Keady stuck to his word about not overreacting to the loss when he met with the players on Sunday. He even waxed poetic, handing out a mimeographed poem called “Winners vs. Losers.” (1) He congratulated the players again on their comeback.
But, he sounded a warning as well.
“All I want today is good hard work in the weight room, swimming and we’ll get out of here and get ready for practice tomorrow,” he said.
“But I’m going to tell you one thing, gentlemen: if we don’t kick Wisconsin’s ass bad, then I am going to become a bear. I’ll take all the heat as far as the losses are concerned, because that’s my responsibility. But I don’t think we should have to worry about that anymore. It has to be up to you to perform and execute. How many times have we told you not to be casual? How many times have we told you to make crisp passes? How many times have we told you to take squared-up jumpers? How many times do we have to keep telling you? Well, we’ll keep telling you until we get it right.”
To help get the message across, Keady brought in an old and dear friend, Bud Presley, that week. Presley was something of a cult figure in college basketball circles, unknown to the general public but a legendary elder statesman to veteran coaches. He had never gained much fame as a coach, only respect.
