NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: SECOND ROUND - IOWA ST. VS WISCONSIN

March 19, 2022

Greg Gard

Brad Davison

Steven Crowl

Fiserv Forum

Wisconsin Badgers

Media Conference

MODERATOR: Joined by Wisconsin student-athletes Johnny Davis, Davison and Steven Crowl. Questions, please.

Q. For Brad, in your time kind of watching Iowa State, what has really stood out to you so far, especially about the way they play defense?

BRAD DAVISON: Yeah, they definitely pride themself on the defensive end of the ball with toughness, ball pressure, picking you up kind of at the halfcourt line, trying to keep you to one side, trying to force you to the baseline. So we faced a lot of different teams that play a lot of different styles, so we're looking forward to the challenge.

Q. For Johnny and Brad, how much do you guys think that legacies are kind of cemented this time of the year, if at all?

BRAD DAVISON: I think this time of year, March NCAA tournaments are what all the time and hard work is put into. Obviously every game's important, the Big Ten conference, the Big Ten Tournament is all important, but a lot of people remember what you do in the NCAA Tournament.

So that's what all the work we've been putting into this year, the years before, they're all built into these moments. I don't really think a whole lot about legacy, but I know as our team, we want to play as many games as we can together and the way we look at this time of year is we're fighting for more minutes and the outcomes will take care of themselves.

JOHNNY DAVIS: I'll worry about the legacy of myself and this team after the season.

Q. For Brad, you've been playing college basketball for quite some time. Just when you look and see what Iowa State's done, two wins last year, to what they've done this year, just how much does it kind of catch -- I know it's maybe a little easier to rebuild in the transfer portal and stuff like that, but for a team that had that kind of turnaround, how much does it catch your attention?

BRAD DAVISON: I think it's very impressive. Obviously a great job by the coaches and the coaching staff, but also by the players continuing to lock in and show up every day to turn it around. So I know they've obviously got a lot of great transfers, two of them being from our conference last year, so we know them pretty well. Just as a fan of the game, it's pretty awesome to see and happy for them with. That being said, we're looking forward to taking them on tomorrow.

Q. Johnny, have you had any previous interactions with Tyrese Hunter, being from the state, whether it's AAU or high school? And also, your ankle coming out of last night, how did it feel?

JOHNNY DAVIS: One, no, I haven't had any interaction with Tyrese Hunter. And two, it's just a little sore right now, but we'll see how it feels tomorrow.

Q. For Steven, just going back to last night, just first the shot you made to put Wisconsin ahead for good, how did it feel leaving you when you released it and what kind of confidence does that do for you to hit that kind of shot on that kind of stage early on in this tournament?

STEVEN CROWL: Honestly, it didn't feel that good coming off, but it went in, banked it. I thought that was a great shot. After that, it felt a lot better. Obviously one of them rimmed out, but I think seeing one go in really helped my confidence. And then shooting those next two felt really good, coming off my hand they just didn't fall for me.

Q. For any of the three of you guys, after that shot fell was, I think, seven minutes without Colgate scoring, you guys played pretty much as perfectly as you'd want to for those seven minutes. As the tournament goes on, how important is it to not have a good 10 minutes, seven minutes, but close it with a good 40 the whole way?

BRAD DAVISON: Yeah, it takes a full 40. But that's the thing, when you're in the NCAA Tournament you're playing against great teams. Teams are going to go on runs and it kind of goes down to the team who throws the last punch to close out the games. And we pride ourselves on the defensive end of the ball, so when Steven hit that shot to take the lead, we knew that the game was in our hands and that's where we wanted it to be and that's where we find our identity. But obviously we'd love a whole 40 minutes and that's the goal each and every time we go out, but also, we know that teams are going to go on runs. So just having the ability to stay together and be able to counter those with our own punches is crucial to moving forward in the tournament.

Q. Johnny, growing up in Wisconsin, how would you describe just what Wisconsin basketball is, I guess the identity of it to kids that kind of grow up here?

JOHNNY DAVIS: I'm not going to lie, growing up, I didn't really watch too much Wisconsin basketball, wasn't really a fan. But now that I've been here, it's just a really great program. Especially the coaching staff and the teammates that I have with me, I'm really happy that I decided to come here.

Q. If I could follow up on that, does some of that depend on where you grow up in the state of whether it's Marquette or Wisconsin or someplace else?

JOHNNY DAVIS: It was neither.

Q. In that regard for Johnny, when did you kind of convert to Wisconsin? I mean, what was it -- at what point did you realize that this was a place for you and what was their sales pitch to you that made you kind of realize this would be an ideal fit for you?

JOHNNY DAVIS: As soon as they offered my brother, I decided to come here because I knew that I was going to play with him no matter where it was.

Q. For any of you guys, from watching yesterday's game, also throughout the season, what do you see from Tyrese Hunter's game? What do you like about the way he plays?

BRAD DAVISON: He's really good in the open floor, his ability to get defensive rebounds and then push in transition. Really good at getting to the rim, finishing over contact and through contact. Whether it's going to the right or to the left, very dynamic in his ability to not only create opportunities for himself at the rim but also for his teammates. Definitely will be a tough challenge for us tomorrow, but again, we're excited for the challenge.

Q. Steven, going back to the bank shot, that's three pretty big bank shots this year from you guys. Chucky's and Johnny's, too, not going to apologize for those. But do you look at those as maybe there's a little bit of destiny with this team in some regard?

STEVEN CROWL: I don't really think so. I think we've been prepared, and I think even without some of those shots we would still be in the games and still win the games. So I don't think there's much to do with so-called destiny in those three shots.

Q. For any of y'all, after the environment you had yesterday playing in front of this packed house kind of a sea of red last night, how much motivation is that for you moving forward? I know you don't want to look ahead but the possibility another game here and maybe two games with a friendly crowd in Chicago as well, just what can be ahead for you in terms of crowd situations?

JOHNNY DAVIS: You put the answer in the question. We not worried about playing next week at all. We got to focus on Sunday.

STEVEN CROWL: Tomorrow.

Q. Brad, I know your goal is ultimately to win the National Championship, but how big of a barometer is this next game for the program given how often Wisconsin teams have gotten to the Sweet 16?

BRAD DAVISON: Yeah, most definitely. I think just from this team's standpoint, what we're fighting for is just to have 40 more minutes playing with one another. But when you look at it from a tradition standpoint of the Wisconsin program, that's our standard is we want to be competing in the second and third weekends of these NCAA tournaments and winning Big Ten championships. That's been our goal from day one. We've accomplished a lot of our goals throughout the year and tomorrow's another opportunity for us to check one of those boxes and keep this ride going.

MODERATOR: All right, thanks, guys. Good luck tomorrow. Joined now by Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard. Questions, please.

Q. Coach, obviously two talented freshman point guards going at it tomorrow. You talked a little bit how Chucky's played beyond his years this year. What do you see in Tyrese?

COACH GREG GARD: Yeah, I think a lot of same thing from the film I've been able to watch over the last -- I don't know, seems like I was just in here -- 12 hours, 15 hours. Sees the floor really wells, finds guys, finds guys in the pick and roll, plays well in transition. Obviously he knocked in threes last night, so he's done a really good job coming in as a freshman and playing in that league.

Q. I imagine it's a little easier nowadays with the transfer portal to kind of rebuild on the fly, but just from a coaching perspective, what kept your attention when you see a program go from two wins one season to where Iowa State is now? impressed are you when you see that kind of rapid step up?

COACH GREG GARD: Yeah, you know, I think there were -- there's players that were there that previous Coach Steve had there and I think they might have went through some injuries too a year ago. But T.J.'s doing a good job. He brought -- Caleb Grill came with him. Obviously having Tyrese that Steven signed stay was important for him. And then having Brockington come in and, you know, Conditt's been there, so that's helped. They've got good players and T.J.'s done a good job.

And I think when you have a mix much like we have -- we brought in a couple transfers and you have to mix some freshmen in with your guys that have been there. Having the right chemistry and having like minded people is important, as important as anything, because you have to make sure -- and sometimes through the transfer portal, especially over the last year when we couldn't have campus visits, you have to really make sure you're having the right person because you're just meeting them over Zoom, as I did with both Vogt and Neath. So that chemistry's probably the most important thing because if it's not right, then it really will go backwards and spiral out of control on you in terms of Togetherness of a locker room. But if you've got the right people in there, a lot of good things can happen.

Q. Greg, how much do you think a coach should be measured by the results of this time of year?

COACH GREG GARD: Well, I mean, from the public standpoint, obviously the focus gets put on March just because of the attention it gets, and obviously March Madness and the viewership that happens at this time of year. I've always tried to put a premium on the body of work and that's why one of our first check marks or boxes we want to check during the season is to win the regular season conference championship, or chase it as long as we can, because I think that's -- over the course of a three-month period, that's a great testament. And you're seeing all kinds of upsets take place -- I don't want to call them upsets. We don't play series like Major League Baseball and the NBA do. You play one game and there's so much parity now in college basketball, the 3-point line is such an equalizer that can maybe wash out any size advantage some team may have, and there's so much talent everywhere. I think sometimes maybe the marquee schools or the blue blood schools get a lot of the attention, but there's a lot of really good players at other places. And it doesn't take many. It only takes one or two to make a difference. If you combine that with some experience and have an older group, then you see what some of the results we've seen over the last two days have been.

Q. You played three bigs yesterday at times. You had Ben on the floor and then you had some Vogt minutes and you went with -- why am I blanking -- Tyler Wahl believe obviously. You had those three guys together. What do you like about those three together and can you use it moving forward?

COACH GREG GARD: Yeah, I mean, I basically did that in two instances. I had Tyler at the three and I think Johnny was resting at one point in time. I had Johnny at the two at another point in time. Tyler's done a little bit of that for us throughout the year of sliding over to the three. I think obviously his versatility at the four, to be able to do specifically defensively has been a huge attribute for us, but that's something that makes us bigger, there's no doubt. Changes us a little bit offensively, but something, again, time and just -- it's an in-game feel and an in-game need that I wanted to go to, and Tyler did a good job of sliding over there at that time.

Q. Greg, first, you said you had a late-night film session. What was the big thing that stood out to you there? Second, just your thoughts on the Wisconsin matchup between Tyrese and Johnny going head to head, two guys from the home state.

COACH GREG GARD: I'll answer the second part of your question first. It's great for the state of Wisconsin. I think basketball in the state has grown immensely from the time I was that age or younger and how the popularity of the sport, the opportunities that young people have now through grassroots, AAU. The high school coaches do a great job, but the grassroots and AAU programs do a great job of giving kids opportunities. I think that's where you see the popularity and the explosion of the sport over the last two, three decades.

The late-night film session, it was more -- I didn't do anything with the team until today, this afternoon, quickly reviewed last night's edits that I had pulled out and then went through the Iowa State scout and put that in. Most of last night for me personally, or into the early morning hours was spent on Iowa State, watching them.

Q. T.J. was up here earlier and he's obviously from the city, from the state. He's paid attention to your program. I'm wondering what it's like from your perspective facing a team from outside your league but a coach who clearly knows and follows Wisconsin, what to expect from there and what's it like for you to go up against a guy like that.

COACH GREG GARD: I never really get into the personal -- it's not me against T.J. He's in much better shape than I am, I think he could take me. Maybe if I got him in a game of horse I might be able to get a few steps on him.

You know, it's great, I'm happy for him because he's worked his way up. I know he was a coach at Burlington Catholic Central, right? He's been an assistant at a variety of places, obviously head coach at South Dakota State, did a good job at UNLV, and then obviously to come back to Iowa State where he was an assistant is -- he's had to work at it and he's paid his dues. He's not somebody who was handed a job or was born right into it. He's had to work his way up. So you have an appreciation for those type of people who had to put their time in at various stops and lower levels and that type of thing. Like I said, just happy for him, but it won't be Greg against T.J. tomorrow, it's going to be Iowa State and their players against Wisconsin and their players.

Q. Actually got two for you. I'm pretty sure that T.J. was at Thomas Moore when you were at Platville with Bo. Did you guys recruit him? And I think he played at Whitewater. I'm wondering what you saw in the guy when you were looking at him as a player and a kid and if you could kind of see what kind of tracks he was going on that would lead him to this point.

COACH GREG GARD: Man, I've got a good memory, but I don't know if I can go back that far. That's been a ways. That was a few years ago and if he was probably that part of the state, a lot of good players went to Whitewater. We had a few from the Milwaukee area, but ours were more Southwest Wisconsin, a little bit of Northern Illinois and Eastern Iowa. It's still a really good league. Obviously, I know the league well and follow it, having my brother Jeff at Platville, and obviously Pat's done a terrific job at Whitewater.

I think again, going back to what a lot of the root of the questions have been about me or T.J. or Tyrese or Johnny, just how great for the state of Wisconsin. I know Whitewater's women are playing in the National Championship today, right, or tonight?

Q. I have to ignore that because I'm an Oshkosh guy and I'm still bitter to losing to Whitewater last week, so yeah.

COACH GREG GARD: On the women's side?

Q. Dennis, yeah, he know?

COACH GREG GARD: You're an Oshkosh guy, too? So we've got Titans and Pioneers hanging out. we Got anybody else from the WIC? Jim, where did you go? Harvard? Lacrosse? Madison, okay.

Q. My second question --

COACH GREG GARD: Jeff? Lacrosse? Oh, the women's team? They lost today? Shoot.

Just getting back to it, you know, it's great for the state of Wisconsin in all facets. It's awesome. I know the state tournament's going on right now back in Madison, so great time to be a basketball fall of the state of Wisconsin.

Q. My second question is a little more serious. Obviously there's something that you guys are working for right now and there's a big goal in mind, but at the same time with so many young guys, how valuable is it having this additional practice time on your season to work with these guys for what's coming next?

COACH GREG GARD: Yeah, I think it's been something we've tried to take advantage of all year. It's the first time, really, in my career that we've implemented -- the guys that are red-shirting are not playing very many minutes, are getting an extremely hard workout on game days and they haven't done it during the tournament here just because of the time and court access we don't have. But during the season, we've really put those guys through a pretty strenuous individual plan and a group workout that I think has helped us and helped them because those guys that are kind of waiting in the wings, so to speak, will be the next wave of guys coming through our program have made some pretty monumental jumps through this season and they got big offseasons in front of them. Hopefully the offseason doesn't start for a couple more weeks, but it's all important. Just the exposure to this, being in this or doing an interview and seeing cameras float around and having an open media practice or an open practice, all these experiences help and can be filed away for use in the future.

Q. I was wondering if you can maybe go back to the '90s when you were kind of coming up as a young coach and the things that you talked about, about how Wisconsin basketball or basketball in the state has been transformed over that time. What was it about, I guess, Dick Bennett, both at Wisconsin Green Bay when they beat Cal, and then as he went to Wisconsin, what was it about those teams that you think resonated with young athletes, young coaches in the state?

COACH GREG GARD: Well, I think there's obviously the TV exposure of that time when Green Bay beat Cal and Jason Kidd. I think the job that Coach Bennett did, Coach Ryan did in terms of the opportunities and the exposure to the game and through the success of their teams, I think it really opened the doors on the state of Wisconsin or put a light on the state of Wisconsin.

Even going back to Dick's time at Stevens Point when they went to Kansas City, or Ken Anderson's time in Eau Claire when they went to Kansas City in the NAIA Tournament, and then Bo with the run at Platville. Going in at this time of year, typically Platville was in the Final Four and getting a lot of media attention for the state.

So all those, I think, successes led to more popularity of the state for the sport in the state. And then obviously the camps, the coaches' clinics, all those things. I know Bo was extremely active in the WBCA and on the board of directors. Like I've filled his seat now for the state. Growing the game in the state.

Jerry Petitgoue's done a phenomenal job as the executive director over the last, I don't know, seems like 100 years Jerry's been there, and he's done a great job and basketball has blossomed under his leadership across the state because he cares about the game.

When you have people like that that are kind of blazing the trail, so to speak, you can't have anything but positive things happen over the course of time. So I think we -- all of us that are following in those footsteps owe all those trendsetters, so to speak, or trailblazers a huge debt of gratitude for making basketball fun and popular and exciting in the state of Wisconsin.

Q. Greg, you heard Johnny yesterday say the defense turned around when they stopped being lazy and more fundamental. As you get further and further in the tournament, how difficult is it and how much do you stress a full 40 minutes of all the fundamentally sound stuff that you need?

COACH GREG GARD: I don't know if it gets any more emphasized now than it did in November, December, January, just you're playing against better teams more consistently that can expose some things. And it's not, as I mentioned when Johnny mentioned that last night, I wouldn't say it was lazy, I would say it was not fully executed to the necessary level.

He went over a screen, but he didn't go over it aggressively enough and push his offensive player into Tyler on one of the occasions. Another one, Richardson shot it from the logo. He backed up and shot it further.

I think all those things get magnified at this time of year. The margin for error's very, very slim and if you're a little out of step or have a few miscues, it can obviously cost you, and if it costs you this time of year you're hanging up the jersey. I think those are all good learning experiences that you can still learn from that and you can still have a game to hopefully be better at it next that you're in that position.

MODERATOR: Coach, thank you. Good luck tomorrow night.