What can we learn from Wisconsin's winning ways?
- Thread starter Wrestlerneverdiesasacatfan
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19 straight NCAA tournament appearances - id call that winning ways. Should have never even gotten to OT - talk about dumb why didn't Florida foul at the end of regulation? Is there anything dumber in all of sports than the aaron Rodgers discount double dumb belt move?
That's not why they lost though. Clang, clank, can't make them from the charity stripe.
“Winning ways”? Absolutely. UW Badger basketball is one of the more consistent positive (in terms of winning) things in sports over the past 22 years, starting with Dick Bennett in 1995.
I think the key to it is coaching consistency, in two senses. First, the 3 head coaches over that span all “came of age” coaching for UW, including at Madison and (previously) elsewhere in the UW system. Their combined time of UW system coaching, as assistants and head coaches, is 88 years. 25 for Bennett, 39 for Ryan, and 24 for Gard. Second, the kind of talent they've brought in ... not high flyers and superstars so much as quality cogs in the machine-like style of Badger basketball. . Only 8 players went into the NBA over those 22 years under Bennett, Ryan, and Gard. In the 22 years leading up to Bennett’s arrival, 12 players graduated into the NBA. Perhaps it is a tiny bit significant in terms of the “team mentality” culture that the player names are not on the backs of their jerseys
What have they accomplished, Bennett and his successors, that screams “consistency”? Well, consider that Bennett didn’t inherit a dominant program by any means. But under his watch and since, there are very few low points. They’ve had just one overall losing season (Bennett’s 3rd), only two sub-.500 BigTen seasons (Bennett’s 1st and 3rd), and only two years of NCAA Tournament misses (again, Bennett’s 1st and 3rd). So, in every year since 1997: a winning record overall, a winning record in the conference, and an NCAA bid. And that done with relatively few superstars (defined as future NBA caliber guys).
So what can we learn? (1) Groom your coaches and keep them. (2) Know who you are in terms of your team style and identity and recruit accordingly. (3) Keep the players focused on team success (especially tenacious defense and offensive discipline), and not on personal glory-seeking.
Not rocket science. Apply patience with hard-working kids at the wheel. Develop and mold. Pursue a consistent strategy year after year.. And don’t fall into the trap of trying to be something you are not (i.e., flashy and star-dependent).
I think the key to it is coaching consistency, in two senses. First, the 3 head coaches over that span all “came of age” coaching for UW, including at Madison and (previously) elsewhere in the UW system. Their combined time of UW system coaching, as assistants and head coaches, is 88 years. 25 for Bennett, 39 for Ryan, and 24 for Gard. Second, the kind of talent they've brought in ... not high flyers and superstars so much as quality cogs in the machine-like style of Badger basketball. . Only 8 players went into the NBA over those 22 years under Bennett, Ryan, and Gard. In the 22 years leading up to Bennett’s arrival, 12 players graduated into the NBA. Perhaps it is a tiny bit significant in terms of the “team mentality” culture that the player names are not on the backs of their jerseys
What have they accomplished, Bennett and his successors, that screams “consistency”? Well, consider that Bennett didn’t inherit a dominant program by any means. But under his watch and since, there are very few low points. They’ve had just one overall losing season (Bennett’s 3rd), only two sub-.500 BigTen seasons (Bennett’s 1st and 3rd), and only two years of NCAA Tournament misses (again, Bennett’s 1st and 3rd). So, in every year since 1997: a winning record overall, a winning record in the conference, and an NCAA bid. And that done with relatively few superstars (defined as future NBA caliber guys).
So what can we learn? (1) Groom your coaches and keep them. (2) Know who you are in terms of your team style and identity and recruit accordingly. (3) Keep the players focused on team success (especially tenacious defense and offensive discipline), and not on personal glory-seeking.
Not rocket science. Apply patience with hard-working kids at the wheel. Develop and mold. Pursue a consistent strategy year after year.. And don’t fall into the trap of trying to be something you are not (i.e., flashy and star-dependent).
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