The Badgers head coach has assumed a different role in the NIL era.
The Wisconsin Badgers have had one of their best seasons in recent memory, totaling 26 wins before the NCAA Tournament and earning a No. 3 seed on Selection Sunday.
After beating the Montana Grizzlies 85-66 in the first round, the Badgers are looking to book their ticket into the Sweet Sixteen for the first time 2017 when they face off against the BYU Cougars in the Round of 32 on Saturday.
But, for Wisconsin, this season’s success started way before a strong March, and honestly even before the first game of the year back in November.
No, the success started all the way back during the offseason when head coach Greg Gard and his staff formulated a plan to attack the transfer portal and continue evolving the team’s offense after wing AJ Storr blossomed into a star in a changing offense in 2024.
In the transfer portal, the Badgers identified Missouri wing transfer John Tonje as a fit after initially being in on several other targets, and that ended up being the best gamble in the country this season.
Tonje blossomed into a star himself, earning All-American honors with a strong season that elevated Wisconsin into one of the best teams in the country this season.
The wing represents how Wisconsin has evolved, changing their offensivr style to represent more of a pro attack, while staying true to Wisconsin’s principles, especially on the defensive side, in the process.
[We] had to evolve,” head coach Greg Gard acknowledged. “We’ve evolved off the court. Obviously, everything has changed with the portal and NIL and everything. And we’ve also evolved on the court.
“We’ve shifted kind of and changed how we played, but at the same time, not forgetting and not de-emphasizing the pillars of success that we’ve had over the years and you know, being fundamentally sound, being tough, being good defensively, I think those are the keys for, first of all, trying to win in the Big Ten consistently year in and year out, and then evolving as the game has changed. It’s become more of a three point, transition, analytic-driven game.
Some of the professional things in pro basketball, whether it’s the NBA or in Europe, have trickled down to college. And you’re seeing it. You see it with BYU, you see it with us, see it with other teams in our league.
And I think you have to continue to evolve and continue to adapt and continue to grow. And at the same time, we know what works at the University of Wisconsin and probably more importantly, we know what won’t work at Wisconsin. And that’s on the court, off the court, classroom, all those things are still important. They don’t get less emphasized. We just add a few more wagons to the train, so to speak.”
The offseason transition was a huge one for Wisconsin as seven players, including three key starters, departed the program, leaving Gard and Co. in a tough spot entering a crucial year.
But, that has been the norm in college basketball recently with NIL and the transfer portal being such big factors.
As a result, some head coaching legends have elected to step away from the game, while programs are beginning to poach assistants from NBA programs and hire general managers to better deal with the change.
The differences in college basketball have also affected the dynamic at Wisconsin, as Gard has been forced to evolve into more of a CEO rather than just being a head coach. That has placed more responsibilities on the staff at Wisconsin, which has also led to assistant coach changes and shakeups.
“I don’t do as much of [coaching] because there’s a lot of other things that go into the other hats I wear,” Gard acknowledged on Friday. “Obviously around the evolution of NIL and how that’s grown, our staff has really taken a fundraising approach to it and tried to really communicate the importance of it to our donors and our supporters, and educate them, so to speak on it.”
“But yeah, it’s definitely has changed. You become more of a CEO than you do a coach. I probably do spend less time on out of bounds plays than I used to 10 years ago. But, [you] have to evolve and you have to embrace the change. And I think we’ve done a really good job of staying in our own way, staying on the cutting edge.”
In an age where older and more experienced coaches have struggled to evolve and continue to grow, Gard has swallowed his ego and embraced the change.
As a result, Wisconsin arguably has their best team since the 2014-15 group that made a National Championship, and it came with a group that was projected to finish 12th in the Big Ten.
The best part? It seems like the program is only going up under the direction of Gard, who has set the program up for success in the present and the future with his CEO-like approach.
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