Last summer, Wisconsin was fresh off a disappointing early exit from the NCAA Tournament, and looking for answers after losing their top two players to the portal. It was a troubling time for fans' of Badger basketball who struggled to see the light at the end of the tunnel. The national media painted an even bleaker picture for the state of the program, predicting a bottom half finish for Bucky. But head coach Greg Gard has defied all odds, and has now put Wisconsin in a prime position win a Big Ten title.
After a 21-5 start, people outside of Wisconsin are finally taking notice of the job Greg Gard has done. In fact, he's even getting talk of a Coach of the Year award, something a Badger coach has never received.
The national media has started singing Gard's praises
Wisconsin was picked to finish 12th in the Big Ten, and the Badgers are now 21-5 and in third in the league at 11-4.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) February 19, 2025
Greg Gard has done a NCOY-worthy job revamping this Badgers team.
Lost Tyler Wahl, and AJ Storr (KU) and Chucky Hepburn (Louisville), and now have one of the…
@BadgerMBB Greg Gard is in the mix for National Coach of the Year. Badgers are about to go 21-5 and 11-4 in @bigten. Good for him. Great guy.
— Fran Fraschilla (@franfraschilla) February 19, 2025
I’ve tossed out a few National Coach of the year front runners throughout the year, but I think I’ll firmly land on Wisconsin’s Greg Gard.
— Sean Paul (@SeanPaulCBB) February 19, 2025
Sitting No. 7 in KenPom — the highest since Bo Ryan’s final season full season— with Kaminsky and Dekker.
Badgers opened the year at…
Even amongst Badger fans, it's hard to find many who could have predicted this. In fact, a lot of fans were calling for Gard's job before the season started. But the head coach has completely, and successfully, changed Wisconsin's identity. Gone are are the grueling, wear you down defensively teams and in comes an electrifying offensive juggernaut.
Not that Gard cares about what other people think, but it's great to see a Wisconsin coach getting recognition for pulling a team out of the depths and, not only surviving, but flourishing. Most everyone had written off the Badgers after losing AJ Storr and Chucky Hepburn, but Gard done an incredible job with this roster.
The Badgers still have a long way to go this year, but there's no doubt Gard has brought life into the program after many had chalked it up to a throw away season.