By Joey Bonadonna (@JoeyBonadonna)

Considering the circumstances the program was in just eight months ago, a 9-3 start with wins over Arizona, Pitt and Butler is not too shabby for the Wisconsin men's basketball team.

This past spring, much of the fanbase wondered if the program was headed in the right direction with the losses of AJ Storr and Chucky Hepburn among others to the transfer portal. Now, it's fair to say head coach Greg Gard has been able to right the ship.

Much of the early success this season had to do with contributions from the backcourt from John Blackwell, Max Klesmit and Missouri transfer John Tonje. However, over the past two weeks, the lineup was met with some new challenges in trying to get their frontcourt up to speed.

The Badgers have been running with a new “two-big” lineup with true seven-footers in sophomore Nolan Winter and fifth-year senior Steven Crowl. With the two not seeing much time together on the court last season, it was clear that it would be a work-in-progress in getting them to go hand in hand, especially during the team's three-game losing streak to Michigan, Marquette and Illinois.

However, after the team's win last Saturday against Butler, things have started to click for the two Minnesota natives. The two combined for 38 points (15-25 FG, 3-7 3PT, 5-6 FT) and 14 rebounds.

Following the loss at Illinois last Tuesday, Gard challenged Crowl publicly to play more aggressively after a night where he registered zero rebounds. It showed in Indianapolis.

“For me, it was more mental growth than physical growth,” Crowl said. “Obviously, there's always going to be peaks and valleys during a season. The big thing for me was being coachable and coming in everyday doing the same things with the hope that the fruits of labor show.”

“I think from all four games, there's different things we've taken from [each one],” Gard said. “Those games were good for us and now, we have to take those experiences and keep moving forward.”

For Winter, he's followed through on some big expectations for a sophomore jump, leading the team in scoring the past two games.

However, just two years ago, Winter seemed to be headed to play for his home-state Gophers where his dad, Trevor, played for four years. His final visit to Wisconsin changed everything.

“We talked about him carving his own path,” Gard said of the staff's final pitch to Winter. “We showed him the lineage of the guys that have come in with size and skill and we helped them get better. For him, the bottom line was he wanted to win.” 

Fast forward to the end of last season, Gard addressed setting a hard deadline for his team to tell him if they would be back for 2024-25. As the team left the locker room, Winter was immediately the first to confirm his return.

“He said, ‘Coach, I'm coming back, but I want to compete for the starting spot at the four.',” Gard shared. “He's done that. He had a goal in mind last March to utilize the experience he got as a freshman and do what he's done so far this year.”

After the win on Saturday, Crowl had referred to his desire to leave the program better than he found it. That sentiment is shared across the program from top to bottom.

“Everyone involved has been doing a great job of that and that's credit to the coaches bringing the right guys in,” he said.

“You don't come through times of adversity without having high character people in the locker room,” Gard said. “Having Steve say that as a fifth year guy, when fifth year guys can sometimes be in their own world thinking about themselves, he's still thinking about how we can help make this program better now, but also as he leaves. That's a credit to him.”

No matter who gets the credit, this Wisconsin program has been built on the shoulders of high-character individuals, on and off the court. As the team looks forward to their final game of the calendar year against Detroit Mercy on Sunday, they'll continue to build on that culture for years to come.