By MIKE KEMMETER
Special to The Gazette
Wisconsin Badgers coach Brad Soderberg, a University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and Pacelli High graduate, recently took over the UW basketball program following Dick Bennett's retirement.
Soderberg, who was an assistant at Wisconsin for five years, won his head-coaching debut Dec. 2 against Xavier, at the Kohl Center in Madison. The Badgers, entering Thursday's game at Temple, are 3-0 under him; he leads the team on an interim basis.
The 38-year-old Soderberg's career started in Stevens Point, where he played basketball for his father, long time coach Don Soderberg, at Pacelli.
After graduation, he played at Ripon College from1980-82. He then came back to Stevens Point to play under Bennett at UW-SP. While with the Pointers, Soderberg helped the team to the NAIA national championships, where UW-SP finished as the runner-up.
He started at guard alongside Terry Porter, who now plays for the NBA's San Antonio Spurs.
Soderberg stayed at UW-SP and was an assistant coach for a season while finishing his bachelor's degree. Bennett then left for UW-Green Bay and the two went their separate ways. In 1995, Soderberg was reunited with Bennett as an assistant coach for the Badgers.
Soderberg sat down with Gazette sports writer Mike Kemmeter Tuesday in his office at the Kohl Center to discuss his new job and the road he took before becoming the coach of the Badgers.
Q: What went through your mind when coach Bennett told you he was resigning and that you would be the head coach?
"It was actually kind of a sad day because I've known coach for a long time and I think he's been one of my great mentors, probably next to my own dad. He's been the guy that's helped me the most so I didn't want to see him retire.
"But in all honesty, the first thing that went through my mind is that, I said, 'Oh no. I have to take the team to Green Bay.' I knew that was going to be such a tough game and I was thinking, 'That will be a tough game, but if coach is the head coach, all right, let's let him handle all of the stress.'
"That was the first thing that went through my mind. We got through it and we're moving along right now."
Q: The Wisconsin head coach obviously has different responsibilities than the team's assistant coach. What are two of the biggest differences between the two positions?
"The main difference is that the thoughts of the team never leave during a 24-hour period. When I was an assistant, I'd get in my van and head for home and I wasn't thinking about the team, to a great extent. Now, it's like it's on my mind all of the time. And that can get kind of old. You want to get a break from it. That's the main thing.
"The other thing is I'm not involved with as many tedious tasks like writing out envelopes to recruits, and all of that kind of stuff. Since I'm responsible for the big picture, I have a lot more crucial responsibilities and crucial decisions that have to be made. So those are the two main differences."
Q: What happens during a typical day on the job?
"I drop my kids off at school at about 8 and I have about a 25 minute commute into the Kohl Center. When I get here and always check my e-mail and my messages and then there's always a lot of staff meetings, reviewing recruiting things, writing recruiting notes
preparing for the day's practice.
"And then usually about 11:30 or 12 I go downstairs to the locker room area and watch tape on the next opponent that we play, finalize the practice plan. We practice at 1:30 every day. That goes to about 4 and then I take care of any media responsibilities I have and then come back up to the office to see if there's any more messages or e-mails that I need to take care of.
"I try to go home at a decent hour, because the one thing I've decided that I'm not going to let this job interfere with my family life because that's far more important to me than this. I have three children and my wife at home, so I'm going to honor them by getting home at a decent time."
Q: You had a lot of success in college with the Pointers, starting at guard and playing in the national championship team. What do you remember from those days and why did you come back to Stevens Point?
"That was one of the highlights of my whole athletic experience. I knew when I went to college, I wanted to play college basketball and I wanted to play for a chance to win a national championship. And I didn't know where that would happen whether that be Division 1, Division 2, Division 3 or NAIA. Well, it ended up that it was in my hometown in Stevens Point, in the NAIA.
"I could just see by the way coach was building the program that that program was going to have a chance to compete for a national title. Lo and behold we were runner-up in the nation my senior year, we played in Kansas City. And so that was a great thrill and one of the highlights of my whole athletic experience."
Q: After your college career, you got your coaching start at UW-SP and then made several stops before coming to Wisconsin. What jobs did you hold before you came to Wisconsin?
"When I got done getting done playing basketball at Stevens Point, I still had a year to finish my degree and he let me be the (junior varsity) coach at UW-Stevens Point. Then I went on and got my master's degree at Colorado State when he left for Green Bay.
"My first job was in a school out in western Kansas (Fort Hays State) and then I went to Loras College for six years. I spent two years at South Dakota State as the head coach and then I came to Wisconsin with (Bennett)."
Q: When coach Bennett left UW-SP for UW-Green Bay, he didn't hire you as an assistant there. How did leaving his staff help you?
"He made a good point, one that I didn't want to hear at the time. I wanted to go with him from Stevens Point to Green Bay. And he said, 'Well, what you know right now you've been taught by your dad and by me.' He said, 'You need to go out and learn from other coaches and kind of make your own tracks.'
"So I just learned a lot of things that actually confirmed what they had taught me about how things should be done, at least in my opinion.
"I think the confirmation of all of that during the 10 years that I was away from him has helped me to be more independent now that he's not here. He's given me some confidence that I can do it on my own, but I still have that foundation from him and my dad."
Q: While building that foundation, you spent five years as the head coach at Division 3 Loras College (79-45 record) and two seasons at Division 2 South Dakota State (36-18). What were those seven seasons like?
"Those were great days. When I was 26 years old, Loras College was willing to give me the head job and that was a great break in my career. I was the head coach there for five years and then I went two years to South Dakota State.
"Honestly, I didn't think I would ever coach at a level higher than South Dakota State. I didn't think I'd coach at a level higher than Loras College because I was a Division 3 athlete and hoped that some day I could be a head college coach. Division 3 was all that I expected. And so now to imagine that I'm a head coach in the Big Ten is just kind of...it's a little too much to kind of put in words."
Q: In high school, your father was the head basketball coach and an assistant for the football team. What was it like having your dad as your coach?
"At the time, it was kind of hard because he was hard on me and he's the tough coach. He was a no-nonsense guy, the definition of old school was my dad. He made you do it right and made you right again and again and again. So that part was hard at the time.
"But I think, as I look back, I'm closer to my dad now, 20 years removed from high school, because of that experience than had I gone through high school without my dad having been my coach and kind of riding herd on me during that time.
"I think that whatever success I'm experiencing now, he has had a big hand in that. And I know that he's very proud right now."
Q: What things did you learn from your father that you carry over to your job?
"The main thing I learned from my dad is how to work. The thing that I think goes unsaid is that my dad worked extremely hard and I saw that. I saw him come home from work, I saw him come home from practice.
"And the other thing is that he really showed me the importance of doing it the right way all the time. He was a big guy on 'Don't take any shortcuts.'
'If I tell you to mow the grass, then you mow every bit of the grass. If you're supposed to clip around the hedges, then you clip around....' you know, that type of stuff. Constantly being reinforced over a lifetime starts to have a real bearing."
Q: You said earlier that your father and coach Bennett are your two role models. What drew you to follow in their footsteps?
"I think, for a kid growing up, all of us watch what our dad does. And when your dad is in the athletic field, which is attractive to young kids anyway, there's a natural magnetism toward that. I knew at an early age that I wanted to give coaching a try and so because of that, I watched everything that my dad did both on the football field and the basketball court.
"And then I saw so many similarities between my dad and coach Bennett that it was natural for me to want to be with coach Bennett. What I liked about coach Bennett was his honesty and his humility, combined with his great competitiveness. I learned a lot from both guys."
Q: Your job, as the Wisconsin head coach, is the biggest coaching job in the state. Is this the perfect job for you?
"I don't know if there is a perfect job. There are things here that are just wonderful. To be the head coach of my state's university is quite an honor, a very humbling experience. But there's things that go with it that make it very difficult.
"The anxiety that I feel about can I do a good job, can I represent the state the way it needs to be represented, can I carry on the tradition that coach Bennett has established? Those are all things that make this job hard.
"I'll just do the best I can on a daily basis, as I've said a number of times since I got the job. If that's good enough, fine. And if that's not good enough, fine, and I'll just move on from here."