Wisconsin's lasting image from the 2019-20 season - a 60-56 road win over Indiana on March - is one of pure joy.
But what soon followed as a result of COVID-19 and a worldwide pandemic left the red-hot Badgers without an opportunity to compete in the Big Ten and NCAA Tournament later that month.
“We have to start this season like it’s a new one, like it’s a fresh one,” redshirt senior point guard D’Mitrik Trice told reporters last week. “Can’t just look at the past and say we’re going to pick up right where we left off at the end of last season. Have to come out with the same mindset that we had at the end of season last year.”
ESPN didn’t do much to help the angst of losing out on a postseason when it released a simulation of the NCAA tournament… with Wisconsin coming out on top. But for senior Brad Davison, that actually helped him close the door and focus on what could be his final year in Madison.
“I don’t think I’ll ever necessarily be over it because it’s something you don’t ever necessarily get closure on,” Davison told reporters. “I have one defining moment that changed my mindset from missing all the moments we missed last year to maximizing this year, when ESPN released the simulated national champions: Wisconsin Badgers.
"I woke up and I was like, ‘you’ve gotta be kidding me.’ That flipped my mindset to, 'alright, I’m done thinking about last year.' We want to make that a reality and the only way we can do that is by flipping the switch to maximizing what’s in front of us and not necessarily dwelling on what we missed. “
During the Zoom media session, a Wisconsin staff member joked that they would be hanging a banner for the simulated title, to which Davison quickly responded, “no, I don’t want nothing like that, we’ll get it.”
With Brevin Pritzl the only major contributor not returning from last year's team, Wisconsin is expected to have the tools for a big run when March rolls around. And with seven seniors back - four of which were starters - the Badgers bring back 80 percent of their scoring and 78 percent of their minutes from a year ago.
Seven incoming freshmen from the 2020 recruiting class are benefiting from the exposure to a veteran roster.
“I think just the confidence level,” Davison said when asked about what jumped out early during practices. “We’ve got a lot of different weapons. Love what we’ve seen from the freshmen and the intensity. A lot of guys where this is supposed to be their last dance, their last shot at doing something special.”
Coming back from what coach Greg Gard called a “long pause,” the team will be attacking this season as a fresh one. UW's head coach is hammering home that while the Badgers will benefit from having an experienced group, they won’t be able to pick up the momentum from the close of last season.
“We aren’t going to teleport back to March 7 and become that team right away,” Gard said. “We have to basically start over. We have a clean slate. We use those experiences and what it took for us to get there, but nothing is more important than the first drill. We can’t get caught.”
