Former Badgers center Greg Stiemsma to join Greg Gard's staff

Stiemsma will be the director of player development

Feb 10, 2014; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; New Orleans Pelicans center Greg Stiemsma (34) during the game against the Toronto Raptors at Air Canada Centre. The Raptors beat the Pelicans 108-101. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports / Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports

Former Wisconsin big man Greg Stiemsma is coming back to Madison to join Greg Gard's staff as director of player development.

Hailing from Randolph, Wis., Stiemsma played with the Badgers from 2004-08. He appeared in 95 games and averaged 2.7 points and 2.3 rebounds in 10.0 minutes per game. After playing four years overseas, he went on to have a four-year NBA career, where he started 42 games with four different teams.

After not being a part of an NBA team since 2016, he was a player development associate with the Timberwolves from 2019-21. He has worked with the Spurs in a player development role since 2021.

"Stiemsma brings multiple years of professional experience in a variety of roles to our staff. He will be a tremendous asset to our team, having worked in-depth with some of the NBA's best players and coaches centered specifically around player development," Gard said in a release. "As a former NBA player himself, he also knows firsthand what it takes as an athlete to reach the pro level and then ultimately succeed. As a player at Wisconsin, Stiemsma competed at a championship level with traits and qualities that we value in our program."

He will bring another Wisconsin connection to Gard's staff as they continue to try and establish their identity in the new NIL and transfer portal landscape of college basketball.