The folks in r/nba got to talking about the Gasols a couple of days ago—prompted by this great picture of Marc Gasol in high school—and one of the Gasols got to talking back. First, a little speculation from a non-Gasol, exactly the type of thing that might inspire a Gasol to get involved:
He's actually about to become (or did become?) a walk-on at UCLA. Adria Gasol is something like 6'10" (he's the short one, although he is only 18 I think), but if I recall he didn't start playing basketball until very recently. From what I've heard, he's not very good at basketball, though. Who knows; he could develop into something, I guess, but more than likely he'll be "that Gasol brother who shows up in UCLA blowouts".
And then...woah. It's like people on the Internet can read what you write about them:
I've been a walk-on since August. I started playing seriously when I was 14, and I've been busting my ass to become the best. Idk who told you I'm not very good, but it's true I have a lot to develop still. Mostly, I have to get more athletic, but it's pretty hard to do when my body is still in the process of growing. It sucks, and I probably won't get any playing time this year, but I'll still fight and work to become the best I can be. I got offers from several schools, but I chose to come to UCLA for several reasons. Also, I'm 6'11 now, I was 6'10 when I got here.
Naturally, redditors were incredulous—they're an incredulous bunch, sometimes—but Gasol tweeted proof, and shot back with, "I don't really know who'd want to fake being me," which is probably a fair rejoinder at this point in his life. Some people quizzed him on Shabbazz Muhammad's eligibility, just in case he knew (bad news on that front, by the way), other people acted like George Clooney had responded to someone trashing him on the Internet. It was an exciting day for r/nba:
Here I am, some 24 year old, 5'7", economics major nerd talking about the basketball abilities of some dude I really know nothing about...and then he just stands up and hands me my testicles on a silver platter. And probably dunks on me or something too, for good measure.
Adria's a committed redditor, though—he teased some members who thought he was a fake, got bored with the thread about himself, and went back to discussing whether Mike Brown should've been fired. Adria's thinks its debatable that Dwight Howard is the "smartest player [Stan] Van Gundy ever coached," which it sure is.
His posting history is mostly a delight, but the best part of his sudden appearance is probably that he told the story of Pau Gasol beating Brock in Yellow Pokemon for him on Gameboy—"It was Pau, I have no idea how he did it. All I remember is going to sleep, waking up, turning on my Gameboy and ta-daaa." He may also have found a girlfriend on the site a few days ago.
Adria Gasol, first in our hearts, a distant third (by his own admission) among basketball-playing Gasol brothers.
h/t Ryan T.