If there was concern that international recruiting would fall off with Kirk Penney’s departure, University of Wisconsin men’s basketball coach Greg Gard quickly put it to rest.
The topic came up last week after it was announced that Penney — Gard’s special assistant — was returning home to New Zealand and Brad Davison was joining the staff.
Gard was asked if the Badgers were going to continue to recruit internationally and without hesitation he replied, “Oh, yeah … oh, yeah.”
He was about to say that “hasn’t changed” anything when someone in the small group of reporters, podcasters and broadcasters offered, “It’s the way of the world now.”
Gard agreed.
“It is the way of the world. And really what opens the doors internationally?”
International players.
“International players coming here and…”
Success.
“And success and … (scanning the group) … you’re missing the obvious.”
Winning.
“Yeah, that’s success and…”
Money.
“Bingo. NIL (Name, Image and Likeness compensation).
“It’s not coincidental the door is open for everybody — not just talking about Wisconsin. You look across the country and that’s opened the door.”
Since last in a UW uniform three years ago, Davison is walking into a brave new world of the transfer portal, revenue-sharing and college basketball players getting paid.
Brad Davison’s dream comes true
How might the money angle impact his relationships?
“At the end of the day, it’s coaching basketball and it’s connecting with people,” said Davison, who was starting his fourth pro season in Europe when he took the UW job.
“Obviously, the college basketball landscape has changed. But it has become more similar to the professional basketball landscape that I’ve been a part of…
“It’s different from when I was here but it’s very similar to the world I have been in the last three years in terms of making money, having agents and contract conversations.
“People making money and having contracts — all of that — is part of high-level basketball. … My dream has always been to be a college basketball coach.
“And the opportunity to come back to the University of Wisconsin is a dream come true. It was an opportunity that I couldn’t pass up.”
Wisconsin basketball special assistant to the head coach Kirk Penney, left, talks with Jack Janicki (33) during practice at the Kohl Center in Madison in September 2024. Penney recently left the program to return to New Zealand, where he previously played professional basketball.
AMBER ARNOLD / WISCONSIN STATE JOURNAL
Davison, 26, planned to talk with Penney, 44. Both have considerable history with the program while representing different but successful eras.
“We’ve exchanged text messages back and forth and we look forward to hopping on a call soon,” Davison said. “He’s always been a great mentor to me, a great friend.”
That is also Gard’s intention, since Penney’s experience as an international player was instrumental with the installation of Wisconsin’s ball-screen offensive system.
“The offensive stuff won’t change,” Gard said. “We’re grateful to Kirk for how he helped us get to where we wanted to get to and do it probably faster than I would have anticipated.
“But also good offense always revolves around good players. I’ve never seen a good offense have bad players in it. The credit also has to go to our players.
“Kirk will always be one phone call away. … I know Kirk will help out however he can remotely.”
‘He needs to coach like Brad’
Gard stressed “Brad’s role will be different” from Penney’s. When there has been a staff opening, he has always fallen back on his short list of potential hires.
“It’s not necessarily that you’re replacing the person that left,” Gard said. “I always evaluate what does our staff need, what does our team need.
“There were other people on my list. But Brad was the one that came to mind pretty quickly. I felt someone with his background, youthfulness and experience was important.
“I remember when I was that age coaching,” Gard went on. “You try to soak in as much as you can. Ask the questions and be a really good listener.
“He’ll blossom into his own role in his own way. He doesn’t need to coach like me. Or he doesn’t need to coach like Joe (Krabbenhoft) or Kirk or Sharif (Chambliss).
“He needs to coach like Brad can coach and be himself.”
As the sixth leading scorer in program history (1,827) and the school record-holder in three-pointers (300), Davison is already well-invested in what it means to be a Badger.
“When I was here for five years,” he said, “I got to experience the highest of highs and also some of the lowest of lows and everything in between.
Wisconsin guard Brad Davison (34) reacts as time expires during Wisconsin’s 54-49 second round loss to Iowa State in the 2022 NCAA Division 1 men’s basketball tournament in Milwaukee.
JOHN HART / WISCONSIN STATE JOURNAL
“For these guys now, not only have I been in their shoes, not only have I gone through what they have gone through, but I’ve also failed in ways that they might fail.
“I’ve also found success in ways that they want to succeed. It gives me a real unique opportunity and platform to connect with them and serve them in any way I can.”
As far as getting up to speed with the playbook, Davison said, “Even though I’ve been out of the program for three years, I’ve tried to stay as connected as I could.
“Obviously, there’s some terminology, new names, new vocabulary and a new style that I have to understand and get up to date with.
“But a lot of the actions and strategies and alignments that we’re doing here are very similar to the European approach to the game of basketball, especially on offense.”
Davison figures one of the biggest adjustments to coaching will be sitting on the bench during a game and resisting the urge to coax Gard into putting him on the floor.
“I’m ending the story on one chapter of my life in terms of being a professional basketball player and playing,” said Davison, a native of Maple Grove, Minnesota.
“But at the same time, I’m really excited to open the book and write this new journey for myself and my family.”
His return to the Badger family seemed inevitable.