One 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 Michigan Tech 72-70 on Wednesday for its eighth consecutive defeat.
Green Bay took a double-digit lead into halftime and led by as many as 13 points in the second half before Michigan Tech came back to take the lead 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 news conference last week after the Phoenix’s home loss to Milwaukee, Gottlieb explained his scheduling outlook and used the now-famous “Nobody U” phrase.
“Part of the reason I want to play better teams is like, it’s 2 degrees outside, it’s snowing. I don’t really like the idea of Nobody U coming in here,” he said. “What do we learn playing a game where we win by 20? There’s a methodology to it, and I’m going to have to adjust moving forward.
“Every game on our schedule is a game that we can lose,” Gottlieb continued. “And nobody else does that. Now you know why.”
After Wednesday’s loss, Gottlieb took to social media to respond to his viral news conference.
“Done with this crap,” he wrote on X. “We scheduled up. Including Michigan Tech. No where ever, 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 focus on the job. He got into a back-and-forth on X earlier this week with ESPN’s Adam Schefter, and Gottlieb still hosts a daily radio show on Fox Sports Radio.
“Whatever I do is going to draw a ton of attention,” Gottlieb said. “I have a certain tone sometimes to the way I speak and especially to the way I tweet, which can upset people. I promise you, even though it’s in the negative now, it’ll be in the positive soon. Keep all the receipts, and we’ll just keep doing our job.”
Green Bay dropped to 2-11 this season after the loss to Michigan Tech. The Phoenix’s past three Division I defeats have come by an average of 20 points. Green Bay is 0-3 in Horizon League play and travels to face Drake, one of the four remaining undefeated teams in Division I, on Saturday.
“I’m as dedicated to this job as any human being has ever been,” Gottlieb said. “And I’m going to see it through until we win a Horizon League championship. This is my dream job, and I will not fall short of the 100% effort that’s required.”
Gottlieb was hired in May after being one of the final candidates for the Green Bay vacancy. He replaced Sundance Wicks, who led the Phoenix to an 18-14 record in his debut campaign then left to become the coach at Wyoming.
Gottlieb didn’t have any college coaching experience but was part of the staff for the United States team at the 2009 and 2017 Maccabiah Games, serving as the head coach in 2017 and as an assistant under Bruce Pearl in 2009.
