UW finds replacement after 28-hour scramble
MADISON – Wisconsin’s Marc VandeWettering was at lunch around noon Monday when he received an unexpected phone call.
“I got a call from a number that I didn’t recognize,” VandeWettering, the director of men’s basketball operations, said after practice Wednesday. “The iPhone transcribed the voicemail: ‘This is coach Allen from Morgan State. Call me.’
VandeWettering didn’t have to return the call. He understood immediately Morgan State wouldn’t be able to play UW in three days because of COVID-19 issues.
That meant UW coach Greg Gard and his staff would have to scramble to find a replacement opponent.
“It really was all hands on deck,” said Gard, whose team is set to host George Mason at 6 p.m. Thursday. “We were all talking to different schools around the country.”
That meant VandeWettering and the coaches monitored Twitter and TV to see which teams had to cancel games and which teams were looking to fill out their schedule.
The goal was to find a team close enough to bus to Madison so there would be no issues with finding a charter flight.
Indiana State was one of the first options after the Sycamores’ game set at Northern Illinois was canceled.
Unfortunately for UW, Indiana State officials decided to send their players home for Christmas break.
“We found the trend was when games got canceled,” Gard said, “a lot of those teams sent their kids home. They had plane tickets bought and they were trying to avoid having their programs go on pause.”
UW’s staff briefly considered trying to leave Thursday open and schedule a game for Dec. 31, two days after the Badgers are set to host Illinois State. But center Chris Vogt wouldn’t be available for a Dec. 31 game because he is set to attend is brother’s wedding and UW resumes Big Ten play Jan. 3 at Purdue.
That would mean the players would be off for two weeks and then have three games in a span of six days.
That idea was shot down quickly. George Mason became the most viable option. The Patriots had an opening because their game Thursday was called off because of COVID-19 issues within the Coppin State program.
George Mason coach Kim English is friends with UW assistant Sharif Chambliss, and T.J. Grams, the Patriots’ director of basketball operations, is a Sheboygan native who graduated from UW in 2001.
English let Chambliss and VandeWettering know he was interested in facing UW. The agreement was reached at about 4:30 p.m. Tuesday and the contract was signed Tuesday night, after George Mason’s victory over American.
“He is a character,” VandeWettering said of English. “He goes: ‘I’ll check my phone at halftime. You guys let me know.’
“He texted Sharif at halftime and said thanks.”
Gard and his staff were given a deadline of noon Wednesday to find an opponent so UW officials could ensure they would have enough workers at the Kohl Center.
The team held a generic practice Monday but then began preparing for George Mason on Tuesday.
“We knew it was trending that way unless something else came out of the blue,” Gard said.
Tuesday also marked the first time in weeks that all 17 players were healthy and at practice.
“I had to do roll call,” Gard joked. “It was perfect attendance. I asked the team yesterday and nobody could (remember) the last time everybody was here.”
According to Gard and assistant Joe Krabbenhoft, the players made it clear they wanted to play Thursday. That desire was enhanced by the memory of playing most of last season with no fans in the stands.
“There will be a lot of family and friends here,” Krabbenhoft said. “Christmas time in Madison, people will bring their families to the game.
“Our guys, that is why they came here. To play in fun games in a good environment.
“Play the game. Have some fun. Guys want to play.”