bunch of money off me during a week of golf in Bloomington,. There are some great stories out there about him. Amazing athlete. He had really settled down. 2 kids. Tremendously sad.

Here is a great story about Clint:

Len Ashby and the Legend of Clint

Some poker players come and go, and others stick around. But the legends? They exist forever in the retold stories that will still be spun fifty years from now....

www.pokerstake.com

 

[ulrey]

Clint was one of a kind . RIP

 

[ulrey]

Those who followed HS basketball back in the late 90s might remember a player from Evansville named Clint Keown. He was an Indiana All-Star in 1998.

Clint passed away today in an automobile accident.

Went on to play 2 seasons at UE for Jim Crews and then transferred to D2 South Carolina Aiken. He had a standout career there in both basketball and baseball. He played minor league baseball briefly.

The guy was almost larger than life here in Evansville. He became a tremendous prop gambler and poker player. He bet with the likes of Kevin Hart, Nelly, and Tobey Maguire. The stories he racked up doing that were legendary. He once hit 90 out of 100 free throws on roller skates for $50k.

More recently, he became a fantastic amateur golfer - a game he didn’t pick up until his 20s. One of the best players in the area.

Apparently he was over in Robinson, IL to play golf with a friend. RIP to a local legend.

I think he was playing pickleball in Illinois.

 

[Spartans9312]

Clint was one of a kind . RIP

Yep….he was 5 or so years younger than me but anyone that played sports in the Evansville area “knew” about Clint.

 

[catzfanjim]

Clint was a great athlete and a even better person. I've known his family for years and they are great people. I don't think I ever saw Clint in a bad mood and he will be missed by the whole Evansville community. RIP

 

[LedZep17]

Grew up being around the Keown kids. Clint was a good dude and would talk to anyone. His brother Casey recently opened Casey's Dugout, a pizza joint on the east side of Evansville and Clint helped him promote it. Heart goes out to this family who also lost Clint's other brother Corey some years ago.

 

[stollcpa]

Those who followed HS basketball back in the late 90s might remember a player from Evansville named Clint Keown. He was an Indiana All-Star in 1998.

Clint passed away today in an automobile accident.

Went on to play 2 seasons at UE for Jim Crews and then transferred to D2 South Carolina Aiken. He had a standout career there in both basketball and baseball. He played minor league baseball briefly.

The guy was almost larger than life here in Evansville. He became a tremendous prop gambler and poker player. He bet with the likes of Kevin Hart, Nelly, and Tobey Maguire. The stories he racked up doing that were legendary. He once hit 90 out of 100 free throws on roller skates for $50k.

More recently, he became a fantastic amateur golfer - a game he didn’t pick up until his 20s. One of the best players in the area.

Apparently he was over in Robinson, IL to play golf with a friend. RIP to a local legend.

Like 20 Eville guys were over there playing golf. They were in aTesla running out of battery life. They were heading to a doctor friend of Clint’s to charge up. Hydroplaned, hit a guardrail, into a ditch then hit a bridge. His friend Matt Redd in critical condition with trauma to the head.

His prop bet hitting 90 out of 100 three pointers while banking them in is crazy.

He practiced playing tennis with a skillet and took on all comers allowing them to use a tennis racket.

I got into it with a couple times at Victoria National when I warned his pigeon he was about to get slaughtered.

We lost a good doctor in Washington in a Tesla accident this summer. He was using autopilot, fell asleep and wrecked.

 

[crazed_hoosier2]

Like 20 Eville guys were over there playing golf. They were in aTesla running out of battery life. They were heading to a doctor friend of Clint’s to charge up. Hydroplaned, hit a guardrail, into a ditch then hit a bridge. His friend Matt Redd in critical condition with trauma to the head.

His prop bet hitting 90 out of 100 three pointers while banking them in is crazy.

He practiced playing tennis with a skillet and took on all comers allowing them to use a tennis racket.

I got into it with a couple times at Victoria National when I warned his pigeon he was about to get slaughtered.

We lost a good doctor in Washington in a Tesla accident this summer. He was using autopilot, fell asleep and wrecked.

Tennis with a skillet. Yeah, that’s Clint.

I told him once that he was a modern-day Titanic Thompson. Thompson was renowned for doing crazy prop bets like that. And, like Clint, was also a genuinely good golfer who mainly used it to hustle. Thompson reportedly beat Byron Nelson one time.

Ironically, Thompson was known to visit Evansville in his travels. I remember hearing that, on his way into town once, he came across a guy in Posey County loading a truck with melons. He paid him to count the melons and then show up down at the McCurdy Hotel a few hours later - but to forget he ever saw him.

When the truck showed up, Thompson bet the guys he was with he could guess the number of melons in the truck within 2.

Clint really was one of one. I have never known anybody else like him and I doubt that I ever will. And, as others have said, he was a genuinely good guy too. To the surprise of most who knew him, he had moved on from all of that he last few years - getting married and having kids.

 

[mcmurtry66]

Tennis with a skillet. Yeah, that’s Clint.

I told him once that he was a modern-day Titanic Thompson. Thompson was renowned for doing crazy prop bets like that. And, like Clint, was also a genuinely good golfer who mainly used it to hustle. Thompson reportedly beat Byron Nelson one time.

Ironically, Thompson was known to visit Evansville in his travels. I remember hearing that, on his way into town once, he came across a guy in Posey County loading a truck with melons. He paid him to count the melons and then show up down at the McCurdy Hotel a few hours later - but to forget he ever saw him.

When the truck showed up, Thompson bet the guys he was with he could guess the number of melons in the truck within 2.

Clint really was one of one. I have never known anybody else like him and I doubt that I ever will. And, as others have said, he was a genuinely good guy too. To the surprise of most who knew him, he had moved on from all of that he last few years - getting married and having kids.

These @stollcpa are fantastic

Very sad

 

[ulrey]

I deliver to his mom’s business. She’s awesome. I feel for her losing two sons. Horrible.

 

[crazed_hoosier2]

Another quick story I remembered.

About 5 or so years ago, Memorial was playing in the football state championship just after Thanksgiving. Clint was with a group of guys that had gone to Bloomington.

To the horror of a couple of the other guys he was with (including one other former D1 basketball player) he was adamant about going to see Coach Knight…at his house.

He won the discussion and these guys literally pulled up in front of RMK’s house. Clint knocked on the door and Karen answered. He asked if Coach was home and if they could see him. She said she’d go see how he was and came back and agreed to let them see him.

They went inside and spent about 15 minutes talking to RMK. Clint told Knight that he had recruited him at IU in the late 90s (he showed Coach pictures he had saved on his phone from a recruiting visit) and that he had gone on to play for Jim Crews at UE.

They posed for pictures — that were passed all around Lucas Oil Stadium at the football game — and left for Indianapolis.

 

[catzfanjim]

Another quick story I remembered.

About 5 or so years ago, Memorial was playing in the football state championship just after Thanksgiving. Clint was with a group of guys that had gone to Bloomington.

To the horror of a couple of the other guys he was with (including one other former D1 basketball player) he was adamant about going to see Coach Knight…at his house.

He won the discussion and these guys literally pulled up in front of RMK’s house. Clint knocked on the door and Karen answered. He asked if Coach was home and if they could see him. She said she’d go see how he was and came back and agreed to let them see him.

They went inside and spent about 15 minutes talking to RMK. Clint told Knight that he had recruited him at IU in the late 90s (he showed Coach pictures he had saved on his phone from a recruiting visit) and that he had gone on to play for Jim Crews at UE.

They posed for pictures — that were passed all around Lucas Oil Stadium at the football game — and left for Indianapolis.

I laughed so hard when I saw those pictures. I told Clint that he was the only person I know that had the balls to do something like that.

 

[catzfanjim]

I deliver to his mom’s business. She’s awesome. I feel for her losing two sons. Horrible.

Julie and his aunt Pam are both great people. His family has definitely had some hard times the last few years. Clint changed when his son Colby was born and he’s said many times that Colby was the best thing that’s ever happened in his life. It’s been a very sad day for me.

 

[stollcpa]

Tennis with a skillet. Yeah, that’s Clint.

I told him once that he was a modern-day Titanic Thompson. Thompson was renowned for doing crazy prop bets like that. And, like Clint, was also a genuinely good golfer who mainly used it to hustle. Thompson reportedly beat Byron Nelson one time.

Ironically, Thompson was known to visit Evansville in his travels. I remember hearing that, on his way into town once, he came across a guy in Posey County loading a truck with melons. He paid him to count the melons and then show up down at the McCurdy Hotel a few hours later - but to forget he ever saw him.

When the truck showed up, Thompson bet the guys he was with he could guess the number of melons in the truck within 2.

Clint really was one of one. I have never known anybody else like him and I doubt that I ever will. And, as others have said, he was a genuinely good guy too. To the surprise of most who knew him, he had moved on from all of that he last few years - getting married and having kids.

I have a book in my office library about Titanic. There’s a story about him moving a road sign with the miles to Evansville as part of a bet he nailed a guy on?

 

[stollcpa]

Clint was a good dude. He actually won a bunch of money off me during a week of golf in Bloomington,. There are some great stories out there about him. Amazing athlete. He had really settled down. 2 kids. Tremendously sad.

Here is a great story about Clint:

Len Ashby and the Legend of Clint

Some poker players come and go, and others stick around. But the legends? They exist forever in the retold stories that will still be spun fifty years from now....

www.pokerstake.com

The last time I saw him at Oak Meadow about a year ago he talked to me after his round. He told me he had settled down. When I saw your post about settling down it reminded me.

RIP Clint. Prayers for your family.