Former Dublin High standout Anthony Roy is having quite the year at the University of Wisconsin, Green Bay.
The senior is leading the nation in scoring, averaging 28 points per game and is making a case as a potential pro prospect.
But the 6-foot-5 senior looks to have already landed in his head coach’s dog house after he appeared to have missed a team shootaround before a game Saturday against Cleveland State.
Roy was benched in the 83-61 home loss, and first-year coach Doug Gottlieb was blunt about the decision when speaking to reporters after the game.
“I owe it to the guys to play the guys that do what we ask them to do. Period,” Gottlieb said. “There’s things that transpire 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 upon this, based upon that. It’s not just in this situation. And you know you wake up and you’re like ‘What am I doing?’”
The move raised eyebrows as Green Bay is 2-8 through 10 games this season with Roy’s scoring being one of the only things working for the Phoenix.
But, Gottlieb is adamant that he will not move off his philosophy just to win games.
“You get one chance at a dream home,” he said. “It’s my dream home. I’m building it. I’m going to spend the extra time and extra expense and do it the right way.”
On Sunday, Roy posted an apology to his teammates and coaching staff on X.
“I want to start by apologizing to my teammates, my coaches, and everyone who supports our team,” Roy wrote in the X post. “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.”
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Gottlieb has never been afraid to speak his mind. The former Oklahoma State point guard still hosts a sports talk radio show while handling his coaching duties and is infamous for having hot – and sometimes controversial – takes.
Roy was a decorated player at Dublin and won the East Bay Athletic League player of the year as a senior in 2020. That year, he averaged 17.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game helping lead Dublin to its first CIF NorCal Open Division Regional appearance.
Roy originally committed to San Francisco coming out of high school, but has been at four schools since. He played at Wenatchee Valley, New Mexico State and Langston University before transferring to Green Bay before this season.
SAN RAMON, CA – FEBRUARY 15: Dublin’s Anthony Roy (13) shoots the ball against Dougherty Valley’s Donovan Sevilla (4) in the first period of an East Bay Athletic League high school boys basketball championship game in San Ramon, Calif., on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2020. Dublin would go onto win 90-73 in overtime against Dougherty Valley. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group)