The next era of University of Wisconsin women’s basketball started today as Jonathan Tsipis was introduced as the seventh head coach in program history.
Tsipis, fresh off a highly successful four-year run at George Washington, was eager to get started as the head man at Wisconsin and made it clear that this program was about to go on the upswing.
Tsipis, with a list of notes at his side, detailed the core principles he plans to instill at Wisconsin, and it all starts with family.
The new Badger head man told his children that they now have 15 role models and the team now has a nine-year-old brother and an eleven-year-old sister whether they like it or not.
“We’re going to build this in a family environment with that understanding that everyone is a part of that,” Tsipis said.
Switching to his basketball philosophy, Tsipis wants Wisconsin to play an uptempo style that puts pressure on the opponent and plays among the faster teams in the conference. Tsipis stated that he wants his teams to have between 85-90 possessions a game and that they will wear down their opponents.
Tsipis also stressed that the Badgers will live and die on the glass. His George Washington teams ranked among the top in the nation in rebounding margin in their last two years, and Tsipis expects that to continue at Wisconsin.
In addition to a fast tempo and a focus on rebounding, Tsipis foresees the Badgers playing a multiple-defensive set based in man-to-man principles. Although he seemed to be a man of staunch principle, he admitted he would adjust his philosophy to his personnel and that they will attack the opposing team on the defensive end.
Tsipis showed his fiery personality when he declared that he disagreed with athletic director Barry Alvarez’s “wall the state” mantra. Instead, he has an in-state recruiting philosophy of his own.
“Coach [Alvarez] talks about building a wall around the state of Wisconsin,” Tsipis said. “The only problem that I have about that is that people can climb over the wall. So, we’re going to build a dome so that they can’t get out. They have got to stay here to see what we’re able to do.”
Tsipis said he wants the entire state to feel comfortable with not only him, but the program as well and mentioned that he had already been out recruiting the state in the 24 hours since he accepted the job.
Overall, as the first male head coach in Wisconsin women’s basketball history, he breathes a new life into the program. As many people say when they accept a new position at a large state school, he mentioned that the Wisconsin job is a sleeping giant. Time will tell if his enthusiastic press conference will flip the script on the recent downtrend of Wisconsin basketball, but Tsipis seems have the spark that can get the giant on its feet.
