IF YOU CAN KEEP YOUR HEAD WHEN ALL AROUND YOU ARE LOSING THEIRS.

Sometimes, that's what you have to do to make the big bucks.

Take a moment to think about where we were this past spring and summer in Madison.

Closed door meetings, secret recordings, disgruntled players, a poor reputation, and a head coach squarely under the microscope.

Now, the Wisconsin Badgers are Big Ten Champions.

How did this happen?

Well, having a National Player of the Year candidate on your team certainly helps.

But Greg Gard deserves a ton of credit for keeping the focus where it should always be: on the floor.

It would’ve been really easy for Gard to lash out at former players and coaches, who attempted to tank his reputation and quite frankly, his program.

Instead, he went to practice.

He worked with his guys.

He developed good players into great players.

His reward for his focus, commitment, and resolve is a regular season conference championship.

I’m sure he’s not the only one that hopes another title is on the horizon.

Despite last season's apparent mutiny, the team bowed out to the eventual tournament champion.  Time on task matters.  Discipline trumps talent.  Greg Gard is again Big Ten coach of the year, and conference player of the year Johnny Davis will be able to play in the conference tournament, despite being mugged by Nebraska in the concluding game of the season.