Greg Gard isn’t hiding from the challenge this season - he’s leaning into it. As Wisconsin wraps up its non-conference slate with a convincing 80-60 win over Milwaukee, the Badgers' head coach is still piecing together a rotation puzzle that doesn’t have many clear-cut answers.
The top of the roster? Solid.
Reliable. But beyond that, it’s a night-to-night experiment - one that Gard admits is still very much in progress.
Right now, Gard is trying to identify which combinations off the bench can help him win Big Ten games. And while some coaches might tighten their rotations heading into conference play, Gard is doing the opposite: he’s expanding the pool.
Enter Zach Kinziger. The freshman guard is now firmly in the mix, essentially serving as the backup to Nick Boyd.
Gard made it clear - Kinziger’s role is to spell Boyd when needed and serve as a stabilizer if the offense needs a reset. That move deepens the bench, but it also thins out the scout team, forcing Gard to make some tough decisions.
Guys like Johnni Carrington and Nolan Janicki are getting shuffled in and out of scout team duties. Gard has been upfront with them - it’s not a demotion, it’s strategy. The message is simple: this is about helping the team win, even if it means a little uncertainty about your role from day to day.
So what’s the plan with the bench moving forward? According to Gard, there isn’t a rigid one - and that’s by design.
“I’m going to mix and match them... it’ll change from game to game,” he said after the win over Milwaukee. That’s not coach-speak.
That’s a coach being honest about the fluid nature of his rotation.
Matchups will play a role, sure. But Gard emphasized that practice performance and in-game momentum - the ever-elusive “hot hand” - will be major factors, too.
“If somebody comes out with a hot hand and is playing well, you ride that a little longer,” he said. It’s less about penciling in a sixth man and more about reading the moment.
Foul trouble will also dictate some decisions, and Gard’s approach signals a willingness to adapt on the fly. “What I’ve learned is, I have to play them all,” he said. “I’m going to mix and match them and allow them to show me who can be consistently at the front.”
That’s the key word: consistency. Right now, Gard knows what he’s getting from his top three to five guys.
After that, it’s a bit of a question mark. But he’s hoping that by giving everyone a shot, someone - or a few someones - will rise to the occasion and stabilize the second unit.
The goal is simple: elevate the level of play when the starters sit. If the bench can do that, Wisconsin becomes a much more dangerous team in the Big Ten. If not, Gard will have to head into the offseason asking some hard questions about roster construction and depth.
For now, though, the experimentation continues. And with conference play looming, the clock is ticking for someone on that bench to grab hold of a bigger role and not let go.