BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — Greg Gard knows exactly what he wants to get out of his "veteran" players on Wisconsin's upcoming 12-day, five-game exhibition tour (Aug. 12-24) of Australia and New Zealand.
Truth is, "veteran" might be a misnomer since Aaron Moesch is the only listed senior among the returning players. Moesch played just 40 minutes over 18 games last season.
"I want to see who's ready to take the step forward," said Gard. "They're out of the shadows, so to speak. Those seniors who had played a lot of the minutes are no longer here."
As such, he says that no one can use the crutch, "Well, I've got Nigel Hayes in front of me. Or I've got Bronson Koenig in front of me. Or Vitto (Brown). Or Showy (Zak Showalter)."
Instead, they have to ask of themselves, "Are you ready to really take that step? How have you improved? How have you used the last two or three years to improve and prepare for this moment?"
Junior small forward Khalil Iverson can relate to what Gard was saying.
"It just means basically I have to step up," said Iverson, who averaged 3.9 points, 3.3 rebounds and 15.3 minutes as a sophomore. "I have a bigger role this year since I'm one of the older guys now."
Beyond working on his fundamentals over the summer — shooting and ball-handling — Iverson acknowledged that he has been thinking a lot "about trying to become a better leader."
That has also been a priority for Ethan Happ, a redshirt junior and the only returning starter. He realizes his actions will be viewed through a different prism "where everything you do is magnified."
On and off the floor.
"Last year, if I was not going 100 percent in a drill, whatever it was, it was the upperclassmen's job to get on me about things," said Happ, who has started 72 of 72 career games at Wisconsin.
"Now, I have the younger guys watching me and as long as I'm the hardest worker in the gym then they'll just follow my lead."
Happ, the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, is embracing the role.
"It's not like this is the first time I've been in this situation," he said. "Growing up, I was always one of the people that was looked up to. In high school, it was the same situation.
"So, it's not like it's new. But it is on a bigger stage. The biggest thing is I've watched Frank (Kaminsky) and Josh (Gasser) and Nigel and Bronson develop as leaders.
"I have to take the good and bad away from them. Do what they did well and don't do what they didn't do as well."
Sophomore point guard D'Mitrik Trice took it a step further late last spring by taking part in an Athletes in Action leadership camp, Captains Academy, in Xenia, Ohio.
Trice brought along UW teammate Aleem Ford, a redshirt freshman. Michigan's Duncan Robinson was also in the group of players that heard from a variety of different voices.
Whether it was a Navy SEAL, or CBS analyst Clark Kellogg, the message was pure and consistent.
"It was a great thing to boost my leadership skills," said Trice, who picked up pointers from former Ohio State point guard Aaron Craft and Kevin Durant of the Golden State Warriors.
"We FaceTimed him," he said of Durant, the MVP of the NBA Finals. "I got to ask him a couple of questions about how he placed faith in his leadership, how it played a role. I definitely learned a lot."
At the end of the camp, Trice revealed via video that one of his takeaways was learning "how to communicate differently with each and every individual on my team (because) everybody is different."
Trice has already noticed a difference in Happ, who was a finalist for the Wooden, Naismith and Oscar Robertson national player of the year awards as a sophomore.
"Ethan is talking a lot more than he did last year," said Trice, who has also tried to be more vocal with positive results. "Guys are listening and are receptive to what we're saying."
That has translated into a productive work environment.
"I feel the guys are really comfortable around each other," Trice said. "Our comradery is really high and we're coming together as a team."
"For us, the players, the biggest thing is team chemistry," added Happ. "It's getting to know each other's strengths and weaknesses and things like that before we're thrown into the season."
Gard has been pleased by how all the pieces have been falling into place.
"This is an abnormal summer in terms of the amount of time that we get together," he said. "I've seen already how they've really synchronized; they've been speaking the same language.
"It's a great group to be around. I couldn't have asked for anything better as far as how they've approached it. We've got a lot of growing pains to go through and some adversity we'll have to attack.
"But how they've bonded together this summer and the mentality that they have attacked every day with is going to give them a heckuva chance to have some success."
