MADISON, Wis. — One of the lessons that Greg Gard learned from his two decades assisting Bo Ryan might prove especially valuable now that he is the interim head coach of the Wisconsin men’s basketball team.
Stay the course and don’t panic in times of adversity.
“You just try to get better at what we’re trying to accomplish instead of trying to do a 180 and have everybody confused,” Gard said. “Let’s stick true to who we are and what makes us successful and improve upon that.”
It’s a message that coaches will send to potential recruits, though the Badgers’ staff knows that, at least for the short term, there will be uncertainty.
While there is work to do, there is also plenty of time before the late signing period begins in mid-April.
Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez has said that he will evaluate how Gard works with the team and then make a decision later on how the school will proceed.
“We’d hope that we’d have some body of work that would be out there that could indicate to a potential recruit … where the program could potentially go,” said Badgers assistant coach Lamont Paris.
Ryan resigned after a victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Tuesday night. Gard, who was Ryan’s lead assistant, has a three-month audition to keep the Big Ten job for good.
The Badgers (7-5) have struggled this season. While they returned two starters — forward Nigel Hayes and guard Bronson Koenig — from the back-to-back Final Four squads, the Badgers are much less experienced overall and not as deep off the bench. Promising freshmen Charlie Thomas and Khalil Iverson are the first two reserves on a team with no scholarship seniors.
The roster dynamics also mean that the Badgers don’t have many spots to fill in the next recruiting class.
They have one scholarship already available.
