BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — After hanging on for a one-point win at Maryland in early January – accentuating a season-long trend of close calls and road success – Wisconsin's Greg Gard had a brief Facetime conversation with former UW point guard, Jordan Taylor, now playing professionally in Japan.
Taylor had seen enough of the Badgers over their first 15 games to recognize that they were running some different things on offense – different from when he played over decade ago in the system – and he sounded envious of the changes designed to create more freedom of movement.
Gard laughed and said, "He noticed all the tweaks and wrinkles and all we've done."
That begged a question. In what way has Gard tweaked things to "greenlight" Johnny Davis?
"Pretty much most ways," he said, smiling. "You do that with your better players, for the most part, as long as they're responsible with the ball. Brad (Davison) has a pretty green light, too. They've earned that. That's not something you just hand out without it being earned."
The same could be said of Gard, the Coach of the Year in the Big Ten. He earned it. The Badgers were the regular season co-champions. They were picked for 10th. The same could also be said of Davis, the Player of the Year.
Obviously, he earned it, too.
As did Brad Davison, a second-team All-Big Ten selection.
As did Tyler Wahl, who received All-Big Ten honorable mention recognition.
As did Chucky Hepburn, who was on the All-Freshman Team.
"I've always said that if you get in that position," Gard said of winning Coach of the Year, which he also won in 2020, "that means you have the Team of the Year. Or your team has really played well. To me that's always been more important than any individual award if you have a team that really performs.
"Our staff has done a great job teaching these guys. They're terrific with the scouting reports. They're all true coaches at the heart of it. And, obviously, the team has done a terrific job of listening, buying in. They've taken everything that we've given them as a staff and tried to take advantage of it."
One of Gard's influences on this team – one of the things that caught Taylor's eye – has been pace of play. Wisconsin's adjusted offensive tempo (according to KenPom.com) is the fastest in two decades here. The percentage of initial shot attempts in the first 10 seconds is the highest in 10 years.
Or since Taylor was a senior.
"It's fascinating just because Wisconsin has such a narrative that they're going to play like they're going to play, they're going to play slow," said Big Ten Network analyst Robbie Hummel. "But that's false for this team. They will let guys get out in transition.
"When you've got a player like
Johnny Davis, that's smart. It really is. They're playing faster but they still do all the little things that good teams do to win games. And I think that has been a Wisconsin deal since Bo Ryan was the coach here. That's what winning teams, too.
"That's what Wisconsin has been. And that's what they are again this season."
Much of it can be traced to the rapid development of Davis who went from averaging 7 points as a freshman 6th Man to 20 as a sophomore starter in 28 games. Among Big Ten guards, the Player of the Year conversation revolved around the 6-5 Davis and Purdue's 6-4 Jaden Ivey, also a soph.
"They're both really good athletes, they both have really good motors, I'd say that's what they share," said Hummel, a former Boilermaker star (a three-time first-team All-Big Ten pick). "When you look at Johnny, he's a much better rebounder (8.1), for sure. I also think Johnny has done a better job when he's not maybe having great success scoring. He finds other ways to impact the game better. He guards at a higher level. He's better off the basketball."
Meanwhile, Gard couldn't say enough about Davison's impact as a fifth-year senior.
"It's exactly what you want when there's that type of opportunity to come back," he said of Davison taking advantage of the NCAA granting an extra year of eligibility across the board to players because of the 2020 COVID ramifications. "We couldn't have scripted it any better."
Gard's own impact in maximizing personnel has not gone unnoticed by Hummel.
"I would say within the last month it was when Wisconsin wasn't winning just because
Johnny Davis was incredible," Hummel said of the point he knew the Badgers were more well-rounded and not solely dependent on Davis for all the heavy lifting. Not to mention Davison's veteran influence.
"They were winning because
Chucky Hepburn was making the plays that he was. And
Steven Crowl has gotten so much better. And
Tyler Wahl has started to be not just a defensive player and a solid role player but a real scoring threat … guys upped their level around Davis.
"Yes,
Johnny Davis has been special all year," emphasized the 33-year-old Hummel. "But, early on, they beat Houston because he goes for 30. They beat Purdue because he goes for 37. And now I just think they're a really complete, a really good basketball team."
Gard knew this summer that Davis was ready for a breakout season. In late June, Davis posted, "Beyond blessed I get to represent my country!" on his Twitter account after making the 12-player USA Men's U19 World Cup roster for the 2021 FIBA championships in Latvia.
"I saw the difference in him even before he went to the trials," Gard said of Davis, who played off the bench for the gold-medal winners. "He was bigger, stronger. He was more of everything physical. And it was just his confidence. It was the swagger.
"He has never lacked confidence. But when he came back, it was overflowing. He just knew when he stepped on the floor, he was going to be the best player. He showed it from Day One. He had been traveling from Latvia, and you'd think maybe there would be a little jet lag, but he came in and he was at a whole different level."
Davis has sustained that level, especially against heavyweights. Of all his statistical achievements – including the prospect of being the first UW player to average 20 points since Michael Finley in 1995 – this one stands out: he has averaged 24.1 points and 8.5 rebounds against eight Top 25 opponents.
While he might have caught Houston by surprise in the Maui Invitational (held in Las Vegas) – Cougars coach Kelvin Sampson called him, "A budding star" – everybody since then has been given fair warning on his explosiveness and they've game-planned accordingly for Davis, a tireless worker.
Since early November and the opening matchups of the season – when he played 28 and 25 minutes – Davis has not logged less than 31 minutes in any one game. Until Sunday's upset loss to Nebraska. He was limited to 11:34 due to first half foul trouble and a second half lower leg injury.
Davis had not missed a shot from the field (4-of-4) when he was knocked out of the game by Trey McGowens, who was assessed a Flagrant 2 and ejected. Gard and Davis have been said since that they expect him to play in Wisconsin's Big Ten Tournament opener on Friday.
Last Tuesday, the Badgers guaranteed themselves a piece of the title with a memorable win over Purdue in a raucous Kohl Center. Years from now, there will be no end to the number of people that will contend they were there that night to witness
Chucky Hepburn's game-winning 3.
Only two will be able to say that they were on a boat excursion on the Nile River and following the action on GameTracker. Gard's wife Michelle and daughter Mackenzie were in Egypt, a prearranged, bucket list trip and adventure. "The Wi-Fi wasn't strong enough to stream video live," he said.
Greg talked with Michelle and Mackenzie afterwards. When they get back to Madison this week, they'll be greeted by a two-time Big Ten Coach of the Year. How did this honor compare to the first one? "I'm more consumed with team championships," said Gard, declining to make it about him.
That's because he knows he has good players, and a good team, a co-champion and complete team, in Hummel's words. Now it's just a matter of resetting the narrative – learning and regrouping from the Nebraska loss – and getting ready for the one-and-done season.
