The Lambeau Field Atrium was packed April 21 for the Phoenix-Packers steak fry, an annual fundraising event for University of Wisconsin-Green Bay athletics that raised more than $330,000 last year.
Both UWGB men’s basketball coach Doug Gottlieb and women’s basketball coach Kayla Karius spoke before the event about their busy offseasons.
UWGB heard from Kansas after the steak fry last year when Gottlieb perhaps broke the news a bit too early that the teams would open the 2025-26 season against each other.
He didn’t have a similar bombshell to drop this time, or he at least was more careful not to share, but there is one team the Phoenix won’t have on the upcoming schedule despite Gottlieb’s best effort: A date against UConn, which lost to Michigan in the national championship game earlier this month.
Gottlieb reached out to UConn general manager Tom Moore this week about playing a game. The two have been friends for decades.
“He actually said, ‘We can’t play you, Coach, you guys were too good last year,’” said Gottlieb, whose team went 18-15. “I was like, ‘We lost four starters, you have a $15 million payroll, you are arguably the best program in the country. Come on, man.’”
“I go, ‘There is 0.1 percent chance [UWGB would win],’” Gottlieb said. “He said, ‘We want 0.0 percent chance of losing.’”
The Phoenix staff took a hit after assistant and Green Bay native Keil Ganz was hired as the new coach at Northern Michigan University.
Ganz arrived at UWGB before last season after serving as an assistant at NMU in 2023-24 and as the associate head coach in 2024-25.
He is one of two people to depart UWGB this offseason after Kaden LeCapitaine, the director of basketball operations, joined Siena in the same role.
The Phoenix recently hired Colin Schneider to join the coaching staff. The New Holstein native was at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville the past five seasons and was promoted to associate head coach in August 2023.
This will be his second stint for UWGB after he spent several seasons as the director of basketball operations during the Brian Wardle era before leaving in 2014 to serve as the assistant video coordinator for the Memphis Grizzles.
“Colin is a GB alum, his wife is from Green Bay,” Gottlieb said. “I think it is unbelievably important to have Green Bay people, Wisconsin people, be part of this. My goal is with other parts of that staff to continue that.”
UWGB will retain the rest of its coaching staff, including veteran assistant Kerry Rupp.
Another veteran assistant, Andy Ground, remains on staff. At least for now.
“Andy is staying until he feels like we got everything in place,” Gottlieb said. “He will definitely be here for the summer, and we will just see. My thing with Andy is, he has a wife in Vegas. He has dogs. He really wants to get back to his dogs in Las Vegas. It’s dogs, then basketball, then stocks and bonds. He’s unbelievable in the stock market.
“My thing is, he is going to get there and miss it and want to come back. He’s going to help me until [we hire] another assistant coach and a director of OPS. I don’t know when that occurs because there is some other timing stuff. Right now, our staff is good enough that we have got everything handled. We can prepare for camp. We will add pieces as we go.”
The Phoenix has signed North Idaho College sophomore guard-forward Ne’quan Brown.
The 6-foot-8 Brown averaged 15 points in 28.5 minutes per game this season, one year after averaging 9.7 points and 21.6 minutes.
“Can play kind of the 1 through 4,” Gottlieb said. “He is going to help us rebound.”