Greg Gard
Wisconsin Badger head men’s basketball coach Greg Gard has been selected as the 2016 Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year, announced on Monday by CollegeInsider.com.
The Phelan award, which is presented annually to the nation’s top Division I men’s basketball coach, is named in honor of the legendary coach who spent his entire career at Mount Saint Mary’s University. Phelan led the Mountaineers to the 1962 NCAA Men’s Division II Basketball Championship. After coaching 49 years, he retired in 2003 having amassed 830 career wins.
Gard took over as interim head coach at Wisconsin following the Dec. 15 retirement of long-time head coach Bo Ryan. Gard turned the Badgers around and guided them to a 12-6 Big Ten record and a fourth-place finish in the conference.
The Badgers finished 22-13, including a 15-8 record under Gard. Wisconsin earned its 18th-straight berth in the NCAA tournament. Gard became the first coach in NCAA history to lead his team to the Sweet 16 in his inaugural season as head coach since Xavier’s Chris Mack in 2010.
Bo Ryan won the award back in 2008.