Men's Basketball Postgame Quotes
Wisconsin vs. Rutgers
January 2, 2016
Kohl Center – Madison, Wis

Wisconsin Head Coach Greg Gard
Opening statement:
"As I told the team just a little while ago, they've obviously been through a lot here in the last couple of week and they've embraced everything that we've taught as a staff with open arms and been in with both feet. I thought they made a huge step forward today in terms of grasping what we've been talking about for the last 14 or 15 days. Being able to come in where there are some rough spots and times and still stay true to what we want to be and how we want to play, I thought we had some good contributions. Obviously, numbers show, but there were people off the bench at times when guys were struggling in maybe foul trouble or not playing in sync with how we wanted to play. We really had good contributions off the bench and that helped. Sometimes coming to the bench and watching somebody else do it properly is a great motivator and better than anything a coach could say. From that standpoint, I'm really proud of the guys and how they've responded and bought in and listened. We're far from perfect, we have a long way to go, but I think tonight was a great step in the right direction."
 
On Zak Showalter's performance today:
"With Zak, we've had a lot of guys over the years that have resembled Zak Showalter in terms of how he plays, his tenacity, effort, and toughness. The attitude he brings every day in practice, he's always flying around the floor and taking charges. He went 8-for-8 and doesn't miss a shot, but he was active and taking charges. He was diving on the floor everywhere. That's how he is and we've always had a few guys like that. It has to remain our team DNA. We talked about this earlier today, we need to play hard and that was part of playing hard. Playing smart, we were playing smart at some points and some points we weren't. We need to play together and that's something we've talked about since the day I took over that we have to do this together. For him, we talked about that in the timeouts and huddles that we got too jump shot happy. We needed to touch the post and we needed to finish inside. I thought Ethan (Happ) got going and got some confidence and we ran a couple things for him to get the ball down low and then he got going and we were able to find some things there. Nigel (Hayes) also got going a little bit better there. I thought he finished inside better than what he had previously. It was definitely a group effort. It's a good job by those perimeter guys to find the guys inside. We needed to play inside out. We shot the 3 better when the ball touched the post and then was kicked out versus running around the perimeter and then flying off screens and shooting it off the dribble. Those are low-percentage shots and always have been, but they're starting to understand the difference between doing it how we want it done the Wisconsin way. When we get away from it, we're not as good. When we stick to it, we become pretty competitive."
 
On if he's seeing progress with the ball movement:
"Yes, there is. Naturally, there should be progress for as much as we worked on it and emphasized it and watched it on film. That's why Aaron Moesch got some time. When I go back through the film every day and break down practice step-by-step, he moves just as well as anybody we have. He finds gaps, he has people pinned, he's got his master's degree with the swing, and the rest of the guys are working on their bachelor's degree. We're still figuring some things out, but I thought out spacing was better and they're getting more comfortable. They understand how to handle pressure and cover pressure within. We're getting better at where our sweet spots are, when we need to touch the post and when we don't."



Nigel Hayes
On the scoring balance:
"We've had games this year where there have been points where Bronson (Koenig) and I weren't scoring and during those points we've been stagnant on offense and not scoring. Now we've come to the point, and I guess what better time than now starting Big Ten, for Bronson and I to not really impact offensively and the other guys will pick us up. Especially Zak Showalter with his perfect game today. When you see things like that, it's definitely good for the team's confidence and individual for the players."



Zak Showalter
On his made 3-pointer after Rutgers's flagrant foul:
"Yeah that's big. I think Nigel hit me on a kick out, so whenever your teammates can do that. I had a lot of wide open looks tonight, that helps you go eight for eight. My teammates did a good job of attacking the paint and kicking it out to me. Coach (Gard) always says, '10 toes facing the rim and you can knock it down.' It felt good."

On whether his pregame indicated the type of game he would have:
"No. Sometimes you think you've got to hit all your shots in pregame, sometimes you miss. But no you can't really tell, you've got to hit that first one in the game and you kind of get that confidence going. Like I said, warm ups were a total different feel. You can make every one and then come out and not hit a shot. But there's nothing that stuck out to me in warmups that was any different than any other game."

On his drive after the team got "jump shot happy":
"That's a play we've got, I turn the corner and it's really my option to get to the rim. I saw a lane and I took it. We had to get something going to the rim, like you said we got a little jump shot happy. That really started to get us in a rhythm."

On whether he's ever been this dialed in:
"Not really. I don't think I've ever hit every shot I took from the field. You just get into that rhythm. I believe in getting hot, I truly believe in that, you get the confidence, and I think I had that tonight. I hit a coupe shots, I had a lot of good looks. I don't think I had any contested 3s that I took. Everything I shot was pretty much there, you don't want to force anything when you start to feel hot, so I kept that in the back of my mind and just let the game come to me and kept playing."

 

Ethan Happ
On Coach Greg Gard's confidence during his foul trouble:
"He said that he trusted me not to foul again and that I could play with two. I got a third early in the second half and he put me back in early in the second half and it's nice to know your coach has your back like that. I was frustrated after fouling but he was gracious enough to put me back in."

On how the bench players are becoming regular contributors:
"Not to knock on Coach Ryan at all, of course, but I think they're getting more of an opportunity. Looking at the minutes here, I was pretty tired and I only played 21 minutes. Some other guys got some more minutes and I think that's part of it, is they're just getting more opportunity. Other than that, we have guys that are capable to come off the bench and score and defend, but they're getting more of a chance now."



Rutgers Head Coach Eddie Jordan
Opening statement:
"First of all, beautiful building, first time I've been here. Great crowd, great culture. I wish Greg (Gard) the best, he's the right man for the job. Good team, they share the ball, they're mature, good size, and that's what hurt us tonight. You know their size and different ways hurt you in ways not directly throwing it in the post and powering it to the rim, but we have to help in and when we help in we weren't quick enough to get back out to the shooters. They move the ball, they move themselves, and I was proud of my guys for having a good 30 minutes and then it cracked open because we sort of wore down with their size."
 
On getting beat by Zak Showalter despite the lack of size:
"It's an indirect result of size. We've got an undersized two man that we usually have already and a two playing a forward. We have a three man, Jonathan Laurent, who got hurt, he's a normal three but plays as our back-up five. Omari Grier is a power forward but would be a guard on most Division I teams, but because of our injury situation we have to play small and ultimately it indirectly size will hurt you. Nigel Hayes is posting up Mike Williams, come on you've got to give in and give some help and they move well enough that you just can't get out and contest a knockdown shooter like Showalter."