When UW head coach Greg Gard offered him a spot on his coaching staff, it didn’t take Joe Krabbenhoft long to accept the opportunity to return to his alma mater.
“It was the easiest decision I’ve made since I said ‘yeah’ back in 2004 to come play here,” Krabbenhoft said during a media session Tuesday. “To come back to a place where I have a lot of pride in and so many people that helped me along the way. To come work with them and for them and around them was a no-brainer for me.”
Krabbenhoft returns to Wisconsin, where he played for the Badgers from 2005 to 2009 and later served as a video coordinator on Bo Ryan’s staff during the 2012-’13 season. Though he has spent the last three years as an assistant coach at South Dakota State, just making the drive back into Madison conjured plenty of nostalgia for Krabbenhoft.
“My wife and I were pulling in this morning, coming over University Ave., seeing the skyline, seeing the Kohl Center. We just kind of looked at each other. We were a little giddy, like little kids,” Krabbenhoft said. “[It was] like I was just getting here back in 2005, that first summer I came, I had the same feelings. Obviously, things are a little different now. We’ve got two little boys to think about and a little girl on the way, but there are definitely unbelievable feelings and memories here.”
According to Gard, Krabbenhoft met many of the criteria that he looks for in an assistant coach, including his ability to connect with the families of recruits out on the recruiting trail.
“What I’ve watched over the last 3-4 years, as he’s been an assistant, is how he’s communicated with parents, because we’ve really crossed paths a lot,” Gard said. “The feedback that I’ve gotten when I come across people that have said ‘oh I’m getting recruited by South Dakota State’ and I’d ask who, his name would always come up. And they raved about him and just couldn’t speak enough about him.”
In addition, Gard believes Krabbenhoft’s playing experience with Wisconsin will help immensely when he’s dealing with the players already on the team.
“His advantage is that he’s played here,” Gard said. “He knows this place inside and out. He’s walked this campus, he’s been in the classrooms, he’s sat in the locker room.”
Although Krabbenhoft is clearly excited about returning to coach at the place where he made a name for himself as a college basketball player, he also understands that the time to celebrate and bask in the glow of nostalgia is limited.
“In this coaching business, I’ve learned quick that you can’t take a lot time to just sit back and enjoy these things. You’ve got to get to work, and that will be no different from when I got here and put on the shoes and got ready to play,” Krabbenhoft said. “There’s a lot of work to be done and the bar’s been set high, so here we go.”
