Behind the walls: Doug Gottlieb ready to lead a DI basketball program | WFRV
GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV) – Before Doug Gottlieb’s dreams of coaching a division one basketball team came true, he thought it was over.
“It started to sink in like, damn, not going to happen. Like, stop calling people. Stop interviewing because at the end of the day, you’re just left at the same spot. You know, you don’t get the job and you’re just setting yourself up for rejection,” Gottlieb reflected when his alma mater, Oklahoma State, went in a different direction for a men’s basketball head coaching position.
For weeks after that moment in 2023, the long-tenured sports radio analyst started having conversations with coaching agents, an athletic director, his sister, and friends about his pipe dream of leading a Division One basketball program.
Those closest kept instilling hope, but Gottlieb kept getting the same answer. No.
“I remember hanging up the phone thinking, ‘yeah, it’s not going to happen’”, Gottlieb explained. “You’re just setting yourself up for rejection. I mean, rejection doesn’t feel good to anybody. Anybody.”
A basketball agent close to Gottlieb never let him lose sight of becoming a Division One basketball coach.
“He was a believer. He’s like, this is crazy. They should hire you. This guy should hire you,” Gottlieb said. “But he did say other guys at this agency don’t think you’re going to get it.”
That would change when Gottlieb’s phone rang at 5 o’clock in the morning on May 14th of this year. It was the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay’s Athletic Director, Josh Moon, calling to offer Gottlieb the job of becoming the 10th men’s basketball head coach in program history.
Moon was shocked Gottlieb didn’t sound more excited after verbally accepting the job.
“Josh Moon was like, ‘Do you accept?’ and I said ‘Yeah.’ He said, ‘That’s it?’ I go, ‘Dude, it’s [expletive] 5:17 in the morning.”
It was game time. Gottlieb got the dream job he wanted.
TAKING OVER THE GREEN BAY PHOENIX
It all happened fast.
Just a month prior, UW-Green Bay had offered former head coach Sundance Wicks a contract extension that would have kept him as the leader of the Phoenix through the 2028-29 season. After Wicks led Green Bay to the 9th-greatest turnaround in NCAA DI history, the Phoenix had no intentions of letting him walk after his first season. The contract extension, which never came to life, would have made Wicks the highest-paid coach in program history.
Everything changed when Wicks’ home-state team, the University of Wyoming, had their men’s basketball head coach, Jeff Linder, make the stunning move of leaving the program and becoming an assistant coach at Texas Tech. It was Sundace’s job to lose.
Wyoming wasn’t just Wicks’ home state. It was a program he was an assistant at for three years before changing Green Bay basketball for the better.
In a three-day period, the Phoenix went from having the reigning Horizon League Coach of the Year to looking for its replacement.
“Did we think he was going to leave that soon? No. If we had to map it out, it would’ve been, you know, three to five years, right? That’s the way it goes”, UW-Green Bay Athletic Director, Josh Moon, explained. “It’s chaotic, but the benefit is that we just went through this process the year before. We spent more time vetting, digging, and evaluating the year before. So that made it easier to move that much quicker.”
Prior to hiring Wicks, Gottlieb was one of the finalists for the head coaching job at Green Bay. When Sundance left in May of this year, Gottlieb was the clear favorite.
“Throughout the year, even after [Gottlieb] didn’t get the job, we still kept in touch just checking in”, Moon reflected.
With interest from both sides a year prior, Gottlieb was ready for this challenge. He had done research on possible coaching staff, targets in the transfer portal, etc.
One of the first people Gottlieb told, after accepting, was his mother.
Basketball and coaching have always been in the family. Gottlieb’s father, Bob, was a long-tenured coach at the high school and collegiate level. One of Bob’s final coaching stops was at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee – Green Bay’s rival. Throughout five seasons, Gottlieb’s father led the Panthers to 62 wins from 1975-1980.
44 years after his dad’s last head coaching job, Gottlieb was now tasked with putting together a roster and coaching staff during one of the most chaotic times in collegiate sports history.
BUILDING A TEAM
Gottlieb was two weeks into his new role as the head coach at UW-Green Bay when Sundance Wicks reached out. Wicks wanted to get breakfast.
“I didn’t really know what to think”, Gottlieb laughed. “Was there an angle he had? In hindsight, I should’ve said something like, ‘You going to take all the players?’
Nope. It was the opposite of how this meeting went over breakfast. After Wicks turned around one of the worst DI programs in the country in his lone season at Green Bay, he wanted to make sure Gottlieb was set up for success.
Wicks gave Gottlieb the keys to what made him, his staff, and players so successful.
“We didn’t even really talk about players. He just talked about the place, the things he’d been working on, and the people he worked with. He was incredible to be honest with you. He just gave me the bank codes,” Gottlieb reflected on his two-hour meeting with Wicks. “I would totally understand anybody that says one-year sucks, but if there’s a way to handle it, he handled it better than anyone could handle it.”
Only five players from the previous year stayed to play under Gottlieb.
Foster Wonders, can shoot the three-ball better than most when he’s on his game. Marcus Hall was named to the Horizon League All-Freshman Team a year prior. Preston Ruedinger grew up just less than an hour south of Green Bay. Mac Wrecke, who redshirted his freshman year in 2023 and Ryan Wade, who redshirted as well.
Gottlieb not only had to recruit for the first time as a DI head coach but had to rebuild a roster in late May, which is late in the college basketball world.
“It was way easier than you think,” Gottlieb said. “I won’t have this selling point next year, but one of my biggest selling points was that every other team right now has ten to twelve guys. So, if they’re going to add you, you’re the cherry on top. If we’re going to add you, you’re more part of the Sundae.”
Having a national radio talk show played to Gottlieb’s advantage in recruiting. On top of that, he had to turn players down considering the number of connections in the basketball world that he made from his playing days at OSU or being a consultant for his alma mater.
One thing that Gottlieb never wavered on was sheer honesty when recruiting players all throughout the world.
“If you go through every player, especially the ones that I signed, there’s a relationship piece to it”, Gottlieb expressed. “I tell kids if I lie to you, I’m not just dead to you or dead to your agent or your coach… I screw you over, then I’ll never get a kid out of that area again.”
Gottlieb was able to fill his roster with some highly regarded talent that Green Bay would have never gotten before this hire. The 18 players currently listed on the Phoenix roster include two former four-star recruits out of high school 7’1 center Isaiah Miranda and 6’3 guard Jeremiah Johnson.
Those are big time recruits for a mid-major, let alone Green Bay.
“The connections [Gottlieb] has in that world are immense,” UW-Green Bay Athletic Director Josh Moon told Local 5. “His connections nationally, internationally as well, being able to pivot, and those relationships really led to being able to bring some guys in that we probably had no chance of getting previously.”
Recruiting the right players is only one piece of the puzzle. Putting those players in the best position to succeed with a good coaching staff was next.
Damon Archibald, Aerick Sanders, Jordan McCabe, Dennis Harrington, Kaden LeCapitaine, and Tyrus Thomas, former fourth overall NBA draft pick in 2006, make up the leaders around Gottlieb on the bench.
When asked about McCabe, the former northeast Wisconsin high school basketball phenomjust a brief time ago, there was nothing but praise from Gottlieb.
“Jordan has been easily so unbelievably mature and impressive. He is just 26, like, it’s a joke”, Gottleib said.
The roster was set with a brand-new coaching staff.
BUILDING CULTURE
Right after Gottlieb was hired, the players who remained at Green Bay got a video message from their new head coach.
“The gist of the video is – we’re going to win. If you want to win here at Green Bay, that’s what we’re going to do. Stay,” junior Preston Ruedinger recalled.
5 players remained from the previous regime. 13 players are brand new to the program.
Gottlieb went internationally to recruit as well. On the roster, you’ll see hometowns of Israel, Senegal, and Australia.
Gottlieb started to build chemistry off the court with the team by hosting ‘Family Dinners’. Usually, the team meets each Sunday at Gottlieb’s house. On occasion, they switch the day of the week.
“Coaches cook. Players clean up. We made that a little tradition, and I think a pretty good one,” Gottlieb expressed.
“Coach Doug is about as good as it can get on the grill. He’s elite on the grill. If we’re cooking in the kitchen, we’re going to Coach T, Tyrus Thomas. I even asked him for one of his recipes. He told me it’s not allowed,” Ruedinger laughed.
Buying a house on the water in Green Bay was Gottlieb’s goal. There’s nothing like a good ‘ole Wisconsin sunset in the summer months. Adjusting to life in the Midwest has been a treat for the new head coach.
“It’s amazing. First thing is, I mean, the people in Green Bay have been unbelievably welcoming, not just to me, but to my staff and my players,” Gottlieb said. “I’ve been here since May and I’ve counted three or four below-average weather days… obviously it’s not going to be Newport Beach, but far exceeded any of my expectations in terms of weather. Then, just the ease of the place. It’s just easy. It’s an easy lifestyle. Life is hard enough as it is. You don’t need traffic, you don’t need gross people, you don’t need all the trappings that some of these other big cities have including where I’m from. I’m very happy with where I’m living and with the lifestyle of being a Green Bay resident.”
Other than family team dinners, Gottlieb has been able to incorporate other ways to bring his team together throughout the offseason to build that culture and chemistry that can give any team that x-factor when games are played.
Baseball games, charity outings, YMCA Basketball Clinics, movie nights at the local theatre, running the stairs at Lambeau Field, and more.
In a four-month span, Gottlieb went from hoping to living his dream as a coach.
It’s been, by far, the most rewarding gig in Gottlieb’s whole entire life so far.
“All of it.”
BALANCING A NATIONAL RADIO SHOW
There’s no doubt that this is an out-of-the-box hire from UW-Green Bay’s Athletic Director Josh Moon. It’s been dissected, discussed, and questioned on the internet.
Bringing in a basketball junkie that has a ton of knowledge of the game, who hosts his own two-hour national radio show Monday through Friday on Fox Sports but has no background of being a DI head coach, is a polarizing move for a mid-major program like Green Bay.
When the hire was announced in May, some people hated it. Some people were optimistic. Some laughed. Others questioned it.
It’s a move that Moon understands would require all those reactions.
“If you don’t feel pressure, you’re not doing your job. The [Sundance Wicks] hire at the time, I think, was the most important hire in 40 years since Dick Bennet was hired,” Moon expressed. “There’s pressure with every hire, but, ultimately, what’s the most important thing for the long-term success of this program? You have to find players and you have to bring the resources in that can support those players. Ultimately that’s where Doug’s strength is going to be.”
Gottlieb’s day starts early in the morning. Most days, he’s up at 5:30 a.m. to get his coffee. His dog, Lombardi, needs to be let out before he leaves for the gym by 6:00 a.m. Some days Lombardi even comes to work with the coach. Gottlieb will work out for an hour before catching up on the sports world from 7-7:30. A staff meeting takes place an hour before practice to set out the daily plan of attack. Then, a light morning practice with the team, around 45 minutes to an hour in length, takes place whether that’s to work on conditioning, breakdowns, drills, etc. Players head to class, eat lunch, and do their own thing while the coaches meet once again. Gottlieb will take some time for himself before hosting his two-hour radio show on Fox Sports. Once the radio show is over, he’ll meet with some players or staff before a longer team practice. Once the two practices are over, Gottlieb will touch base with his coaches before the day’s work is over. Watching film takes place in the office or at home before he calls recruits and clocks out for the day.
The two-a-day practices are by design.
“Normally, if you go two and a half hours, you’ll just lose kids, right? You get to the last half hour, they have ADD, they’ll just check out. We’ll do almost all five-on-five in the afternoon or evening. Everybody likes doing that. I think it’s a better way to teach. I also think it gets them in great shape and I just think that’s the best way to teach basketball is for them to play real basketball”, Gottlieb expressed.
It’s a lot that Gottlieb juggles daily as he balances life as a head coach and a national radio host.
When Gottlieb’s contract became available through an open records request with the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, an interesting stipulation was attached to it.
If a renumerated conflict of interest or appearance of such conflict is identified, a Conflict Management plan would be developed to align with UW policy and Wisconsin Administrative Code.
In short, Gottlieb’s radio show duties cannot create a conflict of commitment to his primary duties at UW-Green Bay as the head basketball coach.
Gottlieb, owner of Doug Gottlieb Productions Inc., disclosed that his outside activities will average 15 hours per week, which will overlap with university business hours. For any outside activity engaged in by Gottlieb during business hours, he would be required to work the equivalent number of hours per week outside of business hours.
If Gottlieb would have to travel for any outside activity, he would be required to outline a plan confirming that any travel away from the University wouldn’t result in institutional expenditures for travel. All planned absences must be confirmed with Athletic Director Josh Moon seven days prior to travel, or as soon as reasonable, and Gottlieb would appropriately use paid leave if required by UW policy.
To avoid any conflict, Gottlieb will have to ensure a clear organization and task management plan for himself and each of his assistant coaches, and the entire Green Bay men’s basketball program. Assigning key tasks for each assistant coach will be critical so that the athletics staff and the men’s basketball student-athletes know exactly who to go to on questions/concerns during the designated time periods when Gottlieb is performing outside work.
Gottlieb will triage all needs to travel for outside activity to ensure his duties at UW-Green Bay take priority during away-from-home competition, which may result in him having to take days off from his LLC outside work.
If the duties and needs of the University are not met by the head coach, Gottlieb may be asked by a designee of the institution not to continue involvement in the outside activity causing the conflict, while employed at UW-Green Bay.
To say the least, neither party sees hosting a radio show, while still serving as the head coach at UW-Green Bay, as an issue or one that will arise.
“People have done radio shows, TV shows, coaches have coaches shows all the time. I don’t think it’s that big of a thing. It’s actually my outlet, but there’s going to be naysayers and the only way to combat a naysayer isn’t to talk about it, it’s to show them,” Gottlieb told Local 5. “So, that’s why we came up with ‘walk the walk’ as our mantra and, you know, all the talking doesn’t matter. Preseason or predictions doesn’t matter. Nobody cares. Just get to work. Show people you’re here for the right reasons. Build a team, make them good citizens, make them go to class, make them good teammates, improve their skill, put them in position to try and succeed, and then you see what happens.”
“Obviously he has to be able to balance that and thread the needle with that responsibility. I’m comfortable with the workload. Obviously, we set that up with the contract. He understands that. Again, it’s not because of lack of work”, Moon said. “That’s not a major issue at all. It’s almost a back-burner thing. I mean, it’s just that he’s not available for a period of time and he can work around that. Just a different concept, different way to think about it, but he’ll have that figured out where it’s really a non-factor.”
“There’s no doubt in my mind that this isn’t a distraction for coach. I haven’t even seen him do the show ever. I don’t listen to his shows ever, if I’m being honest. I just don’t. I genuinely don’t think anyone on the team has seen him do a part of his other job. He’s totally focused on us and us winning that I have no worries,” junior guard Preston Ruedinger told Local 5.
With the radio show, comes national publicity to the program that would be far-fetched if it wasn’t for Gottlieb behind the microphone. There’s no question that his reach around the country can shine a light on the basketball program.
Gottlieb’s already made an impression on the fundraising aspect. Over the summer, their annual golf outing raised a record-breaking $170,000 that will directly impact and support the men’s basketball program at Green Bay.
Local 5 also received confirmation that the Phoenix received Sundance Wicks’ buyout and pocketed $705,000 from the University of Wyoming.
Partnerships are starting to come as Gottlieb was able to secure one for the program with ‘Liquid Death’, a canned water company.
The Phoenix are in a position they may have never been in before, financially, to stand out as a mid-major program. Bringing in a national sports analyst is only going to help further that.
Improvements are already in the books for UW-Green Bay. In the next month and a half, the athletic department will undergo a significant locker room upgrade at the Kress Event Center. Which hasn’t been done since the $33 million facility was built in 2007. At least one set of new jerseys is coming for the Phoenix this upcoming season. Some other key areas where Green Bay is investing money are its analytics department, extra coaches, and upgrading their nutrition for student athletes.
TIME TO PROVE IT
It’s safe to say that Gottlieb can recruit. He can build connections. He brings intangibles to the plate that other coaches may not. There’s no denying that.
He’s answered any questions he can up until this point.
Everything has worked out thus far for both parties, but the record is 0-0. There’s a long way to go to come to any conclusion. No one knows how this out-of-the-box hire will pan out for Green Bay and Gottlieb over the course of the five-year contract that runs through April of 2029.
He’s the all-time assist leader at Oklahoma State University. He’s become a well-known sports analyst heard all around the country. He has coached AAU basketball and led his team to a gold medal, both as a player and coach, at the Maccabiah Games.
But no one knows if Gottlieb can handle everything that comes with being a DI head basketball coach, on top of hosting a radio show five days a week, and still win games.
It’s unique, unorthodox, unconventional, and all the above.
At the end of the day, results matter.
“I’m excited. I would love for it to be tomorrow, but my team is far from ready”, Gottlieb told Local 5. “If you’ve ever made cake or cookies in the oven and you’re sitting there going, like, ‘well, they look done. They’re fine. Let’s go’ and then you stick a toothpick in it. It’s not done at all. They’re close to getting there. We have some of the structure in place, but we really need to cook that thing up and I have to be careful to not take that thing out of the oven too quick, but I’m excited to dip those chocolate chip cookies in some milk and see what it tastes like.”
Gottlieb will tip off his coaching career in an exhibition game against a local DIII college team, St. Norbert, on Thursday, October 24 before the regular season opener at his alma mater, Oklahoma State, on Monday, November 4.
Only time will tell.
Source: Behind the walls: Doug Gottlieb ready to lead a DI basketball program | WFRV
