Wisconsin Badgers head basketball coach Greg Gard had the chance to speak with Mike Heller this week on The Mike Heller Show on iHeart Radio. The Badgers coach took his time to speak about the current state of the NCAA transfer portal, as well as his recent success with it. Wisconsin has embraced the latest trends in college basketball as Gard and company have landed notable transfers this past month.
Wisconsin Basketball: Greg Gard Working To Improve Badgers
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The scope of college basketball has changed quite a bit over the last year with the improvements made to the NCAA transfer portal. Between teams developing through the portal to coaches utilizing the portal for key pieces, it has become a necessary part of college basketball. On a recent installment of The Mike Heller Show on iHeart Radio, Heller got a chance to sit down with coach Gard after the new Wisconsin transfers.
The Wisconsin Badgers have landed guards AJ Storr (St. John’s) and Noah Reynolds (Wyoming) from the transfer portal after struggling through this past season. Gard has been determined to improve the storied program after a down year, and the new additions are certainly a step in the right direction. Now, the team will have to work to improve on their mistakes from this past season.
Wisconsin Badgers Basketball Preparing Themselves For Success
Gard started off the conversation by acknowledging the major changes within basketball. Gard stated that more has happened in college basketball in “…the last 24 months than the last 24 years combined…”, when asked about his recent portal success. The Wisconsin coach also stated that it is not just on the transfers who are expected to perform. The returning players and incoming freshmen will be held to a higher standard for the upcoming season as well, according to Gard.
Mike Heller then asked coach Gard about the expectations of the team for the upcoming season, given their new transfer success. Gard responded by clarifying that it will take the entire team and new found focus to find greater success next season.
I think we all obviously understand the expectations, and we have been a part of the expectations, and created the expectations over the last twenty years. Nobody is more disappointed in that than our players and our staff, like I said during the year I can not ask for any more in terms of what they gave to us…the amount of close games was astronomical and we needed to flip a couple of those. – Greg Gard Via The Mike Heller Show
The Wisconsin Badgers head coach noted that the team and staff had given all that they could during the season. The results came down to a handful of mistakes, which Gard understands can be fixed with the right practice. The head coach also noted that the state of college basketball requires teams and coaches to become much more “fluid”. Rosters change frequently between the NCAA portal and NBA draft, and adapting to the rapid changes is part of the job.
Greg Gard has made two major moves already for the Badgers, and there is still plenty of time to do more. The Wisconsin Badgers could go back to their formidable selves after a lackluster season has developed their hunger and motivation once again.
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