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BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — Dennis Sweeney. Dave Mader. James Horsfall. Gary Anderson. Robert Jenkins. Joe Chrnelich. Rod Ripley. Dave Vander Meulen. Roy Boone. Keaton Nankivil. W'Quinton Smith.
"I've tried to put my arms around all generations that played here."
Tom Molaski. John Korth. Moe Peterson. Billy Douglass. Gary Zinkgraf. David Grams. Mike Wilkinson. Louis Ely. Ben Brust. Josh Gasser. Osita Nwachukwu.
"I wanted to make sure everyone feels important because everyone is important."
Rashard Griffith. Rob Willey. Dan Fahey. Darin Schubring. Steve Radke. Bill Johnson. Rick Olson. Clayton Hanson. Charlie Wills. Dan Hastings. Steve Stephens. Jeff Hansen. Nick Murphy.
"I've really sensed from the alums how appreciative they are to watch our players."
Ted Voigt. Mark Newburg. Pete Brey. Lee Oler. Zach Morley. Buddy Faurote. Tom Hughbanks. John Ploss. Andreas Helmigk. Tom Barth. Jay Peters. Sean Mason. Brian Vraney. John Schwartz.
"I remind our players all the time that it wasn't always like this."
All the quotations belonged to Wisconsin's Greg Gard, who has gone to great lengths to preserve and honor the history of the basketball program by opening his arms to its alums.
The aforementioned players were in Madison last weekend. Many got together for dinner on Saturday night. Most got introduced at halftime of Sunday's game at the Kohl Center.
Some even scrimmaged Sunday morning at a local high school gym. Predictably, they all exercised their right to remember their skill level in a much different light today than when they played.
"Of course, there's always embellishment," said assistant Howard Moore. "We all embellish about our stats and how good we were. Unless you were there to witness it, no one can dispel it."
Moore played here in the early/mid '90s for Steve Yoder, Stu Jackson and Stan Van Gundy. He cited the brotherhood and the camaraderie of the alums, regardless if they won a lot. Or, lost a lot.
Nobody was put in an awkward position to feel like he was out there on an island. Explained Moore, "As in, 'I played for this guy, I played for that guy.' Or, 'I played in this era, I played in that era.'
Instead, Moore said, "It was, 'Hey, you wore Cardinal and White and that's all that mattered. That's the connection and that's what we want to keep together.'"
Similar experiences. Different storylines. That's how Moore put it. "And," he said, "you want to keep everyone connected, no matter how many minutes they played or what their stats were."
UW assistant Joe Krabbenhoft, who played for Bo Ryan (2005-2009), pointed out "once you wear the jersey, everybody is in it together. Once you're here, you're here, you're a Badger."
Since last season, Gard has also reached out to former UW head coaches like John Erickson, John Powless, Steve Yoder and Dick Bennett. Last Friday, he talked with Ryan, his longtime mentor.
"They've all been terrific, welcoming and very supportive," said Gard, who has found it instructive to learn more about the people who preceded him if he didn't already know.
"Our current players are the recipients and benefactors of a lot of people who over a long period of time put a lot of blood, sweat, tears and resources into making this program what it is.
"It doesn't happen overnight. It has been a quarter century-plus in the making with a lot of different people that have had their hands in it.
"I sensed how much pride they take in saying, 'I played at Wisconsin and I helped build it to where they are right now.' And they all did. They were all an important piece of this process."
At Saturday's dinner, Gard had his players pair off and sit at different tables with the alums. Much to his delight, it resulted in a positive interaction that benefited everyone.
"I wanted the players to learn something about the alumni, what they do in their profession, or what they did because there's a lot of retired people," Gard said.
"What was it like when you played? How has Madison and the university changed? I wanted our players to gain something from talking with people who have walked in their shoes."
Senior forward Vitto Brown spoke to the gathering. "And he really did a good job of relaying the current team's feeling and thoughts about how appreciative they are of the alums," Gard said.
No, it hasn't always been like this. "But our guys now have a good appreciation of where this place was and where it has come to," said Gard. "I remind them quite frequently."
No embellishment needed.
