Doug Gottlieb breaks silence on taking Green Bay basketball head coaching job

Gottlieb told his kids that “this is the response to people who laugh at your dreams,” via The Doug Gottlieb Show.

Inspiring messages aside, one reason why he makes sense as a coaching hire is for his recruiting expertise within the region. The Oklahoma State alum is originally from the area and grew up watching his father coach at one of the neighboring schools.

“Green Bay is in the same system my dad Bob coached in (1975-80 at UW-Milwaukee),” Gottlieb said. “Wisconsin is the state I was born in, and at that level, at the mid-major level, you’ve got a lot of players in the state of Wisconsin. You’ve got Wisconsin and Minnesota talent all over the board, and in this world where kids transfer all the time, we can get kids to transfer to us.

Additionally, the show should help bring more attention to the program. With the Phoenix playing in the Horizon League, it’s not easy for them to attract top players in the transfer portal or the recruiting trail. Gottlieb explained that the balance of doing the show while coaching will do more good than harm.

“First, there are finances involved in this decision. I think they actually mutually promote themselves,” Gottlieb said. “This gives Green Bay something different. It’s going to help our program with NIL money and recruiting. And the other thing is, it allows me to take less money and pay my assistant coaches more. But it gives (Athletic Director) Josh (Moon) and the entire UW-Green Bay athletic department a new kind of publicity. With my connections in the basketball world and in the media, I believe the show is a great way for us to only promote the program.”

Time will tell if this experiment pays off, but it will easily be one of the most fascinating sports storylines to follow within the Great Lakes region for the foreseeable future.