ROSEMONT, ILL. – Wisconsin’s Greg Gard helped kick off Big Ten men’s basketball media day Thursday at Donald E. Stephens Convention Center by taking part in the first panel discussion of the day.
The Badgers coach shared the stage with Illinois’ Brad Underwood and Michigan’s Dusty May. Here are the highlights.
Sophomore Nolan Winter could be a potential breakout player
When asked to cite a player who isn’t getting a lot of attention now but could have people talking by the end of the season, Gard pointed to Nolan Winter.
The 6-foot-11, 235-pound sophomore is listed as 15 pounds heavier than last season. He averaged 2.4 points, 1.8 rebounds in about 9½ minutes per game last season.
Why Winter?
“Just watching freshmen go from freshmen to sophomores and the experience they can take from that handful of minutes they got as a freshman and how they use that in the offseason to improve their body, their game,” Gard said. “I’m able to play two 7-footers together in Steve Crowl and Nolan Winter. For Nolan to take the jump he has (and) he still has a ways to go, but we really like what we see from him so far.”
Who is ready to run the point?
One void created by the transfer portal was the departure of Chucky Hepburn to Louisville.
Gard was asked about the position from the perspective of senior Camren Hunter or freshman Daniel Freitag assuming the role, but Gard didn’t limit his response to those two.
“You mentioned Daniel Frietag, a freshman, Camren Hunter who we got out of the portal,” Gard said. “Kamari McGee is a returner for us that missed a fair amount of time last year with an injury and has played well. I’ve even used John Blackwell some at the point.
“Positionally I don’t get consumed with numbers whether you are a one or a two or a three. I like size. I like skill and depth. I think we’ve got all three.”
Gard shares view on Big Ten’s growth
When Gard arrived in the Big Ten as Bo Ryan’s top assistant in 2001, the conference had 11 teams. Nebraska joined in 2012. Rutgers and Maryland pushed the membership to 14.
New members UCLA, USC, Oregon and Washington give the Big Ten 18 teams.
Gard is one of the few coaches in the league who has experienced all those changes.
“I have kind of coined the term, there are no get-well games,” Gard said. “No matter where you play, who you play, when you are playing them, you better lace them really tight, and that’s what we’ve found, the parity across the league has grown immensely.”
“There used to be places you could show up and make a couple of layups and you were going to get out OK,” he added, “but now every single night is a battle.”
More: Media poll predicts Wisconsin men’s basketball will finish in bottom half of Big Ten
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin men’s basketball highlights from Big Ten media day
