UWGB men’s basketball lands junior college guard Josh Hines in NCAA transfer portal

• UWGB men’s basketball coach Doug Gottlieb landed guard Josh Hines, who averaged 21.2 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 3.1 assists at Macomb Community College.
• Hines, a 6-foot-2 guard, led his team to a fifth-place finish at the NJCAA Division II Championship and earned first-team All-American honors.
• Gottlieb has actively recruited players from various college levels, including DIII, NJCAA, and DII, through the transfer portal.
• Longtime coach Andy Ground, who previously coached Gottlieb in high school, joined the UWGB coaching staff.

GREEN BAY – University of Wisconsin-Green Bay men’s basketball coach Doug Gottlieb wrapped up a busy couple months by landing one more recruit.  

UWGB recently received a commitment from guard Josh Hines, who played the last two seasons at Macomb Community College in Warren, Michigan.

The 6-foot-2 Hines averaged 21.2 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game while shooting 50.9% in 2024-25.

He was instrumental in the team winning 30 or more games for the second straight season while placing fifth at the NJCAA Division II Championship.

Hines became the first player in program history to be named an NJCAA DII first-team All-American.

He signed with DII University of Indianapolis after a standout prep career at Dakota High School in Michigan, but the Macomb native ended up returning home to play for the Monarchs.

Hines averaged 11.7 points and started 27 games as a freshman before his breakout sophomore campaign.

He scored 25 or more points 13 times this season, including 30 or more five times.

Hines put up a career-high 33 points against both Mid Michigan College in December and Wayne County Community College in January.

Hines did not return a text message, but he announced his commitment May 21 on his social media account.

“I want to thank my family for their support,” Hines wrote. “It’s not even just about coaches believing in you. It’s about you believing in you, even when others scratch you off. Blessed to be a Phoenix.”

UWGB could be done with its recruiting for the 2025-26 season, but Gottlieb last week left open the possibility the team could add one more traditional big man.

UWGB landed recruits at all levels this offseason

Gottlieb and his coaching staff found players at different levels of college basketball in the transfer portal.

UWGB added one of the most prolific scorers in DIII with Carnegie Mellon guard Justin Allen.

It signed NJCAA DI guard LeBron Thomas from Vincennes University (Indiana), NCAA DII Lewis University guard Rob Stroud and JUCO forward Ramel Bethea out of MiraCosta College in San Diego.

The Phoenix also hit the DI ranks by adding West Georgia forward Shelton Williams-Dryden.

It sometimes can be difficult to project how players will perform at a higher level.

Gottlieb often looks at how hard a prospect plays, his body type, what kind of person he is, what his coach says about him, how hard he practices. Did he improve from the first game of the season to the 15th?

“I sent (UWGB assistant coach) Aerick (Sanders) and (former assistant Damon Archibald) on the road in the middle of the season and told them, ‘Go find dudes. But I want to make sure I know exactly what I’m getting,'” Gottlieb said. “The problem with recruiting the portal is, or last year when we were kind of like speed dating, you have to know what you are getting.”

Sanders spent several days watching Thomas play and practice with Vincennes. He watched Bethea do the same at MiraCosta.

Archibald visited schools in states such as Mississippi, Arizona and Texas.

“The No. 1 thing you have to do, is you got to know what your league looks like,” Gottlieb said. “It’s not just what you want to coach and if you think a guy has competitive instincts and can evolve into a good mid-major player. You also have to know what is he up against?”

Gottlieb’s phone is like a catalog of potential recruits. He receives a rundown of players from each of his assistants.

“When we decide we want a kid, then whoever the point man is, he gives the full rundown as well as an edit,” Gottlieb said. “It’s not a highlight film. Those are really deceiving. It’s an edit of every play in one game in which the player was involved in, offensively, defensively, off the bench, body language. Everything.

“How do you evaluate a kid’s potential? That’s the real skill to recruiting. Anybody can go into the gym and be like, ‘Hey, (former Duke star) Cooper Flagg is really (expletive) good. It’s the, ‘What does this kid look like in the Horizon League when we are playing against Milwaukee, and they have some grown-ass men that you have to compete with?’”

UWGB adds familiar face as assistant coach

Gottlieb will have a trusty sidekick on the bench next season with the addition of longtime coach Andy Ground to his staff.  

Gottlieb played for Ground while at Tustin High School and was one of the best guards in California in 1995 when he led his team to the Southern Section Division II-A title game.

Ground has had a huge impact at the JUCO level, including spending 13 seasons as the head coach at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo, California, before stepping down in June 2020.

He won’t be a stranger to returning Phoenix players. Ground, who can be considered a defensive guru, spent about three weeks in Green Bay this season and offered his thoughts about the team to Gottlieb.

Ground will be on the bench for all home games but will not go on the road.

UWGB posted an assistant men’s basketball position on May 6 after Archibald left, but Ground is not filling that vacancy. The team still could add another assistant.

New Zealand prospect no longer coming to Green Bay

Phoenix fans won’t get the opportunity to watch New Zealand’s Lachlan Crate this fall.

The 6-7 forward committed to UWGB in November after spending the previous two seasons playing for the Manawatu Jets in the National Basketball League.

But there was a feeling after he participated in the Basketball Without Borders global camp in California in February and started to gain more recognition that he might not end up coming to Green Bay.  

Gottlieb previously said he believes Crate is a power conference talent, but Crate has yet to announce his plans after deciding not to play for the Phoenix.

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