Tag: Bo Ryan

Wisconsin approves contract extension for men’s basketball head coach Greg Gard

Wisconsin approves contract extension for men’s basketball head coach Greg Gard

The University of Wisconsin Athletic Board approved a contract extension for men’s basketball head coach Greg Gard on Friday.

The extension is a procedural move and was done for all of the organization’s winter coaches. It extends Gard’s contract through May 31, 2029. He remains one of the highest-paid coaches in the sport.

Related: An updated look at Wisconsin basketball’s 2024-25 roster after Chucky Hepburn’s departure

Gard will enter his 10th season manning the sidelines for the Badgers during the 2024-2025 campaign. Since taking over for Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Bo Ryan, Gard has led Wisconsin to six NCAA Tournament appearances and was named Big Ten Coach of the Year in 2020 and 2022.

Wisconsin Athletic Director Chris McIntosh previously expressed a vote of confidence in Gard after the conclusion of the team’s 2023-24 season.

The Cobb, Wisconsin native boasts the third-highest winning percentage (.635) in program history, trailing only the aforementioned Ryan (.737) and Walter Meanwell (.712).

The Badgers has experienced a seismic shift in personnel over the past few weeks. Chucky Hepburn, AJ Storr, Tyler Wahl and Conor Essegian are among eight Badgers to depart Madison via graduation or the transfer portal.

Gard is firmly in place to guide the program through a turbulent offseason.

Alongside Gard, the UW Athletic Board approved the extensions of five other winter head coaches — Marisa Moseley (women’s basketball), Yuri Suguiyama (swimming and diving), Mike Hastings (men’s hockey), Mark Johnson (women’s hockey) and Chris Bono (wrestling).

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Wisconsin basketball ruined John Calipari’s tenure at Kentucky

What’s your memory of Wisconsin’s win over Kentucky in the 2015 Final Four:

The headline may be a bit of hyperbole. But with today’s news that longtime Kentucky head coach John Calipari was leaving for the job at Arkansas, it’s time to revisit how Wisconsin basketball plays into his legacy.

Calipari is one of the more prominent figures in the sport. Head coach experience since 1988, 855 total collegiate wins, Final Four appearances with UMass and Memphis before moving to Kentucky, the catalyst behind the one-and-done era, four Final Fours at Kentucky and one national championship.

Related: Evaluating the Big Ten’s next targets for conference expansion

The resume speaks for itself. But it’s also entirely empty since Wisconsin’s Final Four win over undefeated Kentucky back in 2015 — which is a large part of the reason Calipari is leaving for Arkansas.

A win over Wisconsin that year likely means an undefeated 40-0 season for the Wildcats — which would have cemented Calipari and that team in college basketball history. It also would’ve made the head coach a two-time national champion, something not many can boast.

2015 was Calipari’s best Kentucky team — current NBA star Devin Booker was its sixth man, for reference. It was also the most important  team to his legacy as a head coach. The trophy case is empty for that season, which is a large reason why Kentucky fans have wanted change for the last several years.

Calipari still dominated the recruiting trail and sent stars to the NBA every season. Despite that, he’s somehow had little-to-zero March Madness success after 2015. For that reason, we’re connecting his departure from Kentucky with the biggest win in Wisconsin basketball history.

For anybody who wants to re-live that legendary night, here are some of the best photos:

WATCH: Wisconsin legend Bo Ryan reacts to his Naismith Hall of Fame selection

Your reaction to Bo Ryan’s Hall of Fame induction?

Legendary Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan was named to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame class of 2024 on Saturday afternoon.

Ryan is part of a decorated class that includes Vince Carter, Chauncey Billups, Doug Collins, Jerry West (as a contributor) and Michael Collins.

Related: Ranking the Big Ten head basketball coaches after the 2023-24 season

The Badgers legend retired in 2016 after a 15-year run that defined the Wisconsin basketball program. He led the program to a 364-130 overall record, plus 15 NCAA Tournament appearances, two Final Fours and one national championship game. He was a four-time Big Ten Coach of the Year and 2017 Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame inductee.

Ryan joined ESPN’s Rece Davis and Jay Bilas immediately after the news was released and detailed his reaction:

Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion. Follow Ben Kenney on X.

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Wisconsin legend voted into Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame

Great news for a Wisconsin legend:

Wisconsin legend Bo Ryan was named to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday morning.

Ryan appeared on the ballot in December and joins a 13-person class of 2024 that includes Doug Collins, Vince Carter, Dick Barnett and Jerry West (as a contributor). The class will be inducted into the hall on Aug. 17, 2024 in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Related: Tracking Wisconsin basketball’s reported transfer portal visits and targets

Ryan retired in 2016 after a 15-year run as Wisconsin’s head coach. He led the Badgers to a 364-130 overall record, 15 NCAA Tournament appearances, two Final Fours and one national championship game. He was a four-time Big Ten Coach of the Year and was annually regarded as one of the best coaches in the sport.

“I’m grateful and humbled by an honor like this,” Ryan said in a statement. “But I sincerely believe that this is a reflection of the contributions of so many people that have helped me in my career.”

The coaching legend was inducted into the Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2017. He now earns the sport’s highest honor.

 

Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion. Follow Ben Kenney on X.

On this day: Wisconsin clinches second Big Ten Tournament title

On this day: Wisconsin clinches second Big Ten Tournament title

Captained by big man Brian Butch, Trevon Hughes and Marcus Landry, Wisconsin clinched its second Big Ten Tournament win in school history on March 16, 2008.

Held at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, the Badgers entered the tournament with a 16-2 conference mark and No. 6 overall in the 2008 AP Poll, four spots higher than their last tournament win in 2004.

Five Badgers averaged eight or more points per game throughout the regular season. NBA veterans John Leuer and Greg Stiemsma, who combined to average 6.4 points per appearance, came off the bench for Bo Ryan’s squad. 

As the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament, Wisconsin throttled the University of Michigan 51-34 in its quarterfinal game. With three Big Ten All-Defensive Team members scattered throughout the rotation, UW held Michigan to 20% from the field and 18 points per half. Junior forward Joe Krabbenhoft led all scorers with 12 points. 

UW followed its explosive opening performance with a two-tally win against Michigan. Harris, the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, scored eight of his 21 points in the final 2:56 of action. Wilkinson, Wisconsin’s most dependable big man, dropped 20 and corralled nine boards.

In its following contest, the Badgers orchestrated a 12-point comeback in the second half to steal a win from Tom Izzo’s Michigan State Spartans. Michael Flowers, an excellent two-way guard, nailed a game-winning layup with 28 ticks to spare before the final buzzer.

The Badgers advanced to the championship game and plowed through the tournament’s No. 10 seed, the University of Illinois, by 13 points. 

With the win, Wisconsin captured its second Big Ten Tournament victory in program history and automatically clinched a berth in the NCAA Tournament. Junior Marcus Landry was named the Big Ten Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. 

Wisconsin basketball social media reacts to viral post about refs in 2015 national championship

What is your memory of the last 10 minutes of Wisconsin’s National Championship loss to Duke?

There must be some Wisconsin basketball fans who still think about the final 10 minutes of the 2015 national championship and what could have been — or arguably what should have been.

I must admit it isn’t an everyday thought in my head. But there are moments when something sparks the memory of Grayson Allen suddenly remembering how to play basketball and single-handedly powering Duke to the title.

Related: Wisconsin basketball social media reacts to the arena evacuation, Wisconsin’s loss to Indiana

Single-handedly in terms of being the only player. Not, of course, neglecting how the second half was officiated.

Thanks to @JayCuda on X, we were reminded again Wednesday afternoon of what took place in the last 10 minutes of the title loss to Duke.

As everybody remembers, the foul discrepancy was alarming:

This post on X has 146 comments, 361 reposts, 3 1/2 thousand likes and more than 1.2 million views.

Nobody needs an article to re-litigate every foul call and why the game suddenly turned. It’s a memory I try my best to block out.

But when the raw numbers were again presented, Wisconsin basketball fans on X all had a similar reaction:

Wisconsin legend among 14 2024 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Finalists

Wisconsin legend among 14 2024 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Finalists

The 2024 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Finalists were announced yesterday evening

The list includes 14 people, ranging from high school coaches, to some of the best NBA players of all time, to legendary owners and executives.

Related: ChatGPT ranks the most intimidating Big Ten football stadiums to play in

The finalists are put in front of the Honors Committee, which then officially votes on the new class. That class will be announced on April 6 at the NCAA Men’s Final Four.

Included among the 14 Hall of Fame finalists is a Wisconsin legend:

Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes, and opinion. Follow Ben Kenney on X.

Former Wisconsin MBB coach honored Wednesday

After what felt like far too long, former Badgers men’s basketball coach Bo Ryan is set to be honored Wednesday in Madison.

After what felt like far too long, former Badgers men’s basketball coach Bo Ryan is set to be honored Wednesday in Madison. Ryan along with multi-sport athlete Gary Buss will be inducted into the Madison Sports Hall of Fame Club.

Ryan was the head coach at Wisconsin for 14 full seasons (12 games in 2015) and produced 364-130 overall record, which is good for an all-time program best 73.7 percent win percentage. Additionally, Wisconsin made the NCAA Tournament in all 14 of the campaigns he was the head coach.

Most notably, the Badgers made two consecutive trips to the Final Four in 2014 and 2015, losing in the National Championship to Duke 68-63 in the latter run.

Ryan helped coach some of the best players in program history, namely Alando Tucker, Devin Harris, Frank Kaminsky and Sam Dekker amongst others. There’s no denying that he left a substantial impact on the program, the university, the city of Madison and the state of Wisconsin as a whole.

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Ryan once again left out of Naismith Hall of Fame in 2023

Bo Ryan retired as the head coach of the Badgers in 2015, but he has yet to be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Bo Ryan retired as the head coach of the Wisconsin Badgers Men’s Basketball team partially through the 2015-2016 campaign, but he has yet to be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

After a long career as a collegiate head coach, Ryan decided to hang it up in December of 2015, handing the program off to Greg Gard. Ryan’s retirement came at the tails of the Badgers’ back-to-back Final Four appearances in 2014 and 2015, including a 68-63 National Championship loss to Duke in 2015.

Now over seven years removed from his time with Wisconsin, Bo Ryan was once again not named a finalist to make the Hall of Fame.

His head coaching career started with UW-Milwaukee in 1999, where he led the Men’s Basketball team to a 30-27 record over two seasons. Ryan then went on to Madison in 2001 and the rest is history. He led the team to the National Tournament in all 15 of his seasons, while also winning the conference tournament three times as well.

In the end, Bo Ryan finished his coaching career at Wisconsin with a 364-130 record, finishing his career 394-157 overall. That’s good for a 71.5 percent winning percentage all-time.

With numbers like that, Bo should be in the Hall of Fame.

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Former Badger basketball player gets first win as head coach

Former Badger guard Freddie Owens got his first win as a collegiate head coach Monday after UW-Green Bay defeated UW-Milwaukee 80-79 in overtime.

Former Badger guard Freddie Owens got his first win as a collegiate head coach Monday after UW-Green Bay defeated UW-Milwaukee 80-79 in overtime. Owens replaced Will Ryan, son of Wisconsin great Bo Ryan, after Ryan was fired on January 24.

The victory was Green Bay’s third of the season as they have produced an abysmal 3-22 record so far, but it’s a win nonetheless for the team’s head coach.

Owens spent four seasons with the Badgers from 2000-2004, appearing in 111 contests and starting 61 games over his junior and senior campaigns. Overall, the guard produced a career average of 7.2 points per game and in 2003 he made a game-winning three-pointer versus Tulsa in the second round of the National Tournament.

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