Postgame Quotes: Wisconsin vs. Nicholls

Dec. 15, 2021
Kohl Center  |  Madison, Wis.

Wisconsin Head Coach Greg Gard:
Opening Statement:
"I knew [the Nicholls Colonels] were good. For us to get off to a rough start and to defensively not be ourselves in the first half, I thought we were better in the second half both with going to the ball and getting the ball stopped in the paint. As I told the team after the game, you got to continue to find a way when things aren't going well and we were able to do that. Good contributions from several. Chris Vogt specifically, I thought he really came in and gave us a big boost again. Jacobi (Neath), once he settled in a little bit in the second half, I thought he was better in the second half. We continue to learn from it and dive into finals (exams) here and some guys are already into them and taking them. But as I said, it's a gritty group that continues to find a way when things don't look good. They keep battling and we were able to get our defense a little more Wisconsin-like in the second half. Credit to Nicholls, that's a good team. I'm not surprised by how they played based on what I saw on film."

On senior center Chris Vogt:
"He's got a lot on his plate. He's going to fly to Mayfield (Kentucky) tomorrow morning and tour the area and do some volunteer work and meet with some people. His GoFundMe thing is doing terrific. I talked to his mom last night, she called me late last night, and I just can't say enough about the kid. He's a really good player, he's an even better person. I should have bought a lottery ticket that day we recruited Jacobi (Neath) and Chris (Vogt) off zoom. Two kids that come in and are able to help us, but two really good people too."

On the team's 'Gritty Not Pretty' mantra:
"I commented earlier about just the extra effort and the we have a little saying i nthe locker room, "Gritty not pretty." Sometimes good teams find a way when things aren't going well. I told them, 'Guys, I've been here 20 years and I've seen around this time of year (final exams week), they've got a lot on their plate.' You bring in a really good team, which we knew that coming in that we were going to have to play well, and then you battle the other things and it's part of why they call it a team."

Wisconsin Senior Guard Brad Davison:
"That second half, rebounding, those littles plays are so valuable to a team, especially since we were struggling a little bit. A lot of guys came in and gave us that spark. It's kind of like a hidden blessing. When people are out, or people are ill, it gives opportunities for guys to step up and find their roles. The strength of our team is in the numbers. The strength is it's going to take everybody."

"One thing we hang our head on is being resilient and being tough. First of all, that's a really good team. (Ty Gordon) can really go. His ability to shoot, but also to get to the rim. He's up there with all the guards we've seen so far. (Free throws) Huge impact! One way you can really stop that transition game is by getting to the free throw line and racking up fouls and just slowing down the game."

"We were confident the whole second half that if we did things the right way we could put ourselves in a position to win. We did a great time communicating between coaches and players. Really good experience for us as we get going and prepared for Big Ten play coming up and March – it's going to be here before we know it."

Wisconsin Junior Forward Tyler Wahl:
"The best coached teams are the players coached teams. We figured it out got some energy plays out of CV (Vogt), Ben, and Jahcobi and we were able to play a lot better in the second half."

"We always try to get good shots and I guess they were falling a little more than they have been the last couple games. We play inside-out, get open looks, and just keep shooting them."

Wisconsin Senior Center Chris Vogt:
"I feel like we were dead in the water, we didn't have good energy in the first half and we talked about it at halftime what we needed to fix and decided what to do. We tightened up defensively and I wanted to try to give us a spark anywhere I could."

"I can't believe it has gotten this much attention and this much support. Thank you to everyone who has shared the GoFundMe, send it out to anybody who has donated. Without people like you, none of this would have been possible."