(WFRV) – Legendary Green Bay men’s basketball coach Dick Bennett was at the Resch Center on Saturday afternoon, watching his former program win its second straight game.
Now 82, Bennett made a special visit to Green Bay — one that surprised current head coach Doug Gottlieb.
“He’s been amazing to me personally and to our program,” Gottlieb said. “Our former athletic director emailed me that coach was coming. His wife, Anne, has been battling some health issues, so just to have him in the building meant everything. You’re talking about Green Bay basketball Jesus sitting there.”
Bennett led the Phoenix to unprecedented success during his 10 seasons at Green Bay, including three NCAA Tournament appearances and a second-round run in 1994 after an upset of California, before moving on to Wisconsin.
After Green Bay’s 76-63 win over Detroit Mercy, Gottlieb shared the advice Bennett passed along.
“He left me with three nuggets,” Gottlieb said. “The better the kid, the more they’ll improve. Find glue players. And you have to know who you can lose with first before you know who you can win with.”
Bennett’s early days at Green Bay mirrored Gottlieb’s current rebuild. Bennett’s first Phoenix team went 5-23 in 1985-86, while Gottlieb’s squad finished 4-28 last season.
“He’s far ahead of where I was,” Bennett said during a halftime interview. “You have to build a culture, and sometimes you lose people to do it. But when you go through losing, you either make excuses or you learn and move forward. I see that happening with this team.”
Green Bay has now won two straight games and sits at 14-12 (9-6) with five regular-season games remaining.
