New Badgers women’s basketball coach has huge rebuilding project
MADISON - Marisa Moseley understood when she agreed to take over the Wisconsin women’s basketball program that the Badgers’ standing in the Big Ten and nationally had plummeted to an alltime low.
Ten consecutive seasons of finishing below the .500 mark, a decade of futility that spanned two coaches.
Bobbie Kelsey finished 19-65 in league play and 47-100 overall in five seasons.
Jonathan Tsipis finished 14-74 in league play and 50-99 overall in five seasons.
One NCAA Tournament appearance in the last 19 seasons. One.
Moseley, who compiled a .608 winning percentage in three seasons at Boston University, was reminded of UW’s place in the Big Ten pecking order when she attended the league’s media days in Indianapolis.
“It was awesome,” she said. “But they had these individual tables for us, where reporters could choose to come talk.”
One reporter approached Moseley. “I just looked like a sad kid on the first day of school with no friends,” Moseley said.
Moseley, who served as an assistant at UConn under Geno Auriemma from 2009-2018, has to win to change the reputation of the program.
“I’ve had the opportunity to be part of several winning programs throughout my tenure,” she said. “I expect to bring that same mindset and winning culture here to Wisconsin. I think it’s no secret that we haven’t had a ton of that in the last several years.
“We have a great winning tradition as far as our athletic department. This is a great time to be a part of the Big Ten.”
Seven Big Ten teams qualified for the NCAA Tournament last season. Four reached the Sweet 16 and Indiana, which finished second in the Big Ten during the regular season, reached the Elite Eight.
Moseley and her staff added three freshmen to a team that struggled to score, struggled to stop opponents from scoring and didn’t value the basketball.
UW finished 13th in the league in scoring (63.1 ppg), 11th in scoring defense (75.8 ppg) and 12th in turnovers per game (17.0) last season.
Moseley has avoided making any predictions about how many games the Badgers can win this season or where they might finish in the league standings.
Instead, her comments have focused on instilling a winning culture, which takes time.
“I wouldn’t take this job if I didn’t think we could do that here at Wisconsin,” she said. “Everything we do, creating a really competitive environment, creating a culture to be able to sustain that winning mindset, not just a flash in the pan, but year in and year out.
“Getting the right type of people to buy into something that’s bigger than themselves.
I think that’s what we’re building.” There were some encouraging signs in UW’s 81-47 exhibition victory over UW-Oshkosh.
Perhaps most noteworthy is that UW had 23 assists and only 10 turnovers.
Her next step comes at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday when UW hosts St. Thomas.
“We started with really good people,” she said. “I was fortunate to inherit great kids. Now getting them to understand our expectation to win.
“Whether it’s drills, whether it’s in practice, whether it’s scoring when we get to the games, every time we enter into a competition, we expect to win.”