Doug Gottlieb is bringing back an old-school style of coaching.
The dual Wisconsin-Green Bay men’s basketball head coach and sports radio host benched Anthony Roy, a senior guard who is leading the country in scoring with 28 points per game this season, for Saturday’s 83-61 loss to Cleveland State.
In his postgame press conference, Gottlieb explained the broader philosophy behind the benching. Roy said he missed the previous’ day shoot-around.
Gottlieb is in his first year with the Phoenix after shockingly being named head coach this past May in a unique arrangement where he also remains a Fox Sports Radio talk host.
“I owe it to the guys to play the guys that do what we ask them to do,” Gottlieb said.
“There’s things that transpired that I don’t find appropriate to play today, and I made the personal decision to not play Anthony Roy. I know how I want to do it and too many times in my life, and probably too many times in the last six months, I’ve acquiesced based on this or that — it’s not just based on this situation.
“You wake up, and you’re like, ‘What am I doing? You only get one shot at this thing. Do it the right way.’”
He compared the situation to building a new house and refusing to make compromises.
“You get one chance at a dream home. This is my dream home. I’m building it,” Gottlieb said.
“I’m going to spend the extra time and extra expense and do it the right way.”
Roy later wrote a post on X apologizing for missing team events and taking accountability to be more present.
“I want to start by apologizing to my teammates, my coaches, and everyone who supports our team,” Roy wrote.
“Missing shoot-around yesterday was completely unacceptable. I take full responsibility for my actions and I understand how my choices impacted not just me but the entire team. I let down the people who count on me, and that’s not the leader I strive to be. Sitting out against Cleveland State was a very humbling experience.
“From here on out, I’m committed to holding myself to the highest standard.. not just in how I play, but in how I carry myself as a teammate and as a representative of the program. To my teammates and coaches thank you for holding me accountable. I’ll do everything I can to lead by example from this point forward.”
Green Bay is 2-8 and has lost five straight games heading into Wednesday’s matchup vs. Milwaukee.
