Tag: Greg Gard

X’s and O’s Part 1: The beginning basics of Wisconsin’s swing offense

A breakdown of the basic offensive set that Wisconsin has built off of for the past two decades

[lawrence-newsletter]I was pondering as to the best way to do this BadgersWire x’s and o’s series, and hopefully with a mix of video, images, and words, I will be able to get the diagrams across to you in an understandable way. Hopefully you enjoy diving into the philosophy that has carried Wisconsin basketball on the offensive end throughout the Bo Ryan and Greg Gard era’s. In part one, I will take you through the very beginnings of initiating the swing offense.

So, an initial question is why is the swing offense called the swing? This offense is designed to swing back-and-forth from side-to-side in a symmetric way. Like a pendulum, it ideally swings without every being pushed too far to one side. Keep in mind that these basic principles become second nature and it allows for a ton of freedom for Wisconsin players when they know the basics, and understand their options in each scenario to be able to read and react at game speed. In part one, I will only take you through the very beginnings of the offense. In part two, we will get into how the swing symmetrically works itself out. Brace for the nerdiness, and hopefully I know what I am talking about enough to not completely confuse you. I’m no expert, but here goes.

Now, here is the basic setup of the offense when the point guard (1) brings the ball up the floor:

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Starting with the basics, here are how your positions, one through five, are aligned on the floor to initiate the basic swing with the “1” (the point guard) bringing up the basketball. Your one is your point guard and the five is your center. Notice how the right side of the floor begins with a ball-side triangle between the 1, 3, and 5 (the point guard (1) has the basketball right now hence the circle around the number). There are elements of the triangle within the swing as the offense flows from side-to-side while creating ball-side triangles. The point guard begins at the top of the key above the lane line, the big begins down low, and the two and the four each begin around the wing area extended on opposite sides of each other.

A reason why Wisconsin tries to recruit bigs that can stretch the floor is because the five man will end up replacing the one and so on. All five positions within this offense have to be interchangeable for the unit to flow best. Head Coach Greg Gard touched on this in a recent coaches clinic with NABC. “We love multi-dimensional bigs. A lot of our bigs shoot the ball; in fact we recruit that way and develop that way,” said Gard. You will see in just a bit how the 5 man ultimately replaces where the point guard is initially and may have an open three-point jump shot early in the possession.

The first look for the point guard (1) when bringing the ball up would be to look straight down for the five man who would have excellent post position if he is open. Obviously, especially in the half court offense, that look usually is not there right away at the division one level. So, the one passes to the three and the offense is underway.

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So, the 1 has now passed to the 3 who has the basketball hence the circle around the number. After the 1 passes the ball, you see the 5 man coming up to set a screen near the elbow. That screen by the 5 man triggers what is known as a “UCLA” cut (video below) for the 1 who as you see has two routes he can take towards the rim. He can either go away from the 3 or closer to the 3 when he cuts. That is simply a read and react decision for the point guard based on his defender. The 5 man then replaces the one up top and may even have an open three-point jumper. If the 3 cannot find the one on the cut he passes back to the five man. Here is the legendary Bo Ryan leading a coaches clinic and showing this exact “UCLA” cut action. Notice how the three man now has the basketball, and the guard can make a decision as to where he goes off of the screen:

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As this is happening, the opposite side of the floor (the 2 man and the 4 man) simply interchange spots to keep the defense occupied.

In part two of the basics, I will get into how the next step of this offense is ultimately creating the same formation that we started with, but on the opposite side of the floor. We leave off here with the 3 man having a decision to make regarding whether he passes down low to the 1 in either a lob action or a low-post feed, or looks back up top for the 5 man. One theme with the swing is the need for solid low-post entry passes. Coach Gard touched on work that Wisconsin does in order to develop better entry passes in the swing in his recent clinic. “We work a lot daily on post feeding whether its a dummy drill to post feed or live action,” said Gard when asked about drills that the Badgers run.

Here is the entire starting movement of the basic swing offense from an in-game clip:

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Hopefully you followed part one, and part two will be coming at you shortly. If you can think of a way to hopefully improve the diagrams, please let me know. Thanks for reading this far into the nerdiness.

 

 

What makes Wisconsin basketball successful? Here is Head Coach Greg Gard’s answer

Greg Gard weighs in on what has made the Badger culture into a successful one

In a recent online coaches clinic with the National Association of Basketball Coaches, Wisconsin Head Coach Greg Gard was asked how the Badgers not only have success as a program, but also sustain that success. His answer began with a single word: culture.

So how has the program built a culture that allows the Badgers to sustain success on a national level? It starts with the players and the kind of person that UW brings into their program. “Great leadership from our upperclassmen,” said Gard when asked about what makes Wisconsin’s culture a success. “When you have good upperclassmen leadership like we have had that makes it much more sustainable. We’ve typically relied on getting old and staying old and that is how we have been able to sustain our success.”

This past season, the Badgers went through more on and off the floor than maybe another team in program history. There were a ton of tests for this group of leaders to pass, and according to their Head Coach and to the results at the end of the year, they passed them with flying colors. “Every season has its journey and stories to be told…specifically this past year, in the time I have been a head coach, was one of the better player-led groups in terms of how they handled their maturity and took ownership,” said Gard when asked about this championship season.

In terms of the more specific x’s and o’s side of the game, the Badger culture is to not try and overcomplicate things. Throughout the Gard and previously Bo Ryan eras, the goal has been to make the complicated seem simple. “Sometimes the game gets overcomplicated,” said Gard when asked about his coaching philosophy. “We as coaches have to fight that, it is a simple game…the fundamentals never change.”

One of the fundamental simplifications that Gard spoke about in his virtual clinic was the idea of “more and better vs. fewer and poorer.” That distinction is how Wisconsin basketball breaks down shot attempts. They want more and better shot attempts, and they want to give up fewer and poorer shot attempts. Everything that this team practices on a day-to-day basis can be boiled down to that simple phrase.

According to the answers that Gard gave on Wisconsin’s culture and sustained success, the Badger way is about “getting old and staying old,” and being led by experienced upperclassmen who have been taught to keep the game simple. The Wisconsin way may differ from a large portion of the college basketball landscape, but it certainly has provided results in Madison.

Wisconsin Assistant Coach Joe Krabbenhoft named a top coach under the age of 40 by ESPN

The Badger assistant earns high praise from ESPN

ESPN recently released a list of the top 40 college basketball coaches under the age of 40, and Wisconsin Assistant Coach Joe Krabbenhoft made the cut. Krabbenhoft came in at no. 30 overall on the list. The highest-rated Big Ten coach on the list was Richard Pitino, Minnesota’s Head Coach, who came in at sixth overall in the rankings.

Krabbenhoft is a former Badger player who wore the red and white from 2005-2009 under Bo Ryan. Following his collegiate career, the Badger standout made international stops as a professional that included Spain and Greece before ultimately beginning his coaching journey. In the 2012-13 season, Ryan hired Krabbenhoft to be the UW video coordinator and the rest is history. It should not be long before the former Badger gets a chance to become a head coach at the division one level.

ESPN’s Jeff Borzello weighed in on Krabbenhoft in the article. “A former Wisconsin forward, Krabbenhoft played professionally for a couple of seasons before returning to the Badgers as a video coordinator under Bo Ryan. He cut his teeth as an assistant coach at South Dakota State but was back in Madison under Greg Gard in 2016. Krabbenhoft is key in player development and is an active recruiter.”[lawrence-newsletter]

Wisconsin’s staff had a phenomenal season amidst adversity like no other both on and off the floor. Coach Krabbenhoft was a major reason why the Badgers were able to become Big Ten regular season champions.

Catching up with 2021 SG Max Hrdlicka, a name that Badger fans should keep an eye on

The Badgers look to finish out their already impressive 2021 class, and SG Max Hdrlicka could be that final piece

[lawrence-newsletter]Even with organized basketball at a standstill, recruiting never sleeps. The Badgers have stayed active in terms of looking to add to an already impressive class of 2021 that currentlyincludes three four-star commits. After UW missed out on 2021 SG Julian Roper when he committed to Northwestern just over a week ago, the Badgers have been looking for that fourth piece, and likely a guard, to add in 2021. One of the exciting guards that Wisconsin has recently been in contact with is 2021 SG Max Hrdlicka, a 6-foot-6 scoring guard from the state of Georgia who is also receiving interest from Georgia, Stanford, and Davidson according to 247sports. Hrdlicka is coming off of a monster junior season where he was named an all-state selection in Georgia’s 6A region, the Georgia 6A offensive player of the year, and boasted a 3.9 GPA in the classroom. Earlier today, Hrdlicka spoke with BadgersWire about his recruiting, Wisconsin, and more.

The Brunswick, Ga. (Glynn Academy) native has been speaking both with Wisconsin assistant Joe Krabbenhoft and Badger Head Coach Greg Gard in recent days. “[our conversations are] really positive,” said the 2021 Badger target. “I’ve talked with both Coach Krabbenhoft and Coach Gard and they both said they like my game. Coach Gard was impressed with my transcript — we’ve been texting each other — I’m excited to visit hopefully soon.”

In terms of who he is as a player, Hrdlicka describes himself as an all-around playmaker who is, “a shooter, driver, finisher, and good passer with good vision.” He has been impressed with Wisconsin basketball not only for what they do on the floor, but also the excellent academic experience that UW offers. “My goals are to play for a known D1 program at a high academic school and Wisconsin is big time in basketball and has a great academic reputation. [Wisconsin has] a great coach and always has a good team,” Hrdlicka told BadgersWire.

Despite recruiting not being completely shut down in the midst of a global pandemic, most elements of the process are not what recruits expected them to be at this time. The game has come to a complete halt, and Hrdlicka is just excited to resume life and basketball as normal. “I’ve been hearing from coaches for a while and it’s been exciting for it [his recruiting] to pick up even though we can’t play. I can’t wait to get back in the gym and hopefully some coaches can see me play in person. I’m hoping I don’t have to wait for that to get more offers though.”

So how is the Georgia native staying active and ready for when basketball resumes? “[I’ve been] shooting in my driveway, fishing, started doing CrossFit, and hanging with my brother.”

Badger fans should keep an eye on the class of 2021 SG as he has barely scratched the surface of his potential. As both a basketball and academic fit at UW, Hrdlicka seems like the type of player that Wisconsin basketball is looking for in 2021.

Check out Hrdlicka’s highlights via Hudl: http://www.hudl.com/v/2DK2Yd

 

These two words define successful offense according to Wisconsin Head Coach Greg Gard

Wisconsins Head Coach went in-depth about what makes successful man-to-man offense

[lawrence-newsletter][lawrence-related id=17929]Wisconsin Head Coach Greg Gard participated in a virtual coaches clinic this morning courtesy of the National Association of Basketball Coaches. Via Zoom, Gard got out the clipboard and took us to the film room as he diagrammed offensive sets and then showed us in-game examples of them being run. His virtual session was a special on man-to-man offense, meaning offense designed to beat a man defense. From swing principles, to practice drills, to in-game sets, Gard made us basketball nerds, a category which I proudly put myself in, feel like we were at our version of Disneyland for a couple of hours.

In terms of offensive principles, everything Gard said kept coming back to two words: spacing and movement.

With spacing, Gard emphasized that in the swing offense (the principles that Wisconsin has based its offense on for years), spacing is absolutely everything. While you have to move freely to a certain extent, you also have to move smartly. Positioning of where you move next could make or break a possession in the swing. Gard also made it clear that spacing did not mean he would micromanage players and tell them where to stand at all times. That does not work at this level for obvious reasons. “I’ve learned more as my experience has grown don’t try to micromanage, don’t try to script everything. Theres gotta be a point in time where you let players play. Within the concepts ,within the spacing; good offense usually has great spacing, whether you create it with the dribble or with pressure at the rim,” said Gard.

In terms of movement, specifically off-ball movement, Gard preached that it was an extremely important part of creating open looks and that the Badgers practice it often. Specifically, Gard said that Wisconsin uses drills such as a 5-on-5 scrimmage with no dribbles in order to emphasize the need for off-ball movement when you are in a game setting.

Gard made it clear that his goal in terms of running offense, based on mentoring from former Wisconsin Head Coach Bo Ryan, was to truly  “teach the game” instead of just “walking around with a whistle at practice.” Today, he gave us an excellent, inside look at some of what that teaching consists of.

Wisconsin Head Coach Greg Gard breaks down the elements he looks for in a recruit

The Badger head coach breaks down elements of what he looks for when recruiting

This afternoon, Wisconsin basketball Head Coach Greg Gard participated in the National Association of Basketball Coaches Championship Basketball Series where via Zoom, he broke down elements of the swing offense, what it takes to be a leader, and an in-depth look at how he runs his program in essentially a virtual coaches clinic.

Among the many topics that came up was recruiting, one of the most essential elements for any college program. A few notes stood out as to the type of player that Wisconsin was looking to bring in.

The first word that Gard emphasizes was “coachability.” “Well I think first of all you’re looking for coachability. You know that players at our level, when they come here, there not gonna be the best player on the floor more than likely…You look for the complete player, somebody that wants to learn and get better,” said Gard during the video conference. The adjustment from high school to college was a big factor in that Gard wanted a player that would not be intimated by the level of the Big Ten, but instead lend himself to his coaches in order to get better both individually and as a team.

A quote from Gard that helps to sum up what he looks for in a future Badger had to do with a player asking questions instead of acting like they know all the answers. “You [want] somebody that’s ‘coachable’ and willing to listen and learn…I like players that have more questions than answers.”

Wisconsin basketball’s success is rooted in buying into the team over the individual, and Coach Gard confirmed that today during his video conference.

 

Wisconsin basketball in talks with Rice transfer Drew Peterson after his de-commitment from Minnesota

The Badgers are looking to steal a transfer from rival Minnesota

[lawrence-newsletter]Despite the depth that Wisconsin basketball will have in 2020, Greg Gard and his staff may be looking to add another piece to the puzzle. As first reported by 247sports insider Evan Flood, Wisconsin basketball has initiated talks with Rice transfer Drew Peterson. 

Peterson is a 6-foot-8 sophomore from Libertyville, Illinois who has two years of eligibility left to use. This past season at Rice, the lengthy guard put up 11.1 points, 6.5 boards, and 3.4 assists per game. Peterson has an all-around game that could fit nicely in Wisconsin’s system. One also has to keep in mind that at the current moment, the Badgers do not have a scholarship available in 2020. Peterson would likely have to walk-on and then earn a scholarship the following season. The former Rice Owl will be looking for immediate eligibility from an NCAA waiver, which we who follow Wisconsin basketball know is never a given.

Initially, Peterson committed to rival Minnesota after transferring from Rice, but recently announced the re-opening of his recruitment.

The Golden Gophers remain in the mix, but the Badgers now look like they may have something to say about that. The battle for the axe has quickly turned into the battle for Peterson.

 

Three way-too-early questions for Wisconsin basketball next season

Early questions that we are still searching for answers to in anticipation of Wisconsin’s basketball season in 2021

With the amount of hype that justifiably surrounds Wisconsin basketball next season, it is never too early to take a look at what this team will look like in 2020-2021. The Badgers return every key contributor aside from graduating senior Brevin Pritzl, and will have one of their deepest teams in years as they bring in a solid 2020 recruiting class. So what are some early question marks surrounding a team that should be highly ranked in the preseason?

  1. How will the depth “problem” play itself out? — The luxury that Wisconsin has in terms of seven of the eight rotation players returning next year and the potential for an all-senior starting lineup will prove invaluable. The questions will start early and often, however, about what other guys step into the rotation. We know that returners Micah Potter, Nate Reuvers, Aleem Ford, D’Mitrik Trice, Trevor Anderson, Brad Davison, and Tyler Wahl will be major factors all year long. Those seven players were seven of the eight players who received consistent minutes for Greg Gard’s group in 2019. The question is who else will step in and how deep will the Badgers go down their bench? With a six-person recruiting class that includes three 247sports top-150 players in Johnny Davis, Ben Carlson, and Steven Crowl, there will be freshman that deserve minutes. Will returners such as Walt McGrory or Joe Hedstrom find their way into the rotation? UW will certainly be mixing and matching early in the year as they find a rotation amongst the luxury of the depth they have.
  2. Who takes a redshirt in the class of 2020? With the depth question and with a six-person recruiting class, you would have to imagine that at least a few Badgers will be redshirt candidates next season. Does class of 2020 PG Lorne Bowman crack the rotation or does he wait another year in order to save eligibility? The same question could be asked of fellow 2020 signees Steven Crowl or Jordan Davis. Without the room to play more than two or three freshman from the 2020 class, the incoming Badgers will have important decisions to make regarding their future.
  3. How does the 2020 NBA draft change the landscape of the Big Ten? This question is vastly more complex than we would have thought a few months ago. Given the state of the world, the NBA draft has been postponed without definite re-scheduling. There are significant impacts for multiple Big Ten contenders this year in terms of who stays and who goes to the league. Iowa big man and reigning Big Ten Player of the Year Luka Garza is among the names of Big Ten players that are draft eligible but left the door open to return to school. How does the lack of a pre-draft process or the delaying of the draft itself impact players like Garza in terms of their decision? It certainly has an impact, the question to be answered will be what impact. A player of Garza’s caliber returning or staying has massive ripple effects throughout the conference.

 

 

Greg Gard, Paul Chryst, and Barry Alvarez among Badger personnel that are taking a pay cut

In a plan to save UW nearly three million dollars, Wisconsin athletics is having over twenty of the top-paid athletics employees take pay cuts including Wisconsin Athletic Director Barry Alvarez, football Head Coach Paul Chryst, and basketball head …

In a plan to save UW nearly three million dollars, Wisconsin athletics is having over twenty of the top-paid athletics employees take pay cuts including Wisconsin Athletic Director Barry Alvarez, football Head Coach Paul Chryst, and basketball head coach Greg Gard.

In a release earlier today, Wisconsin athletics said that work hours for the employees will not change despite the cut. The cut comes as a plan to save the UW much needed money in this uncertain pandemic. Alvarez spoke to the situation and the plan to cut hours in the release.

“Reducing compensation and work hours is obviously not something I want to see for any of our Badger Athletics family,” said Wisconsin’s AD. “But we are facing the same financial challenges that other organizations across the country are. We are working hard to minimize the impact on our employees while responding to the realities of the situation created by the pandemic.

“I greatly appreciate our highest earners’ willingness to consider voluntarily accepting a temporary reduction in pay, as well as the rest of our staff who are sharing in this exercise by reducing their hours to help us navigate our way through these unprecedented times,” said Alvarez.

The specifics of the pay reduction is a 15% decrease for each of the top-25 earners in the department. The pay reduction plan will last through July 25.

Today is a graduation day 25 years in the making for former Wisconsin star Rashard Griffith

As Wisconsin student-athletes celebrate their graduation day from wherever they may be, a player that last played for Wisconsin in 1995 celebrates along with them. Rashard Griffith, 25 years after he last put on a Badger uniform, is now a Wisconsin …

As Wisconsin student-athletes celebrate their graduation day from wherever they may be, a player that last played for Wisconsin in 1995 celebrates along with them. Rashard Griffith, 25 years after he last put on a Badger uniform, is now a Wisconsin graduate.

After a standout Chicago high school career at King, Griffith arrived at UW in 1993. During 51 games as a Badger, the Illinois native averaged a near double-double with 15.6 points and almost ten boards. In 1995, the Badger star left school early to pursue his professional career. He was drafted in the second round by the Milwaukee Bucks, but ended up finding his niche overseas. Through a decorated 15-year career abroad, the former Badger played in Israel, Italy, and Turkey among other countries. Griffith won the top basketball prize outside of the NBA when his Bologna team won the EuroLeague in 2001.

Griffith made a promise to his late mother that he would eventually finish school and earn his degree. According to a recent Chicago Tribune article by Teddy Greenstein, Griffith worked closely with Athletic Director Barry Alvarez to create a graduation plan. UW has a policy that any athlete can return to school to finish their degree without any financial burden, and the former Badger big man was able to earn his degree free of charge.

The road has been long and hard, but today the Badger big man earns the fruits of his labor. Earlier this season, Griffith was able to participate in Wisconsin’s senior night along with current Badgers (although now former) Brevin Pritzl and Michael Ballard.

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The former Wisconsin star has been dealing with the tragedy that undertook Wisconsin assistant coach and his close friend Howard Moore throughout this year. Griffith has been there for the Moore family after Coach Moore’s daughter and wife were tragically taken in a car accident this past summer. A fantastic piece by Mike Lucas of UWBadgers.com details how Moore and his family made sure Griffith finished out his schooling, even after the tragedy took place.

Griffith has received national notoriety for his accomplishment under the circumstances he faced, including a special shoutout from SportsCenter anchor Scott Van Pelt.

Now, on this graduation day for Wisconsin’s class of 2020, Griffith joins his Badger family in earning his degree in community and non-profit leadership 25 years after he last played at the Kohl Center. Congratulations to Rashard Griffith and the rest of the Badger class of 2020.