Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard picked up his 200th win on Tuesday night over the Ohio State Buckeyes 70-68. The team celebrated Gard after the game with confetti, cheers, and a speech from Kamari McGee that he said was on behalf of the rest of the team and even the players that came before him. It was a fun moment and Gard was all smiles as he relished in the moment.
“We know you got our back and we always have your back.” pic.twitter.com/YjHntBMOok
— Wisconsin Basketball (@BadgerMBB) January 16, 2025
Kamari McGee, in the post-game celebration after beating Ohio State, congratulates head coach Greg Gard.
Gard was all smiles about the moment in his post-game press conference, and he said, "That'll be on social media at some point if it's not already." It took a little longer than he anticipated, but the Wisconsin Badgers social media team finally posted the video (linked above).
McGee, while being the first man off the bench and a 6th man of the year candidate in the Big Ten, does not take that as a sign of his leadership. He's quick to lead his team, motivate, and even congratulate his coach on 200 wins. Here's what McGee said:
"I'm speaking [on behalf of] me, the guys in here, the guys that came before us. 200 wins! That's congratulations. We know it wasn't pretty tonight, games ain't always gonna be pretty. We know you got our back and we always have your back, coach. We appreciate you and congrats! "Kamari McGee
Gard smiled his way through the whole clip and responded with his own, "I appreciate it!" The quote by McGee harkens back to a quote Gard had earlier in the season when he was asked about the surge of Steven Crowl and how Gard had to light a fire under him. "I'm honest and they know that. They know I love them. I've got their back for the rest of my life. I always tell them, until they shovel dirt on me, I'm with you."
In his reflections in the post-game press conference, he said this about win 200:
""You guys know this is not about me. My name goes with it, but I've had terrific players, the current ones and ones that have been here for the last nine years, terrific coaches with me. I have a phenomenal staff right now, a support system. You divide this up. It's a lot of hard work by a lot of people, a lot of hours go unseen and unnoticed to have an opportunity to help a program be successful.""Greg Gard
Gard has done something amazing this year for the Badgers. They were projected to finish 12th in the Big Ten and are currently tied for 5th and ranked 24th in the nation. He has the Badgers on a six-game winning streak as they head to Los Angeles to take on USC and then UCLA.