I wrote in September about the beginning of Greg Gard’s tenure as the head coach of the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team and why the jury should still be out on what his beginning years should mean in terms of him as a coach, and in terms of the program as a whole.
In total, the article says that momentum in sports is a real thing, and much of the regular and postseason success Gard had through his first four years were due in large part to the momentum carried over from the Bo Ryan era, and to the players that stuck around despite the former coach announcing his retirement.
These players–Nigel Hayes, Zak Showalter, Vitto Brown, Bronson Koenig and Ethan Happ–helped to continue the success experienced under Ryan as they helped lead the new unit under Gard to consecutive Sweet Sixteens in his first two seasons at the helm.
Though under entirely different circumstances, this pattern of success is similar in a way to what was seen with the Dallas Cowboys in the mid 1990s when legendary head coach Jimmy Johnson retired after winning consecutive Super Bowls in 1992 and 1993 and Barry Switzer took over. Switzer went on to take Johnson’s unit to the NFC Championship in his first season, win a Super Bowl his second season and eventually get fired after missing the playoffs in his fourth season.
Now, all that being said, the article merely pointed out that the program, like the 1995 Dallas Cowboys, was not yet free from the direct influence of Ryan’s legendary tenure as coach.
Well, after this past season and what the team was able to accomplish in winning the Big Ten regular season trophy after overcoming tragedy in the offseason, having an incoming transfer not be able to play for the first month of the season and having one of their best players leave the program, the jury has finally reached a verdict on Gard: and it’s time he gets the praise he deserves.
Yes, the Big Ten Coach of the Year is adequate praise, but there were signs seen in windows of school dorms early in the season calling for the coach’s job. That time is over.
The season started with the team getting off to a 5-5 start as they waited for incoming transfer Micah Potter to become eligible to play. The team then continued to tread water in a loaded Big Ten Conference after Potter’s arrival and found themselves 13-10 with eight games remaining on the schedule.
After a 70-52 loss at the hands of Minnesota, the team peeled off eight straight victories and finished the season as co-Big Ten regular season champions.
What was most impressive from that eight-game run was that for the first time since Ryan’s players graduated the team had an identity, one which was leading the team to victories against more-than-formidable Big Ten opponents, and one nobody would doubt had primed them for success in the conference tournament and a deep run in March Madness.
This identity was due in large part to the individual improvements made by juniors D’Mitrik Trice and Aleem Ford. Gard put the offense in Trice’s hands, the team played excellent defense, and Gard was able lead the team to clutch late-game performances. The overall way he was able to maximize the talents of the players he had, as the Badgers became the first team in Big Ten history to win the regular season crown without a single All-Big Ten first or second team player, proved his ability to lead.
So, after Gard’s first two Sweet Sixteen runs were led by Koenig and Hayes and his other tournament appearance by Wisconsin great (yes, great) Ethan Happ, this run was led by Trice, Ford, Potter, Brad Davison and Nate Reuvers–all players who have joined the program since Gard took over as head coach.
And although the team was robbed of playing postseason basketball, Gard being able to lead his guys to the program’s first Big Ten regular season title since 2015 was an impressive feat, especially given the roadblocks they had to face along the way.
It makes sense, looking back, that this season was an important one in Gard’s career given the team’s lack of postseason success the previous two years. Additionally, the program is now finally made up of only players he brought in and developed. Now that it’s over, even without the postseason being played, it’s clear that the job Gard did this year was an amazing one and is a positive sign for the future of the program.
Looking forward now, Gard is in line to welcome a nationally ranked top-20 recruiting class next year and arguably an even better one in 2021. That, paired with Brevin Pritzl being the only notable departure, points towards a bright future for Gard and the Badgers.