Despite leading the Wisconsin men’s basketball team to a 13-6 record, a top four finish in the Big Ten for the 15th consecutive season and a likely trip to the NCAA tournament for the 18th consecutive season under an interim basis, newly announced head coach Greg Gard still had to apply for the job.
While Athletic Director Barry Alvarez likely had already made up his mind upon posting the job listing a couple weeks ago, he was still required by state law to open the job to the public.
Needless to say, Gard’s resume had a step up above the competition. Here is a copy of the application the Badgers’ newest head coach submitted, obtained by The Badger Herald through an open records request:
Men’s basketball: Emotions run high as Gard is introduced as Wisconsin head coach
Who else applied?
The two most notable applicants beside Gard were former University of Southern California coach Henry Bibby and 17-year NBA veteran Lindsey Hunter.
Bibby, who is also the father of 14-year NBA veteran Mike Bibby, coached USC from 1996-2005. Before that, he spent nine years in the NBA on four different teams and finished his coaching career as an NBA assistant from 2006-14.
And while Bibby might have been the most qualified applicant aside from Gard, he didn’t exactly submit a traditional cover letter. Rather, he just made a bulleted list of his credentials.
Hunter, despite a similar background, submitted a more traditional application. The former NBA player was the 10th overall pick in the 1993 NBA draft before playing 17 years in the league. He then went on to be an assistant coach for the Phoenix Suns in 2012-13 — he even served as their interim head coach at the end of that season — and Golden State Warriors in 2013-14.
There was, however, one thing that stood out from Hunter’s resume:
He notes in his time as interim head coach he led the Suns to a “5th place finish in Pacific Division.” In other words, with just five teams in each NBA division, he “led” them to a last place finish.
With the head coach position on lock, Gard will lead the Badgers against Nebraska or Rutgers in their first game of the Big Ten tournament Thursday.
