Former Providence forward Donovan Santoro is the first recruit of the Doug Gottlieb era at UWGB

The first recruit of the Doug Gottlieb era has arrived for the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay men’s basketball team.

Donovan Santoro committed to the school Wednesday after spending his freshman season at Providence.

The 6-foot-8 forward was offered by Gottlieb earlier this week. He didn’t take a visit to campus, but the Los Angeles native liked what he heard from his new coach enough to decide to come to Green Bay.

Per NCAA rules, Gottlieb is not allowed to comment on potential recruits until their paperwork is complete.

Although Gottlieb has plenty of contacts on the West Coast, and while his national radio show originates from Los Angeles, it was a different relationship that helped spark the commitment.

“I personally didn’t know about Coach Doug before any of this,” Santoro said. “There was a connection, I think, with (new UWGB assistant coach) Aerick (Sanders) and my dad. That’s how we got connected.

“I wasn’t sure at first, but then talking to Coach more, it just made it happen.”

Like Santoro, Sanders is a Los Angeles native who played in college at San Diego State.

Santoro said Sanders watched him work out, which was the first time anyone from UWGB saw him.

Santoro was a three-star recruit playing for the Southern California Academy post graduate national team before committing to Providence in October 2022.

He also made visits to San Jose State and Washington State before picking the Friars and had several offers from schools such as Arizona State, Washington and Mississippi.

Providence went 21-14 this season and lost to Boston College in the first round of the NIT, one year after winning the Big East Conference regular-season championship.

Santoro didn’t get much time on the court as a freshman, appearing in 11 games and playing a total of 27 minutes. He averaged 0.6 points and shot 2-for-10 overall and 1-for-9 from 3-point range.

His most notable game came against Wagner in November when he scored 5 points in 7 minutes.

He should have an opportunity for a bigger role at UWGB and has the skill set to play multiple positions.

It also is never a bad thing to land a player who was considered good enough to be on a team in a conference that boasts two-time reigning national champion UConn along with Marquette and Creighton.

Santoro loves the up-tempo style Gottlieb is likely to bring to the Phoenix offense and should fit right in.

“More of an AAU-style offense, I want to say,” Santoro said. “High scoring. Very fast-paced.

“Shooting. Scoring. I am always going to play hard, and I’m versatile on both ends of the floor.”

The offense he hopes to play in sounds much like the explosive one he was part of in high school before joining the post grad national team.

Santoro helped lead Westlake High School in Austin, Texas, to a 38-2 record, including 14-0 in district, in 2021-22.

Westlake suffered a heartbreaking loss in a Class 6A state semifinal that season, a game in which Santoro almost played hero.

He put his team up by a point with 19 seconds left on a runner, but an incorrect defensive substitution by Westlake in the final seconds led to a technical foul that tied the game. Westlake lost in two overtimes.

Santoro scored 14 points in the defeat and was part of a class that went 101-5 and made two trips to state in three seasons.

He continued his success at Southern California Academy in 2022-23, averaging 14 points and shooting 40% from beyond the arc.

While Santoro didn’t get much experience his first season in college, it still helped his development. He learned every game, whether he played some minutes or none.

“Be consistent, for sure,” Santoro said. “Be more vocal, that’s for sure. Just work hard always. That doesn’t change.”

If Santoro ends up having a notable career at UWGB, Phoenix fans might have to thank his mother, Vanessa.

While his father, Seth, played football growing up, that wasn’t going to be an option for his son.

“Nah, my mom wouldn’t let me,” Santoro said, laughing. “I’ve always loved basketball. Especially the taller I got, the easier it was just to choose basketball.”

Santoro’s commitment is the first of many dominoes to fall in the coming weeks for the Phoenix.

UWGB still has seven scholarships available after several departures both before and after former coach Sundance Wicks left for Wyoming.

All three of the recruits Wicks landed in the offseason no longer are with the team.

Junior center Scottie Ebube and graduate senior forward Cole Henry both followed Wicks to Wyoming, while former Neenah guard Chevalier Emery Jr. committed to Western Carolina.

UWGB has kept some of its roster together after Wicks left, with the team announcing guards Foster Wonders, Preston Ruedinger and Mac Wrecke and forward Marcus Hall all plan to return.

The Phoenix also will welcome its only current incoming high school recruit in Hartland Arrowhead’s Bennett Basich.

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: UWGB coach Doug Gottlieb lands his first recruit in Donovan Santoro