High Point coach Flynn Clayman says Greg Gard ‘flies under the radar’
Wisconsin's Greg Gard and High Point's Flynn Clayman have shown how existing institutional knowledge is 'priceless' in this era of college athletics.
PORTLAND – Wisconsin ’s Greg Gard and High Point’s Flynn Clayman have taken vastly different routes from a geographic standpoint to their respective coaching positions. Gard, of course, was one of Bo Ryan’s assistants at UW-Platteville, UW-Milwaukee and then the Badgers before moving to the top job in 2015. Clayman began his coaching career in Australia before getting college coaching opportunities at Southern Utah and High Point.
The 55-year-old Gard and the 37-year-old Clayman have one major similarity in their coaching journeys, though. They both moved from associate head coach to head coach at their respective programs and obviously made the move with success, as evident ahead of their upcoming matchup in the 2026 men’s NCAA Tournament . “I dove into his résumé a little bit more now that we got this game,” Clayman said of Gard.
“He kind of like flies under the radar in my opinion, how good he's doing. He's had [two seasons] where he hasn't had 20 wins. To do that at this level is great.
” Gard’s 15 years on the bench in Madison obviously looked different from Clayman’s two seasons before his promotion. Either way, Gard emphasized the importance of that institutional knowledge as he walked toward the Moda Center locker room amid preparations for his eighth NCAA Tournament appearance in 10 opportunities as head coach. “That institutional knowledge is priceless in this era,” Gard told the Journal Sentinel.