JC is a player's Coach, there's no doubt about it.

And yes, the era of the A-hole Coach has run its course.  The players never should've had to take it, but now, they no longer have to.   Why would any fan accept a Coach who treats the players that way regardless??

The big myth is that Coaches won because they were A-holes, nope, They won because they were A-holes who recruited well.  But that era is over.   Even Bobby Knight was having a harder time recruiting top shelf players and that was now 20 years ago. 

Either way, the last few dinosaurs are dying out the sport will never look like that again.  There's always a job in a local gym for those guys though



 

As someone who follows the Wisconsin basketball program very closely, allow me to attempt to shed some light on this situation, particularly since some of what's already been written here is simply inaccurate.  I should mention that I am not a fan of Greg Gard's coaching...from refusing to play Potter and Reuvers at the same time, a formula that had been more than successful in the past, to what can only be described as a stubborn unwillingness to call a timeout to attempt to thwart his opponent's lengthy runs.  

Comparing Gard to Knight is laughable in every conceivable way since by no means should Gard be characterized as a control freak a-hole.  That wasn't the problem.  The problem was that Gard appeared too aloof around his players, too uncaring about everything outside of winning a basketball game.  Some of the seniors in the taped meeting complained that he did nothing to help their futures.  Most had professional aspirations but Gard was not initiating any contacts on their behalf.  He never asked the players about themselves...how they were doing, how school was, what did they want to do after college, etc.  He took zero interest in them as human beings.  (I think we can all agree that JC will never be found guilty of this.)  The players felt used, as if they were playing for no other reason than to bolster Gard's resume.  One player said that he could never recommend that anyone play for this program as long as Gard was there.  He went on to say that he's sure he will not be able to talk with Gard ever again, but then again, it's not like the two had been previously talking.

The season before last, one of the team's most promising players, Kobe King, left the program in the middle of the season.  The timing was very odd considering that King was playing regularly.  The team somehow rallied, won their last 8 straight games, and was the co-champion of the Big 10.  Gard won conference coach of the year.  When King ultimately decided not to play at Nebraska, the school he announced he would be transferring to, the consensus was that Wisconsin basketball was fine but Kobe was the one with the problem.  (What eventually came out is that the strength and conditioning coach was guilty of making a racist remark at King's expense.  He apologized profusely and thought all was forgiven.  But after Kobe left the program, the issue resurfaced, the remark was self-reported to Gard, and he ultimately resigned over the matter.)

It turns out that the late stages of the 2019-20 season was a bit of a mirage.  All was not well with this program.  The 2020-21 team lost far more games than a team who had a preseason national ranking of #7 should have.  Literally everyone was back from the prior Big 10 championship season.

One more enormous story.  After the 2018-19 season, Wisconsin's Assistant Coach Howard Moore and his family were involved in a tragic car crash, courtesy of a 23 year old drunk driver.  Moore's wife and 9 year old daughter perished, as did the drunk driver.  Moore and his 13 year old son survived.  Moore decided to take a leave of absence to recuperate as well as figure out how he was to begin his new life.  Alando Tucker, a former Wisconsin standout and NBA player, stepped in to become an Interim Assistant Coach in place of his mentor. He held that role for two seasons and was one of the coaches inside the locker room during the taped sessions.   Recently, it was announced that Tucker would not be returning to Gard's staff (nor has there been an indication that Moore is ready or willing to return).  Try and picture Pops stepping in during an emergency situation to become an interim assistant at GW and then being told after two seasons that he will no longer be needed.  That's how popular the Tucker decision is right now in Madison.  Nobody has any proof of who may have leaked the secretly taped recording but if you're looking for someone with revenge on their mind, do not look any further than Alando Tucker.

Let's end with a reminder that last season was played not only with great expectations for the Badgers, not only in the continued aftermath of  a tragedy involving a beloved assistant coach and his family, but also in the midst of a global pandemic.  GWRising mentioned this repeatedly pertaining to GW but the fact is this was true everywhere...in 2020-21, there was never a greater need for a head basketball coach to also serve as a father figure and friend.  Greg Gard never threw a chair at anyone.  He likely never screamed the words "it's my way or the highway."  He was not an abuser of his players.  What he was, and perhaps still is, is a coach who failed to really be there for his players.  Gard let his players down, maybe a bit as basketball players but far more as the individuals that they are.

WisconsinColonial raises a good point which should be reiterated.  While I am not a fan of Gard, and the dismissal of Tucker seems strange (unless he did leak the recording and Gard knows this, in which case it is not at all strange), I do empathize with Gard's points about the meeting being recorded in the first place and subsequently leaked to the media.  This meeting was a private encounter that absolutely should have remained in the locker room and have gone no further.  While this does not exonerate Gard over the way his seniors felt towards him, he has every right to feel major disappointment over the secret recording and subsequent leak.  

I will say that something seemed wrong with Wiscy on the court last year.  His usage of Micah Potter - clearly the best player on the team, but seemingly always in the doghouse - was baffling.  I really didn’t understand what Gard was doing out there.

10 posts in and seemingly not one person is concerned about the ethics of secretly recording someone and the breach of trust that represents. Too bad Wisconsin in a one-party consent state.

Last edited by GWRising (6/25/2021 10:38 am)

GWRising wrote:

10 posts in and seemingly not one person is concerned about the ethics of secretly recording someone and the breach of trust that represents. Two bad Wisconsin in a one-party consent state.

It is unknown if the recording was made secretly, although it was clearly never intended to become part of the public record. Then again, the Watergate Tapes were secretly recorded and never intended to become part of the public record, but when they became a part of the public record what was on them (or deleted from them) was more of a concern than that they had been secretly recorded in the first place. 
 

BC wrote:

We must by all means keep secret the musings of the powers that be, like coaches, ex-presidents, ex NYC mayors, billionaire non-tax payers and other powerful folk.   GWrising there are at least two sides to this question.

So the ends justify the means? On that theory, we can all commit ethical breaches or crimes because we don't like what someone else is saying or doing. How does that make one any better?

The Dude wrote:

Thank goodness there were no known recordings of Lonergan.  

The era of the abusive Coach has run its course.

 

Or, let's put this another way.  There were no known recordings of Lonergan.  No tangible proof regarding his alleged abuse.  

The Dude wrote:

The era of the abusive Coach has run its course.

 

On this we agree.  And, I would say that the rules allowing immediate transfers will ensure any coach who doesn't create a positive environment will have less job security.

B.