ROSEMOUNT, Ill. -- Brad Davison was on his way back to Spain, where he just bought an apartment. But before he departed, the former Wisconsin guard wanted to connect with head coach Greg Gard, who also happened to be headed overseas for a wedding. The two would not meet face-to-face, but Davison gave Gard a call anyway. Entering year four of his professional career, Davison always had a five-year timeline, at most, for when he wanted to hang up the sneakers for good. Davison made it known to Gard that he'd like a spot on the Badgers' bench, in any role possible, if anything ever were to come up.
About 10 days after Davison and Gard spoke, something came up.
Special assistant to the head coach, Kirk Penney, also a former Wisconsin standout, informed Gard that he'd be resigning in order to spend more time with his family back home in New Zealand and pursue his interests in the private business sector. While most head coaches might be scrambling just two days before the official start of preseason practice, Gard, who always keeps a shortlist of potential assistant coaches, knew just who to call.
"There was no hesitation in Brad," Gard said from Big Ten Media Day.
Before Davison could officially accept the job, he had one more order of business. Still under contract with HLA Alicante, Davison played the final game of his career and opted to retire after the team's season opener. Four flights and a whirlwind later, Davison arrived at the Kohl Center, where he once starred for five years.
In his mind, Davison was all-in to join Wisconsin’s coaching staff. However, the logistics were a different story. Davison, who was known as the Ironman for the Badgers during his collegiate career due to his competitiveness, which included re-inserting himself into a game his freshman year after dislocating his shoulder, would have to quit on HLA Alicante after just one game into the 2025-26 season.
Going over everything with his wife, Tyra, Davison was stopped in his tracks. Her message? This is what Davison has always wanted. It’s not about ‘if’ he’s going to do it, but ‘how.’
“Usually, when you listen to your wife, good things happen,” Davison stated.
Davison has big shoes to fill. Penney, who is credited with being the architect of the new and improved Wisconsin offense, departs the program after the Badgers averaged 80.9 points per game, the best mark for UW since 1971-72. The Badgers also finished last season ranked No. 13 in adjusted offensive efficiency.
Gard, along with Davison’s other colleagues, know the Maple Grove, Minn. native is up for the challenge.
“If you’ve ever watched Brad play, if you ever talked to Brad — and I’ve done a lot of that. All the way back when I watched him play football,” said associated head coach Joe Krabbenhoft, who recruited Davison to UW. “He was a leader unlike I’ve ever seen out on the football field. And then what he was able to do as a leader here as a player. Just constantly in my office, talking to coach Gard, in our ear, picking our brains, giving us little advice here and there from a recruiting perspective, all the way to game management and playing. And this was when he was a player.
“Then, as he goes to Europe and is playing professionally, he’s constantly giving us thoughts. I knew he was gonna be a tremendous part of this game as a leader and a coach from day one. And now, we get to see it happening in front of our very eyes.
“He’ll touch every part of this program. He’ll be guarding Nick Boyd, be on the road recruiting, and certainly knows a thing or two about what it takes to win at the highest level. Excited to have him back, really help him continue to grow in what is a very bright career, in my opinion.”
Davison, who played for Gard from 2017-22, won two Big Ten regular-season championships at Wisconsin, including one during his final season with the program. Over his five-year career, Davison became just one of five players in program history with at least 1,500 points, 500 rebounds, and 300 assists. He ranks sixth in UW history with 101 wins and holds the school record for most 3-pointers made (300).
“The opportunity to come back here was a dream come true,” said Davison. “And then the opportunity to serve this program, especially these players, with an incredible roster that we’re excited to be a part of, it’s all a dream come true.”
Davison's impact was felt on day one of practice. Going through drills and guarding the likes of Boyd, reigning All-Big Ten guard John Blackwell, and Virginia transfer Andrew Rohde, Davison—who was a few days removed from a professional career—can challenge the Wisconsin guards unlike any scout player in the country.
“We’ll get to the locker room,” said junior forward Nolan Winter, “and the guards are like, ‘Man, that dude can defend.”
There might not be 18,000 fans in the Kohl Center, but you wouldn’t know it by Davison’s approach on the practice floor.
“I hope I can get out there on scout team, raise the level of competitiveness, be physical, challenge them, maybe in a way that they haven’t been challenged before,” said Davison.
As Krabbenhoft alluded to, Davison is going to be doing much more than just hounding the Badgers on defense. After three-plus professional seasons in Europe, Davison hopes he can bring some knowledge and concepts to push the Wisconsin offense to even greater heights. Even though he was overseas, Davison kept up with the Badgers throughout the season and even had access to the team’s practice tape. Davison took things a step further as well; watching countless hours of college basketball and giving advice on who Gard and the staff should target in the transfer portal.
Davison will also be highly present in recruiting.
“He’s 26 in age,” said Gard, “but his mind is much more experienced. His eye for the game; his personality is through the roof. He has that awesome personality that you want. He wasn’t liked by the opposition; but he was respected. I’ve had more people come to me and just rave about how they loved watching him play; and they were coaching against him.”
A four-time Academic All-Big Ten selection; Davison was a Senior CLASS First-Team All-American in 2021 and was a member of the Big Ten All-Freshman Team in 2018. Over his career; Davison appeared in a whopping 161 games.
“He’s one of the best leaders I’ve ever coached,” said Gard. “And he was like that from day one. He’ll blossom into his own role in his own way. He needs to coach like Brad and be himself.”
Who knows; maybe Gard; or one of his current assistants; will hand the keys of the car over to Davison one day.
“He was born to be a coach,” said Gard. “That’s his calling and he knows it.”
And if Davison has it his way; he’ll not only start his coaching career at Wisconsin; he’ll finish there it too.
“The goal has always been to come back to the University of Wisconsin,” he said. “If I were the author of my story; that’s where I would love to go back to; bring my family back to. You never know how your story is written; but I couldn’t have written this.”