Over the past 10 years, the Wisconsin basketball team has seen many people come and go from the program. From Stu Jackson to Dick Bennett, Michael Finley to Devin Harris and even Paul Grant to Dave Mader, the UW men's hoops program has opened and closed the doors to many individuals in the past decade.
However, one constant that has remained within the program, through thick and thin has been Scott Hettenbach, a guy that goes under the radar, but is as integral to the success of the men's basketball team year in and year out as any player that dons the Badger uniform.
In his 10th season as the strength and conditioning coach with the UW basketball program, Hettenbach works with the team and prepares them mentally and physically behind the scenes. Whether it's in the weight room, on the hill at Elver Park, with rehab workouts or even agility tests, Hettenbach is there and ready to make the players better.
Through the five coaches he has seen at Wisconsin, Hettenbach has noticed each one takes different approaches to conditioning their players. Some coaches find it more important than others and some put more emphasis on weights over conditioning, but all have given authority to Hettenbach to lead the process and take charge of training.
\Every coach and player has seen that [strength and conditioning] makes a difference and that you need to do it,"" Hettenbach said. ""When Bo came in he had some real specific things that he had done at Platteville and also at UW-M that had been successful for him-winning four national titles at Platteville and turning the program around at UW-M. So he brought those in and we sat down and discussed those and figured out how to plug those things into our system. Pretty much in the weight room, he has allowed me to run that. The conditioning is a mix of both our ideas and it's worked out really well for us.""
Hettenbach, a graduate of UW-La Crosse, carries a very impressive background in strength and conditioning. He is a member of the National Strength and Conditioning Association, a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and has produced two strength and conditioning training videos for high school and college coaches and student-athletes.
Prior to arriving at UW, Hettenbach coached four varsity sports at Brookfield Central High School and led the boys' track team to three conference titles in four years. This experience leading a team is what gives Hettenbach the mentality of a head coach.
""For me when they come in, I'm a kind of a head coach in the weight room in a way,"" Hettenbach said. ""That's kind of my coaching reign, so we're doing things following my program. In the high school ranks, I loved doing that and at some point in my career down the road, I'll end up running a department. But it's worked out well here. I have a lot of free range, the coaches are great about accepting the things we need to do in here and I just love being here.""
That love is visible in the effort Hettenbach puts in on a daily basis. If for one second you think his job is a nine-to-five kind of thing, think again. His schedule is based on the student-athlete. Whenever they have free time and want to workout, he is there. So to Hettenbach, it's more than just a full-time job, it's a commitment-a commitment he says is made by both himself and the athletes.
""We go basically year-round with our guys,"" Hettenbach said. ""They are with me probably 47 or 48 weeks out of the year. Those couple of weeks that they are off are usually postseason or right after classes end in May. The other times, they make a commitment and they're here that whole time with us. So they're going all the time; it's really a full-time job for them. There are a lot of other schools that do it that way, but there are also a lot of schools that give their kids the summer off, hand the program to them and hope they do it.""
But not here at Wisconsin.
Head coach Bo Ryan has created a different mentality within the program since he took over in 2001.
While the majority of students get the chance to get away from Madison for a few months during the summer, to work, travel and enjoy life outside of school, the Badger basketball team is in Madison, training, lifting and playing ball together.
""It's voluntary, but everybody knows in order to get better as a group, they stay here,"" Hettenbach said. ""Everybody is here. Most of the guys take classes, or they're working, or both. Then we're working out in the mornings at 6 a.m., four days a week and they get together in the evenings on their own after class or work. They play here three or four times during the week. So they make a commitment to be here the entire summer and train when a lot of other athletes are gone during that time. That's a big commitment for them to come up here, financially for some of the kids and also as a time commitment.""
This past summer was no different, as all 15 members of the team were in town to work with Hettenbach. During a time when the NCAA has mandated that coaches are not allowed to have contact with their players, people like Hettenbach are an exception to the rule and are allowed to work with the student-athletes. Because of this, Hettenbach can immediatley begin to work right away with the incoming freshmen who register for summer classes.
""We didn't really know what we were doing, so he had to stay on us to show us and make sure we were doing the right thing, and I thank him for that because it has gotten me stronger,"" freshman forward Dearon Williams said. ""I didn't lift at all in high school so everything now is new to me. I think I've been getting a lot better though, with Scott helping me out so much and showing me the little things in the weight room that have helped me gain a little weight and get stronger.""
For guard Michael Flowers, working with Hettenbach has showed him the importance of lifting to the overall success of the team.
""I think it's more intense. In high school it was more laid back,"" Flowers said. ""But now, every time you're in the weight room, you're trying to get better. You're trying to get better in every exercise you do and you're trying to get better and stronger as a team. The team is only as strong as the weakest link and I feel that nobody wants to be that weakest link.""
""Scott pushes us a lot, but it's more of the individual personality. You have to be able to push yourself and Scott tries to get that out of all of us,"" said In addition to the younger guys, Hettenbach has a huge impact on the upperclassmen on the team. Junior guard Boo Wade has been around Hettenbach for three years now.
""He's intense but at the same time, our relationship with him is really good,"" senior guard Clayton Hanson said. ""He's a funny guy and has more energy at six in the morning than anyone I know. That makes it a little bit easier getting in at 6 a.m. and seeing a guy bouncing off the walls ready to get it done.""
Whether it is a push, a pat on the back or a mouth of encouraging words, Hettenbach has what it takes to get the best out of his athletes. It's that push by Hettenbach and the rest of the coaching staff that has the players continuing to lift multiple times per week even after the official start to the season two weeks ago. According to Hettenbach, the guys that are playing 10 minutes or more each game will go down to two lifts a week if there is two games during the week and three if there is only one game. Those guys that are redshirted, injured or not playing 10 minutes or more lift three days a week regardless.
The goal is to be stronger and have better stamina as the season rolls on and the program's plan is predicated on offseason and preseason strength and conditioning.
If you ask other coaches in the Big Ten, they'll tell you that Wisconsin's method is working. Ask them the key to the Badgers' success late in the season year in and year out and they'll tell you because the UW players have the strength and stamina to play a lot of physical minutes---courtesy of working hard all year.
As much as the athletes deserve the credit for the efforts, so too does Hettenbach. His ability to relate to the student-athlete is incredible and considering he conditions for men's and women's tennis, men's and women's golf and also men's and women's swimming and diving, his dedication to UW athletics is remarkable and worthy of recognition.
