GREEN BAY (NBC26) — UW-Green Bay officially welcomes its newest head coach. Community and passion were two of many themes that Doug Gottlieb plans to bring to Green Bay.
- Gottlieb is widely known as a sports network analyst and has an active radio show with FOX Sports.
- Gottlieb emphasized the need to be aggressive in the transfer portal while maintaining efforts to keep players from last season.
- He says the plan is to continue his show while coaching and plans to highlight the city of Green Bay on his radio show.
- When asked about his "non-traditional" route to coaching: "If someone's not laughing at your dreams, you're not dreaming big enough."
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
48-year-old Doug Gottlieb joins the program as its 10th head coach.
Gottlieb replaces Sundance Wicks who left to coach at the University of Wyoming.
"There's nothing like Wisconsin, there's nothing like it," Gottlieb said.
The team achieved its highest winning percentage (.562) since 2017 under Wicks.
For the Wisconsin-born Gottlieb, he says he aims to keep the momentum heading into next year.
"I can promise you this, you're not going to get more out of any human being than you can get out of me," Gottlieb said. "And I'm not going to accept anything less than that out of (the team)."
Gottlieb has no collegiate coaching experience but played Division I ball at Notre Dame and Oklahoma St. Today, Gottlieb stands as the NCAA Division I 11th all-time leader in assists (947).
He's most known for working as a network sports analyst and was also part of the Team USA staff at the Maccabiah games, a Jewish and Israeli multi-sport event in 2009 and 2017.
"I'm here because I love basketball, I love building community, I love building culture," Gottlieb said. "I want to see those guys have what I have, best friends. I want to be in the NCAA tournament."
Junior guard Preston Ruedinger says the team is already looking towards next season. He has not yet made it official if he will be staying with the program.
"We didn't want the season to end like the way it did and I think if we bring back our core group of guys and we get our kind of guys, as coach said, we'll be perfectly fine," Ruedinger said.
Will Gottlieb continue his radio show? The answer, he says, is yes — for now.
Gottlieb says he also plans to be aggressive in the transfer portal and increasing NIL appeal.
He said he will also look closely at homegrown athletes from the Midwest.
"(The team) will treat everyone with respect, you'll treat women with respect and you will play for the name on the front of your chest," Gottlieb said.
