NEW YORK – Greg Gard and his coaches are multitasking this week.

On the court, Wisconsin is preparing to face James Madison in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament's South Regional about 8:40 p.m. Friday at the Barclays Center.

Off the court, the staff is monitoring the transfer portal, which opened Monday and runs through May 1.

“We’re managing it,” Gard said this week. “You have to do both. You have to focus on preparing and winning on Friday.

“We’re monitoring the portal. …We’re on top of it because you have to be. The landscape has changed. That’s where we are and you have to stay ahead of it regardless of what your needs are or will be or could be because it’s an ever-changing world.”

Players who could be attractive to UW include Omaha junior wing Frankie Fidler, a high school teammate of Chucky Hepburn; UNC-Greensboro power forward Mikeal Brown-Jones, a graduate transfer; and Southern Illinois forward Troy D’Amico, who has one season of eligibility remaining.

Gard has not met with any of his current players to discuss their plans for 2024-25.

“I’ll address that after,” he said. “Hopefully that is weeks down the road. If any of them would come to me I would talk to them about it, but their focus needs to be on the task at hand right now.

“We need to focus on what we’re doing right now. That is the most important thing.”

Would coaches like to see the opening of the portal pushed back until after the conclusion of the season?

“Ideally you’d like to have it after the Final Four, when everybody is done,” Gard said. “Because it is a disadvantage if you’re still playing. Your focus should be on your team that you currently have.”

Gard noted, however, that players could run into issues with admissions polices of some schools if the opening of the portal window was delayed.

“If it gets too late you may run up against admissions deadlines and those vary from school to school,” he said. “We’re still trying to figure out this thing nationally. We’re still trying to get our arms around what is best. Is more better? Is less better? We’re still adjusting right now.”

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin coach Greg Gard, staff juggle March Madness, transfer portal