College Basketball Coach Doug Gottlieb Throws Chair After Loss

University of Wisconsin-Green Bay men’s basketball coach, Doug Gottlieb, channeled his inner Bob Knight after his team lost an 80-78 game to Robert Morris University on Thursday, December 4.

Walking off the court after Green Bay blew an 11-point lead over the last 3:54, Gottlieb, 49, threw a chair in frustration.

“I’m encouraged by our effort and our defense and how we executed,” Gottlieb told the media after the game. “That was just embarrassing how we lost the game.”

Green Bay’s end-of-game miscues included untimely turnovers and fouls, as well as a trio of made threes from Robert Morris over the final 2:21.

Though Green Bay showed plenty to leave Gottlieb encouraged, his frustration was still clear, not just walking off the court but in the postgame press conference.

“We didn’t defend the three-point line,” he said. “And we have guys that are not listening. So it happens. We lost the game.”

He added, “Yeah, we’re actually a good basketball team. I know it’s surprising to people. We’re actually pretty good, but we played like idiots at the end of the game.”

Gottlieb’s outburst was reminiscent of Knight, the former Indiana Hoosiers head coach, who died in 2023 at age 83. Knight, who was known for his hot temper, once tossed a chair across the court during a 1985 game against Purdue. It became arguably the most memorable moment of his complicated career.

While Knight spent more than 40 years patrolling the sidelines in college, Gottlieb is in only his second year as a head coach. The one-time controversial ESPN college basketball analyst accepted the head coaching job at Green Bay prior to the 2024-25 season after years of trying to break into coaching.

Green Bay went 4-28 in Gottlieb’s first season, ranking as one of the worst teams in Division I. This season, they have already equaled their win total from a year ago, but at 4-6, the Phoenix could have been looking at a .500 record if they had closed the game out against Robert Morris.

Gottlieb came under fire in his first season for seeming to talk down to some of the programs on his team’s schedule, even while the Phoenix were in the midst of a 20-game losing streak.

“Part of the reason I want to play better teams is it’s two degrees and snowing outside,” he said in a December 2024 press conference. “You know? I don’t really like the idea of ‘Nobody U’ coming in here. What do we learn playing a game where we win by 20? But there’s a methodology to it, and I’m going to have to adjust moving forward.”

Gottlieb cleared the air on his radio show a week later, explaining that he was saying his team’s opponents that season were actually tough and he was discussing scheduling philosophy.

“My thing has always been, to go to a game in Green Bay, Wisconsin, I’ve got to give you a reason to go,” he explained. “I was speaking in a place a week ago Wednesday where I was discussing how difficult our schedule has been. And how everyone we played was either better than us or capable of beating us.”