Greg Gard shares thoughts on Wisconsin's hot start in Big Ten play

Wisconsin sits alone atop the Big Ten Conference standings after five games.

At this time last year, the Badgers had logged a 2-3 conference record and would finish the 2022-23 season with nine conference wins and a 20-15 record — which was not enough to make the NCAA Tournament.

With Gard’s squad hitting their stride in mid-January, he wanted to make sure their heads weren’t getting too big after a 5-0 start to conference play.

“Don’t let success change you,” Gard said that he told his players postgame. “How we prepare, how we approach off days. How will they utilize this afternoon tonight and tomorrow? All those things go into how you make sure you stay the course. I’ve used a lot of quotes and different things and yesterday I went on a rant about Nick Saban. Just how his messaging over the years — I’ve always felt was spot on.

“I told them yesterday, it’s not easy. It should be hard and it has to be hard. You don’t have a lot of choices. That’s one of Nick [Saban’s] sayings, — you really don’t have a choice. How good do you want to be? And are you willing to commit, stay disciplined, and focus on that path? And if you have a little success, you can’t change what got you there.”

In essence, Gard wants his players to do more of whatever got his team to this point. Whether it’s replicating a routine, or reminding his players to never become complacent. Lately, however, Gard hasn’t had to do that after seeing his veteran players continue to lead by example.

“The older guys are hungry for more, but they understand that the experiences on the court from last year have helped us. But also have a feeling of unfulfillment from last year like we have something to prove,” Gard said. “That’s the edge I want them to keep. I want them to have an edge.”

Veteran forwards Tyler Wahl and Steven Crowl, who are each in their third season in Wisconsin’s starting frontcourt, have been two of the Badgers’ most consistent scorers this season averaging just over 11 points a piece.

Junior guard Chucky Hepburn has continued to be an all-around player contributing. 8.5 points, 3.2 rebounds and a team-high 3.9 assists per game.

Wisconsin’s leading scorer is not Hepburn, Wahm, or Crowl, however. Instead, Gard dipped his toes into the transfer portal to snag AJ Storr, a former four-star recruit, from St. Johns. Scoring a team-high 14.8 points per game as a true sophomore in his first season in Madison — he might not have been around for seasons past, but he’s bought into Gard’s philosophy and has been Wisconsin’s resident stat sheet stuffer this season having scored in double figures in all but two of the games he has played in this season.

After squeezing past a tough Northwestern team 71-63 at home, the Badgers set their sights on a road trip to Happy Valley for a meeting with Penn State. Tip-off is scheduled for 9 p.m. ET live on BTN.