RELIVING GREATNESSGreen Bay players, coach look back on ’94 tourney upset

Green Bay's 1994 NCAA Tournament victory over California is still remembered. Jeff Nordgaard, Gary Grzesk and Dick Bennett are still laughing about it. They met with The Press Times to talk about the victory. They were the first 12-5 team to do that.

Green Bay won the Mid-Continent Conference regular-season title and the postseason conference title. They were the No. 12 seed in the NCAA Tournament and they were paired against No 5 California in West Region. Jason Kidd and Lamond Murray were playing for the Golden Bears at the time. Kidd was selected No 2 overall and Murray No 7 in NBA Draft three months later. Green Bay's defense was their strength. . The team's leading scorer was Nordgaard. Gary Grzesk was a redshirt sophomore. He and Nordgard were excited about the matchup with Cal. It was similar to their previous game against Virginia Tech.

Green Bay won the 1994 NCAA tournament by beating Cal. The game is still talked about a lot even though it's been over 20 years ago. It's the most memorable moment of Nordgaard's basketball career. Grzesk considers it the best moment in his career as well.   For Bennett, it was the players' togetherness that made it special. He went on to coach Wisconsin to the Final Four in 2000.  “You work your whole life to put yourself in that position and then to do it with some of your best friends is the greatest moment”