Lucas: Former Badger embracing new role in game of basketball
February 22, 2023 | Men's Basketball, Mike Lucas
Rashard Griffith has personal appreciation for value of education
BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — As the Wisconsin basketball managers attempted logo shots prior to the on-court arrival of the players and coaches to Tuesday's practice, the Middleton High School girls team cheered each make from their seats behind the home sideline at the Kohl Center.
It was not long before the girls were joined by their head coach, who angled his 6-11 frame into Seat 18, Row C of Section 123, allowing him to stretch his legs into the aisle. Wearing a gray sweatsuit and a Badger stocking cap, Rashard Griffith looked at home; comfortable, per usual, in his own skin.
"I made them a promise that by the end of the season, we'd either go to a boy's game or we'd go to one of the practices,'' said Griffith, the former UW low post space-eater. "I brought them to a practice because I believe they can get more out of a practice than they can out of a game.''
Griffith is always looking to grow their game. It has been that way since last fall when Middleton athletic director Jamie Sims approached Griffith about coaching the girls program, and he accepted the challenge of taking over for Jeff Kind, who won 634 times over three decades at the high school.
With Kind, a WBCA Hall of Famer, moving out of the community, Griffith moved through the formal interview process without any reservations. Or hitches. "I was just me,'' he said, conceding in the next breath, "I knew – and I know – coaching girls is different because I've trained young ladies.''
Still, there's knowledge in the constants, a proven means to an end competitively. And he spelled it out, "I put them through hard stuff and difficult stuff to help them grow as players and individuals as well … because …. that's life, right? I've got to be patient. But I've got to prepare them.''
When the players convened in early November for tryouts, he put them on alert.
"I told them what I expected of them on and off the court,'' Griffith said. "Student comes first, athlete second. And I'm constantly drilling it into their heads. The first part of the season we were the only team in the school to have all of our levels, and every girl in the program academically eligible.''
More so now than ever, Griffith has an appreciation for the value of an education. After playing two seasons for the Badgers – helping lead them back in 1994 to the NCAA tournament for the first time in 47 years – Griffith left school and turned pro. It resulted in a long and fruitful playing career in Europe.
But he had promised his late mother Elaine that he would come back to Madison to finish what he had started in the classroom. Coupled with the urging of UW assistant Howard Moore, a close friend and fellow Chicagoan, Griffith returned and bridged a 22-year-gap on campus. He graduated in 2020.
Diligence was a degree in community, non-profit leadership from the School of Human Ecology.
During the Senior Night festivities at the Kohl Center, the then 45-year-old Griffith was introduced with the two other graduating players, Brevin Pritzl and Michael Ballard. Accompanying Griffith on to the floor were Moore's parents, Trennis and Howard Sr. It was a bittersweet moment.
A tragic Memorial Day weekend car accident (May 25, 2019) claimed Moore's wife Jennifer and their nine-year-old daughter Jaidyn. Moore survived the crash along with his son Jerell. Both are now under the care of Trennis and Howard Sr. "I see Howard every day,'' Griffith said. "Every single day.''
Prior to his hiring as the head coach, Griffith was already a familiar, imposing figure in the high school's hallways through his service on the campus support team. He's not shy about saying either, "I'm keeping an eye on Jerell – making sure he stays on track and graduates. He's doing good.''
Jerell Moore is a Middleton junior. Griffith flashed a warm smile and added, "Jerrell is growing up. He's got a birthday coming up. He's about to be 17.'' He paused to let it sink in. "Considering from where he was, knowing him when he was born, yeah, I've seen him literally grow up before my eyes.''
&&&
There have been understandable growing pains for his team and players in this transitional season. Middleton (13-9, 12-6 in the Big Eight) will face Sussex Hamilton in the WIAA regional playoffs on Friday. "I've been telling them, we're flushing the (regular) season,'' he said. "This is a new season.''
In underlining the postseason reality – "The only difference is, "We lose, we're done'' – he was asked how he has handled some of the earlier outcomes, the winning and the losing. Insisted Griffith, "I've actually handed it pretty well. It's not about me. I don't make it about me. It's about them.''
On Feb. 11, Sun Prairie West beat the Cardinals, 50-46, snapping a five-game winning streak during a stretch in which they began to jell and won seven of eight. Griffith was unhappy with the officiating. But he was encouraged by the way his girls responded to the disappointing loss.
"That was the first time all season that I had seen the emotion out of them from losing a game,'' he said. "That let me know that they had turned the corner. That tells me that you care – if you're crying because you lose or with how things went in the game or you're just angry with yourself.''
From a big picture standpoint, he addressed the emotion, "I can take that if it leads to some growth – the growth needed for them to be a better team and the growth needed for them to be better individually. I always tell them, 'The better you are individual, the better we are as a team.'''
The Cardinals have gotten better. Where can this lead? Where can the 48-year-old Griffith take it? "I don't try to predict the future,'' he said. "If you would have asked me this question at this time last year if I'd be coaching a girls basketball team, I'd be telling you the same thing. I don't know.''
As the girls were leaving the Kohl Center at the end of Tuesday's practice, Griffith went down to the floor and spoke with UW coach Greg Gard. Griffith has tutored some of the "bigs'' for the Badgers. He knows the block. During his two years, he accounted for 795 points and 493 rebounds in 51 games.
He knows the blocked shot, too. He had 66 as a freshman and 58 as a sophomore. At 280-plus pounds, Griffith could punish opponents around the rim. As a soph, he averaged a double-double (17.3 points, 10.1 rebounds). Only Ethan Happ has exceeded those numbers for a single season at Wisconsin.
Griffith is well aware of the UW's precarious spot on the NCAA tournament bubble. And he can relate having gone through such postseason uncertainty during the later stages of the 1993-94 season. A a lot of things had to happen for those Badgers to get into the Big Dance under coach Stu Jackson.
It all started with a rout of Iowa at the UW Field House in the final regular season home game. Michael Finley, whose retired No. 24 jersey hangs from the Kohl Center rafters, led the attack with 27 points – bouncing back from his previous outing, a 1-for-15 shooting nightmare at Northwestern.
Griffith had 16 points against the Hawkeyes, the foe here Wednesday. Despite setbacks and the inconsistent play since January, he's still confident that the Badgers can turn it around and reach a level of efficiency that they attained in November and December (highlighted by a win in Iowa City).
"Most teams go through it (slumps) – it's not like they can't play together or jell together,'' Griffith said. "Look at the beginning of the season, look at the way we started the season, playing against some Top 10 teams (notably an overtime win at Marquette and an overtime loss to Kansas).
"We just have to find our rhythm. And now is as good of a time as any to find it.''
He was speaking for the Badgers. And the Cardinals.
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — As the Wisconsin basketball managers attempted logo shots prior to the on-court arrival of the players and coaches to Tuesday's practice, the Middleton High School girls team cheered each make from their seats behind the home sideline at the Kohl Center.
It was not long before the girls were joined by their head coach, who angled his 6-11 frame into Seat 18, Row C of Section 123, allowing him to stretch his legs into the aisle. Wearing a gray sweatsuit and a Badger stocking cap, Rashard Griffith looked at home; comfortable, per usual, in his own skin.
"I made them a promise that by the end of the season, we'd either go to a boy's game or we'd go to one of the practices,'' said Griffith, the former UW low post space-eater. "I brought them to a practice because I believe they can get more out of a practice than they can out of a game.''
Griffith is always looking to grow their game. It has been that way since last fall when Middleton athletic director Jamie Sims approached Griffith about coaching the girls program, and he accepted the challenge of taking over for Jeff Kind, who won 634 times over three decades at the high school.
With Kind, a WBCA Hall of Famer, moving out of the community, Griffith moved through the formal interview process without any reservations. Or hitches. "I was just me,'' he said, conceding in the next breath, "I knew – and I know – coaching girls is different because I've trained young ladies.''
Still, there's knowledge in the constants, a proven means to an end competitively. And he spelled it out, "I put them through hard stuff and difficult stuff to help them grow as players and individuals as well … because …. that's life, right? I've got to be patient. But I've got to prepare them.''
When the players convened in early November for tryouts, he put them on alert.
"I told them what I expected of them on and off the court,'' Griffith said. "Student comes first, athlete second. And I'm constantly drilling it into their heads. The first part of the season we were the only team in the school to have all of our levels, and every girl in the program academically eligible.''
More so now than ever, Griffith has an appreciation for the value of an education. After playing two seasons for the Badgers – helping lead them back in 1994 to the NCAA tournament for the first time in 47 years – Griffith left school and turned pro. It resulted in a long and fruitful playing career in Europe.
But he had promised his late mother Elaine that he would come back to Madison to finish what he had started in the classroom. Coupled with the urging of UW assistant Howard Moore, a close friend and fellow Chicagoan, Griffith returned and bridged a 22-year-gap on campus. He graduated in 2020.
Diligence was a degree in community, non-profit leadership from the School of Human Ecology.
During the Senior Night festivities at the Kohl Center, the then 45-year-old Griffith was introduced with the two other graduating players, Brevin Pritzl and Michael Ballard. Accompanying Griffith on to the floor were Moore's parents, Trennis and Howard Sr. It was a bittersweet moment.
A tragic Memorial Day weekend car accident (May 25, 2019) claimed Moore's wife Jennifer and their nine-year-old daughter Jaidyn. Moore survived the crash along with his son Jerell. Both are now under the care of Trennis and Howard Sr. "I see Howard every day,'' Griffith said. "Every single day.''
Prior to his hiring as the head coach, Griffith was already a familiar, imposing figure in the high school's hallways through his service on the campus support team. He's not shy about saying either, "I'm keeping an eye on Jerell – making sure he stays on track and graduates. He's doing good.''
Jerell Moore is a Middleton junior. Griffith flashed a warm smile and added, "Jerrell is growing up. He's got a birthday coming up. He's about to be 17.'' He paused to let it sink in. "Considering from where he was, knowing him when he was born, yeah, I've seen him literally grow up before my eyes.''
&&&
There have been understandable growing pains for his team and players in this transitional season. Middleton (13-9, 12-6 in the Big Eight) will face Sussex Hamilton in the WIAA regional playoffs on Friday. "I've been telling them, we're flushing the (regular) season,'' he said. "This is a new season.''
In underlining the postseason reality – "The only difference is, "We lose, we're done'' – he was asked how he has handled some of the earlier outcomes, the winning and the losing. Insisted Griffith, "I've actually handed it pretty well. It's not about me. I don't make it about me. It's about them.''
On Feb. 11, Sun Prairie West beat the Cardinals, 50-46, snapping a five-game winning streak during a stretch in which they began to jell and won seven of eight. Griffith was unhappy with the officiating. But he was encouraged by the way his girls responded to the disappointing loss.
"That was the first time all season that I had seen the emotion out of them from losing a game,'' he said. "That let me know that they had turned the corner. That tells me that you care – if you're crying because you lose or with how things went in the game or you're just angry with yourself.''
From a big picture standpoint, he addressed the emotion, "I can take that if it leads to some growth – the growth needed for them to be a better team and the growth needed for them to be better individually. I always tell them, 'The better you are individual, the better we are as a team.'''
The Cardinals have gotten better. Where can this lead? Where can the 48-year-old Griffith take it? "I don't try to predict the future,'' he said. "If you would have asked me this question at this time last year if I'd be coaching a girls basketball team, I'd be telling you the same thing. I don't know.''
As the girls were leaving the Kohl Center at the end of Tuesday's practice, Griffith went down to the floor and spoke with UW coach Greg Gard. Griffith has tutored some of the "bigs'' for the Badgers. He knows the block. During his two years, he accounted for 795 points and 493 rebounds in 51 games.
He knows the blocked shot, too. He had 66 as a freshman and 58 as a sophomore. At 280-plus pounds, Griffith could punish opponents around the rim. As a soph, he averaged a double-double (17.3 points, 10.1 rebounds). Only Ethan Happ has exceeded those numbers for a single season at Wisconsin.
Griffith is well aware of the UW's precarious spot on the NCAA tournament bubble. And he can relate having gone through such postseason uncertainty during the later stages of the 1993-94 season. A a lot of things had to happen for those Badgers to get into the Big Dance under coach Stu Jackson.
It all started with a rout of Iowa at the UW Field House in the final regular season home game. Michael Finley, whose retired No. 24 jersey hangs from the Kohl Center rafters, led the attack with 27 points – bouncing back from his previous outing, a 1-for-15 shooting nightmare at Northwestern.
Griffith had 16 points against the Hawkeyes, the foe here Wednesday. Despite setbacks and the inconsistent play since January, he's still confident that the Badgers can turn it around and reach a level of efficiency that they attained in November and December (highlighted by a win in Iowa City).
"Most teams go through it (slumps) – it's not like they can't play together or jell together,'' Griffith said. "Look at the beginning of the season, look at the way we started the season, playing against some Top 10 teams (notably an overtime win at Marquette and an overtime loss to Kansas).
"We just have to find our rhythm. And now is as good of a time as any to find it.''
He was speaking for the Badgers. And the Cardinals.
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