Former guard Amari Davis left for Missouri in 2021, while point guard Kamari McGee departed for Wisconsin in 2022.
All-conference guard Noah Reynolds left for TCU in 2024, and guard Anthony Roy recently left for Oklahoma State after UWGB signed him out of NAIA Langston University last spring.
Perhaps it’s a good selling point for potential recruits, although it also comes with the expectation UWGB won’t keep someone for more than a few seasons.
The last player to start and end his career at UWGB was former guard Kam Hankerson, who graduated in 2020.
“The reward for discovering a kid, recruiting a kid, developing a kid and making a kid better, is that after a year, when they are really good, they move on and make more money,” Gottlieb said last month during a segment on his national radio show. “What you used to have at the college level, is four- and five-year guys. Maybe even a sixth-year guy. Now what you have at the college level, yeah, you have the four- or five-year guys, the sixth-year guy, but the bigger schools are buying those guys up because they know they are of more value.”
Miller agrees with Gottlieb.
The type of money Reynolds and Roy received wasn’t something UWGB had a legitimate chance to match.
Gottlieb knew he would lose Roy and was more interested in helping him find his next spot rather than holding on to an unrealistic hope he could keep him if he wanted.
UWGB put together what it believed was a competitive package for Reynolds last year, but it still wasn’t what bigger schools offered.
Reynolds averaged 12.5 points and started 30 games for TCU this season. UWGB went from 18-14 with him to 4-28 without him.
“All you can kind of say to the next kid is, ‘Hey, we took a kid that wasn’t getting any NIL or relatively little, and he came here and now he’s making X,” Miller said. “I think that reflects good on our program. No hard feelings. We wish you the best, go get them.”
Can UWGB find enough money to be competitive on a consistent basis and not just when it strikes gold with a player like Reynolds?
It has won eight or fewer games in four of the past five seasons after winning 20 or more four times the previous seven.
Although Miller didn’t give a specific figure of how much the collective has raised for basketball the past couple of years, UWGB isn’t among the top programs in the 11-team Horizon League.
“The top end of my league, the Horzion League, is like $400,000,” Gottlieb told his audience. “And, I’m telling you, we are nowhere near the top.”
NFL draft event will help raise money for UWGB
The collective will use the NFL draft in Green Bay to raise money.
A Fly With the Phoenix NFL draft primer featuring Gottlieb, radio personality Dan Patrick and comedian Frank Caliendo will take place Tuesday at The Legacy Hotel in Green Bay.
It costs $5,000 for a group of eight guests, with all proceeds going to support Phoenix basketball through the collective.
About 15 groups have registered, and there has been traction on individual spots for $625. There is space for approximately 170 people, and the hope is to get at least 150.
“We are always looking for ways to generate more funds for the programs,” Miller said. “With Doug’s connections, how can we take advantage of some people Doug knows that are coming into town that week that we can put together a bit of a fundraiser for the program?
“To get a guy like Dan Patrick or Frank Caliendo into town, how much would that cost otherwise? But if they are here anyway, those guys are kind of like, ‘Yeah, we want to help you out a little bit.’”
