Tag: Greg Gard

Wisconsin basketball putting together a fantastic early season resume

Greg Gard and the Wisconsin Badgers are putting together a fantastic early season resume.

For anyone that doesn’t remember, this year’s Wisconsin Badgers team entered the season with minimal expectations from the media. Greg Gard and his young Badgers team were picked to finish no better than 10th by just about every reputable news outlet you can imagine.

The low expectations for UW were easy to understand on the surface. Wisconsin needed to replace 71% of the teams total points scored, and 3,597 minutes from a season ago. That production was going to be replaced by a roster that consisted of 70% first or second-year players in the program – which is far from the norm in Madison.

It’s safe to say at this point that any doubts people may have had about the Badgers have since been thrown to the wind.

Wisconsin has been well coached, played great defense, and has a legitimate superstar in Johnny Davis leading this team – which is the perfect recipe for success.

Related: Johnny Davis is making a case for national player of the year. 

 

Wisconsin’s tournament resume:

The No. 23 Wisconsin Badgers (11-2) are fresh off a 74-69 victory on the road against the No. 3 Purdue Boilermakers. This gave Wisconsin their 3rd quad 1 victory of the season, which is the third most in the entire country.

They’ve also accumulated six victories over programs ranked top 100 in the  NET rankings:

  • Marquette 83 (at home)
  • Texas A&M 62 (neutral site)
  • Indiana 48 (at home)
  • Saint Mary’s 41 (neutral site)
  • Purdue 11 (road game)
  • Houston 3 (neutral site)

Entering the season, simply making the NCAA tournament was going to be viewed as a victory. Well, it’s time to raise expectations because the Badgers are putting together a fantastic tournament resume early in the season.

 

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Greg Gard has his young Badgers team limiting turnovers

Greg Gard has his young badgers team valuing each possession and limiting mistakes.

The staples of Wisconsin’s basketball program have been: defense, getting to the foul line more than their opponents, and valuing each possession (limiting turnovers).

Despite the plethora of new faces and the significant production needing to be replaced from last season, Greg Gard has his young badgers team taking care of the basketball better than at any point in his coaching tenure.

As it stands, Wisconsin is second in the country – averaging just 8.2 turnovers per game. While the season is far from over, this is highly encouraging for an inexperienced group that hasn’t played a ton of basketball together.

This has been a noticeably unselfish team that’s unafraid of making the extra pass, so taking care of the basketball the way they have is no small feat.

It’s also worth noting that Wisconsin has primarily played two freshman point guards all season long – and they’ve looked mature beyond their years.

Per KenPom, Wisconsin ranks second nationally in turnover% – which is also the lowest mark during the Greg Gard era. Over the last four seasons, Wisconsin has finished no worse than 13th nationally in turnover%.

Greg Gard and this young badgers team have done a terrific job limiting turnovers this season, and have valued each and every possession. The on court product has been a perfect extension of their head coaches values.

 

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Greg Gard moves into fourth place on program’s all-time win’s list

Greg Gard moves into fourth place in program’s all-time coaching win’s list.

The passing of the baton from Bo Ryan to Greg Gard was viewed as controversial to some outside of the program, but seven years later – it’s proven to be the right choice.

Last nights 89-85 victory over Illinois State gave Greg Gard 129 career wins as head coach of the program.

That number is significant because it now moves Greg Gard into sole possession of fourth place in Wisconsin basketball history for head coaching wins.

The three coaches he trails in wins are Doc Meanwell (246), Bud Foster (265), and the legend himself – Bo Ryan (364).

Coach Gard served as Bo Ryan’s right hand man, and lead assistant from 2001-2015 before becoming the head coach of the program.

Since 2015, Greg Gard has the fourth best winning percentage in Big Ten play, behind only Michigan, Michigan State, and Purdue.

 

Coaching accolades:

  • Jim Phelan National Coach of the year (2016)
  • Big Ten regular season championship (2020)
  • Big Ten Coach of the year (2020)

 

Head Coaching record

  • 129-72 (.642)
  • 4-3 NCAA Tournament record. (Didn’t get to play in 2020)
  • 5 NCAA Tournament appearances in 6 seasons.

 

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Brad Davison flourishing in his new role for the Badgers

Super Senior Brad Davison is flourishing in his new role for the badgers this season.

When super senior Brad Davison decided to return to Wisconsin, he did so with the intention of soaking in all the knowledge Greg Gard had to offer in pursuit of a coaching career when his playing days were over.

He’s made his intentions of wanting to coach basketball well known throughout the years, and what better opportunity then coming back to help lead an inexperienced Badgers team with an average age of just 19.5 years old.

Davison has been asked by Coach Gard to “lead from the back”, allowing players such as Johnny Davis and Tyler Wahl to find their voices and become the leaders of the program.

Brad has also been given the opportunity during games and practices to pull players aside and teach specific aspects of the game so Gard can focus on big picture tasks.

On the court is where things have changed the most drastically for Brad Davison. He’s been asked to carry a much heavier scoring load this season, and he’s responded.

As it stands, Davison is averaging a career high 15.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.7 assists.

As an offense, this young Badgers team is relying heavily on consistent scoring output from Johnny Davis and Brad Davison. This has been a significant ask due to the lack of a consistent third scoring option behind them.

Not since Brad Davison’s freshman year has he been asked to be one of the primary scoring options. In fact, Davison currently has a career high 23.8 USG% – which is higher than his 22.4% as a true freshman.

Knowing that he has to hunt his own shot and create offense on a more regular basis, we’ve seen the super senior show a willingness to let it fly – attempting 7.4 three-point attempts per game and connecting at a .358% clip, which is right around his career average.

Davison is beginning to look comfortable now that he’s settled into his new role as a preferred scoring threat – instead of the 3&D option on the wing that he’s been asked to play the last three seasons.

It’s hard to imagine where Wisconsin would be had Brad Davison not returned for his extra year of eligibility. He’s become an integral part of the Badger’s offense while still acting as the quarterback of the defense. His value to this team cannot be overstated.

George Mason cancellation leads to long layoff for Greg Gard and the Badgers

Wisconsin was forced to cancel their game with George Mason due to a Covid-19 outbreak. This is going to lead to a long layoff the Badgers.

Wisconsin was forced to cancel their most recent contest against mid-major George Mason on Thursday due to positive Covid-19 tests within the UW program.

This came announcement came on short notice, considering all parties scrambled to make this game happen on just two day’s notice.

Unfortunately for Greg Gard and the Badgers, this cancellation comes on the heels of a previously cancelled contest between Wisconsin and Morgan State.

Wisconsin’s next scheduled game is currently scheduled for December 29th against Illinois State at the Kohl Center.

Should Wisconsin be healthy enough to play, the Badgers will go 13 days without playing a game – which is quite the layoff with full-time Big Ten play on the horizon.

The overall health of the coaching staff and student athletes needs to take priority, but another cancellation would keep UW off the court until January 3rd when they resume confrence play against Purdue at the Mackey Arena.

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Wisconsin basketball has a December tip time announced

Wisconsin basketball has a December tip time announced

The Wisconsin Badgers will face off against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets this year in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.

The Badgers battled Louisville in the challenge last season. They cruised to a 85-48 victory in what was one of the team’s most complete showings of the season.

This year’s contest should be a little closer, as Wisconsin will visit a Georgia Tech team that went 17-9 last season and lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Related: Greg Gard on why Brad Davison is ‘one of the best leaders’ he has ever been around

We now know when that contest this season will tip-off.

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WATCH: Greg Gard on why Brad Davison is ‘one of the best leaders’ he has ever been around

Greg Gard on why Brad Davison is “one of the best leaders” he has ever seen

As Wisconsin basketball gets ready for a season where youngsters will take center stage, one senior returner is helping to lead the way. Brad Davison, who is back for his fifth and final year in Madison, is a lone Wisconsin veteran alongside a number of younger players in the Badger backcourt.

During Big Ten media day, head coach Greg Gard had high praise for his senior leader’s ability to connect with the team, bring energy to practice every single day, and above all lead. Gard called him “one of the best leaders” he has ever been around during Friday’s press conference. Here is a look at his full answer surrounding Davison and his impact on the team heading into the year:

Greg Gard on Johnny Davis and Tyler Wahl stepping into leadership roles

The Badger returners are expected to step into new leadership roles

During Big Ten basketball media day last Friday, Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard touched on his emerging, youthful group as the Badgers prepare for the 2021-22 season.

With the departure of a deep 2020 senior class, aside from Brad Davison returning for his added year of eligibility, Gard has a group of youngsters who will immediately compete for key minutes and usage. Among two of the returners to Madison expected to play key roles are rising sophomore Johnny Davis and rising junior Tyler Wahl, who both played significant parts a year ago.

Wahl and Davis are expected to be leaders on a team with a majority of new faces. Gard touched on their opportunity and the way Davison can help them take full advantage of it:

Jonathan Davis says Greg Gard ‘knows he’s got some things to change’ moving forward

Jonathan Davis says Greg Gard ‘knows he’s got some things to change’ moving forward

Wisconsin guard Jonathan Davis has become the first Wisconsin player to speak on the tumultuous last few months within the Wisconsin basketball program.

During an interview with WXOW sports anchor Declan Levy, the Badger guard had a few interesting things to say about the much-publicized audio leak, his relationship with head coach Greg Gard and whether he ever considered transferring.

His answers make sense when you think back to the leaked audiotape and consider the thoughts of last year’s senior class. The players expressed problems they had with how Gard operated and said they don’t have much of a relationship, if any, with the coach.

In all honesty, those are still things that need to change, even with assistant coach Alando Tucker and most of the senior class gone from the program.

However, Davis noted Gard has made a concerted effort to meet with players and incoming recruits and work on those relationships — something the sophomore guard said the head coach has done a “much better job at.”

This is probably a sentiment we’ll hear as the season nears and gets underway, as it’ll undoubtedly be a question posed to every player and coach made available to the media.

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Wisconsin basketball sends out two new offers

It’s never too early to look at future classes, try to grab players from a nearby rival state

All has been quiet surrounding the Wisconsin basketball program after the recent audio leak and subsequent fallout. That’s probably a good thing, as the team is deep in the offseason and won’t take the court for a game until November.

Recruiting news is still out there to check in on, though, and there were two offers from this week to highlight.

The first went to unranked 2023 SF Nolan Winter.

Wisconsin joins Minnesota as the only school to offer the young small forward.

Second, and following a similar theme, an offer went out to class of 2024 point guard Daniel Freitag.

Freitag, like Winter, is unranked by 247Sports. Wisconsin is the first program in the country to extend an offer to the Alexandria, Minnesota native.

We’ll see as time passes whether the Badgers enter the late-process running for these two Minnesota natives.

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