Greg Gard was exceptionally candid about Wisconsin basketball in his weekly press conference. He detailed what types of guys they recruit, why that matters, and how they go about building a team. He broke down a lot of what makes Wisconsin special and the players that help keep it that way. He said it was one specific quote he heard from legendary football coach Bill Belichick that put a tagline to Wisconsin and how he thinks about it.
""I don't care about the stars. I care about how the constellation fits together.""Bill Belichick
Belichick has recently stepped into college football coaching out of an impressive NFL career. He is now the head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels. His quote comes off the back of people caring so much about stars that are given to recruits. He said the quote above in reference to saying he's not just working on getting a ton of stars on his team; he wants to make sure the team can work together.
Greg Gard said in his press conference, that's a perfect example of how he thinks of Wisconsin basketball. He was asked the question, "What does it mean to stay true to who you are in Wisconsin?" Gard replied, saying that you have to understand who you are and who the University is, "It starts with understanding what type of person can have success at this University, and not just in basketball." They have team-oriented ideals in the basketball program.
"I think understanding what works at this place and what has worked. You can walk through the last quarter century; there's been a lot of similarities in terms of the DNA...By and large, it's fundamentally sound, toughness, togetherness, and doing it as a unit, as a team...We've had star players, NBA draft picks, and all that. They come, and they go, but the consistency of your approach and your foundation will allow you to sustain success, you're not a flash in the pan when a great player shows up, and then you go back in the tank when you don't have a draft pick. We've been able to be really really competitive, not always roll out a lineup of McDonald's All-Americans. We've been able to beat teams that have those. "Greg Gard
This is the context of his Bill Belichick quote that allowed him to put a tag-line to how he thinks of Wisconsin basketball. It's the sustained success that he wants to see and not just the stars coming in and out of his program. He goes on to talk about how there are teams right now with much more money and much more "star-power" who are not winning, but they are, and it's because of the foundation and the connectivity of UW's program.