A week after coach Doug Gottlieb referred to weaker potential opponents as “Nobody U,” his Green Bay men's basketball team lost at home to Division II's Michigan Tech 72-70 on Wednesday for its eighth straight loss. .
Green Bay took a double-digit lead into halftime and led by as many as 13 points in the second half before Michigan Tech took the lead again with just under eight minutes left. The teams went back and forth until Michigan Tech's Marcus Tomashek hit a 3-pointer with 53 seconds left to give the Huskies a lead they didn't relinquish.
In a press conference last week after the Phoenix's home loss to Milwaukee, Gottlieb explained his scheduling outlook and used the now-famous phrase “Nobody U.”
“Part of the reason I want to play against better teams is that it's 2 degrees outside and snowing. I really don't like the idea of Nobody U coming here,” he said. “What do we learn by playing a game where we win by 20? There is a methodology and I will have to adapt in the future.
“Every game on our schedule is a game we can lose,” Gottlieb continued. “And no one else does that. Now you know why.”
After Wednesday's loss, Gottlieb took to social media to respond to his viral press conference.
“I'm done with this garbage,” he wrote on X. “We have scheduled. Including Michigan Tech. Nowhere have I been critical of anyone on our schedule. Now, back to work.”
Speaking to the media after the game, Gottlieb was asked about his off-court activities and his focus on work. He had a discussion on X earlier this week with ESPN's Adam Schefter, and Gottlieb still hosts a daily radio show on Fox Sports Radio.
“Anything he does is going to get a lot of attention,” Gottlieb said. “Sometimes I have a certain tone in the way I speak and especially in the way I tweet, which can bother people. I promise you, even though it's negative now, it will soon be positive. Save all receipts, and We will continue doing our job.”
Green Bay fell to 2-11 this season after the loss to Michigan Tech. The Phoenix's last three losses in Division I have been by an average of 20 points. Green Bay is 0-3 in the Horizon League and travels to face Drake, one of four undefeated teams remaining in Division I, on Saturday.
“I'm more dedicated to this job than any human being,” Gottlieb said. “And I'm going to keep going until we win a Horizon League championship. This is my dream job and I won't stop putting in 100 percent of the effort it takes.”
Gottlieb was hired in May after being one of the final candidates for Green Bay's vacancy. He replaced Sundance Wicks, who led the Phoenix to an 18-14 record in his debut campaign and then left to become a coach at Wyoming.
Gottlieb did not have any college coaching experience, but was on Team USA's staff at the 2009 and 2017 Maccabiah Games, serving as head coach in 2017 and as an assistant to Bruce Pearl in 2009.
