Brotherhood at heart of UW's tournament streak

When the Wisconsin men's basketball team tips off in its Sweet 16 matchup against Florida at approximately 8:59 p.m. Friday at Madison Square Garden, it will signify the beginning of a tense few hours.

There will be strong reactions to calls, nerve-wracking plays and lots of sweating — and that's just referring to the former Badgers players who will be watching. They'll be doing so from all over the world, with many of them texting, tweeting and talking to each other throughout.

For example, former captain Zach Bohannon will be at Madison Square Garden, lending his voice to UW's significant traveling fan base. Josh Gasser, a veteran of two Final Fours, will head to Madison from Port Washington because what better place could there be for a former UW player to watch such a game? Brian Butch, almost a decade removed from his playing days at Wisconsin and now playing professionally in Japan, will tune into the game at 11 a.m. Saturday.

Those three, like many other Badgers basketball alums, won't be far from their phones. Friday's game is likely to spur text conversations with old teammates and friends as well as a few reactions on social media. Sunday's victory over top-seeded Villanova certainly did.

The rise and ubiquitous use of social media have made public the bonds between generations of players at more schools than just Wisconsin, especially at this time of year. For the Badgers in particular, it brings to light what former players describe as a unique bond that has transcended time and connects players who have gone through the program. For them, especially those who have been part of Wisconsin's ongoing streak of 19 straight NCAA Tournaments (tied for sixth all time), including 10 Sweet 16 appearances and three Final Fours, it remains a brotherhood that to them is unlike any other.

"We still can stay connected through social media with these guys," Butch said. "Those guys know we're following them, kind of like a big brother looking over their shoulder. I think they feel a sense of responsibility to continue the tradition that was started."

Wisconsin's basketball program stretches back to 1898, but the tradition of consistent success that Butch refers to didn't catch hold until 100 years after. Prior to 1998, the Badgers went to the NCAA Tournament four times — winning the national title in 1941 — and never reached in consecutive seasons. That stretch included a 47-year NCAA Tournament drought that ended in 1994.

From 1999 on, there hasn't been an NCAA Tournament without the Badgers. Dick Bennett's upstart squad that made the Final Four helped put Wisconsin on the map and each class since has made sure to keep the success going.

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"It started with the older guys for me like Mike Wilkinson and those guys saying, 'Losing isn't acceptable here' and kind of changing the culture," said Butch, who played at Wisconsin from 2004-'08. "Then it has been passed down year after year after year as far as this is what the expectations are, this is what Wisconsin basketball is, this is what Wisconsin basketball will continue to be. ... Everyone's done a great job of continuing to pass that down throughout the years and that's why we've had the success we've had."

Bohannon, a rare transfer into Wisconsin during the Bo Ryan era, learned from his older brother, Jason, what it meant to be part of the Wisconsin basketball team. However, it didn't take long for him to figure it out on his own. As a student-athlete at the Air Force Academy before arriving at UW, he saw similarities between basic training and grueling summer workouts, like running Bascom Hill, that create a deeper bond.

"When you go through basic training with a bunch of other men and women at 18 years old you do some of those hard tasks together where you're going through with blood, sweat and tears that you normally don't do with other people and it creates that common bond of brotherhood that outlasts anything you do," Bohannon said. "Wisconsin's no different."

Despite captaining the Badgers during their Final Four run in 2014, some people on outside the program questioned Bohannon's loyalty this season. That's because his younger brother, Jordan, plays at Iowa and hit the game-winning shot against the Badgers on March 2. Zach Bohannon was at the Kohl Center that night and was happy for his brother.

But what most people didn't see was what happened next.

UW senior guard Zak Showalter's girlfriend gave Zach Bohannon an extra ticket so he could go to the locker room and talk to his former teammates. He accepted, with the plan to chat with Showalter, Nigel Hayes and Bronson Koenig.

But once he entered the locker room, he was inspired to share a more intense message. After all, he had graduated from the program telling that crop of players, then freshmen, that the expectation was to win championships.

"I said, 'Hey guys, this is not Wisconsin basketball. You guys have lost 5 of 7. We did, too, when we went to the Final Four. It's not the end of the world. Let's get this together.' "

Gasser has attended games with Bohannon as well as former guard Ben Brust and others since graduating in 2015. He's also kept in contact with his former teammates, especially the fun-loving bunch that went to the 2015 national championship game. He talks to those guys in a group text conversation, though the focus usually isn't basketball.

It's a bond Gasser cherishes. During workouts with NBA summer league teams and professional games in Germany, he made it a point to ask other players about their college experiences.

"None of them had the experiences I had — not necessarily in terms of wins and losses — but just the fact that all the guys on the team got along with each other, liked each other, had great relationships that will last a long time," Gasser said. "Even beyond just wins and losses that stuff is a lot more valuable to me."

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As much as the fraternity of Badgers basketball players remains close through the efforts of players of each generation, there has also been a consistent effort from the coaching staff — first Ryan and now Greg Gard.

Now in his second season as head coach, Gard has continued that effort, holding a summer golf outing and other events to keep former players close.

"They bring you back, you get together with guys every year," Butch said. "It's not like you are struggling to figure out what these guys are doing. The communication with these guys can continue because we do see each other and it's all because of the University of Wisconsin."

One such event was an alumni dinner on Feb. 11, the evening before UW's game against Northwestern.

"It was awesome for me because I got see some of the guys I grew up watching," Showalter said. "You are playing for more than just this group of guys. You are playing for the whole Wisconsin legacy. That gave us that message again."

"I think the biggest thing is connecting the dots," added assistant coach Howard Moore, who played for UW from 1991-'95 and was part of the 1993-'94 team that ended UW's NCAA Tournament drought.

"Coach Gard is big on making sure that there’s no more islands as far as eras and who you played for."

On Friday, Badgers alums far and wide will tune in to see what their younger brothers can do. No matter what, there will be tweets and texts sent during the game, including some directed toward phones in the locker room. Depending on the outcome, some of those texts might involve planning a reunion.

"Just hoping they can make it two more wins here so we can all come down to Phoenix, because that's our plan if they can get down there," Gasser said.