Take a moment to think about where we were this past spring and summer in Madison.
Closed door meetings, secret recordings, disgruntled players, a poor reputation, and a head coach squarely under the microscope.
Now, the Wisconsin Badgers are Big Ten Champions.
How did this happen?
Well, having a National Player of the Year candidate on your team certainly helps.
But Greg Gard deserves a ton of credit for keeping the focus where it should always be: on the floor.
It would’ve been really easy for Gard to lash out at former players and coaches, who attempted to tank his reputation and quite frankly, his program.
Instead, he went to practice.
He worked with his guys.
He developed good players into great players.
His reward for his focus, commitment, and resolve is a regular season conference championship.
I’m sure he’s not the only one that hopes another title is on the horizon.