Tag: Bo Ryan

The official verdict on Greg Gard

I wrote in September about the beginning of Greg Gard’s tenure as the head coach of the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team and why the jury should still be out on what his beginning years should mean in terms of him as a coach, and in …

I wrote in September about the beginning of Greg Gard’s tenure as the head coach of the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team and why the jury should still be out on what his beginning years should mean in terms of him as a coach, and in terms of the program as a whole.

In total, the article says that momentum in sports is a real thing, and much of the regular and postseason success Gard had through his first four years were due in large part to the momentum carried over from the Bo Ryan era, and to the players that stuck around despite the former coach announcing his retirement.

These players–Nigel Hayes, Zak Showalter, Vitto Brown, Bronson Koenig and Ethan Happ–helped to continue the success experienced under Ryan as they helped lead the new unit under Gard to consecutive Sweet Sixteens in his first two seasons at the helm. 

Though under entirely different circumstances, this pattern of success is similar in a way to what was seen with the Dallas Cowboys in the mid 1990s when legendary head coach Jimmy Johnson retired after winning consecutive Super Bowls in 1992 and 1993 and Barry Switzer took over. Switzer went on to take Johnson’s unit to the NFC Championship in his first season, win a Super Bowl his second season and eventually get fired after missing the playoffs in his fourth season.

Now, all that being said, the article merely pointed out that the program, like the 1995 Dallas Cowboys, was not yet free from the direct influence of Ryan’s legendary tenure as coach.

Well, after this past season and what the team was able to accomplish in winning the Big Ten regular season trophy after overcoming tragedy in the offseason, having an incoming transfer not be able to play for the first month of the season and having one of their best players leave the program, the jury has finally reached a verdict on Gard: and it’s time he gets the praise he deserves.

Yes, the Big Ten Coach of the Year is adequate praise, but there were signs seen in windows of school dorms early in the season calling for the coach’s job. That time is over.

The season started with the team getting off to a 5-5 start as they waited for incoming transfer Micah Potter to become eligible to play. The team then continued to tread water in a loaded Big Ten Conference after Potter’s arrival and found themselves 13-10 with eight games remaining on the schedule. 

After a 70-52 loss at the hands of Minnesota, the team peeled off eight straight victories and finished the season as co-Big Ten regular season champions.

What was most impressive from that eight-game run was that for the first time since Ryan’s players graduated the team had an identity, one which was leading the team to victories against more-than-formidable Big Ten opponents, and one nobody would doubt had primed them for success in the conference tournament and a deep run in March Madness.

This identity was due in large part to the individual improvements made by juniors D’Mitrik Trice and Aleem Ford. Gard put the offense in Trice’s hands, the team played excellent defense, and Gard was able lead the team to clutch late-game performances. The overall way he was able to maximize the talents of the players he had, as the Badgers became the first team in Big Ten history to win the regular season crown without a single All-Big Ten first or second team player, proved his ability to lead.

So, after Gard’s first two Sweet Sixteen runs were led by Koenig and Hayes and his other tournament appearance by Wisconsin great (yes, great) Ethan Happ, this run was led by Trice, Ford, Potter, Brad Davison and Nate Reuvers–all players who have joined the program since Gard took over as head coach.

And although the team was robbed of playing postseason basketball, Gard being able to lead his guys to the program’s first Big Ten regular season title since 2015 was an impressive feat, especially given the roadblocks they had to face along the way.

It makes sense, looking back, that this season was an important one in Gard’s career given the team’s lack of postseason success the previous two years. Additionally, the program is now finally made up of only players he brought in and developed. Now that it’s over, even without the postseason being played, it’s clear that the job Gard did this year was an amazing one and is a positive sign for the future of the program.

Looking forward now, Gard is in line to welcome a nationally ranked top-20 recruiting class next year and arguably an even better one in 2021. That, paired with Brevin Pritzl being the only notable departure, points towards a bright future for Gard and the Badgers.

Hoops Mount Rushmore: Who Are the Greatest Badgers in the Last 20 Years?

Sports are on pause and, although it’s only April 3, it feels like the dog days of summer are in full swing. So, what better to do while we go back and re-watch every notable Badger sport game from the last 20 years? How about a Mount Rushmore. …

Sports are on pause and, although it’s only April 3, it feels like the dog days of summer are in full swing. 

So, what better to do while we go back and re-watch every notable Badger sport game from the last 20 years? How about a Mount Rushmore.

Here, in no particular order, are the four greatest Badger basketball players since 2000.

 

Frank Kaminsky (2011-2015)

This one was an easy one. Although Kaminsky began his career playing sparingly, only starting two games in his first two seasons, his junior and senior seasons vaulted him into Badger basketball lure as he helped lead the team to two consecutive Final Four appearances including a National Championship defeat in 2015 at the hands of the Duke Blue Devils. What Kaminsky brought to the floor was a unique blend of size, inside skill and outside shooting, a combination which led him to be drafted ninth overall by the Charlotte Hornets in 2015. Kaminsky finished his career with the greatest single-season scoring performance in school history with 732 points as a senior in 2014-2015, No. 12 on the Badgers all-time scoring list, 1458 total points, the only Naismith Trophy, Wooden Award, Oscar Robertson Trophy AND AP Player of the Year award winner in a single season and, again, helped lead the Badgers on their best two-year run in school history. Was he a much better player than guys like Jon Leuer and Sam Dekker? No. But his final two seasons vaulted him to one of the greatest Badgers since 2000 and into Badger lure.

 

Ethan Happ (2015-2019)

Ethan Happ finished his career in 2019 as Wisconsin’s all-time leader in rebounds, blocks and triple doubles and No. 3 on the school’s all-time scoring list. Happ was the model of consistency throughout his four years, averaging 12.4 points and 7.9 rebounds as a freshman, 14 and 9 as a sophomore, 17.9 and 8 as a junior and 17.3 and 10.1 as a senior, and finished his career with a final tally of 2130 points, 1217 rebounds and 154 blocks. While he was unable to lead the Badgers back to the Final Four after their consecutive appearances in 2013-14 and 2014-15, he was a pivotal cog in the team’s two Sweet Sixteen runs his freshman and sophomore year and he would’ve had the team in the Elite Eight in 2016-17 were it not for a miraculous three pointer by Florida’s Chris Chiozza at the overtime buzzer.

 

Nigel Hayes (2013-2017)

Like Kaminsky, Nigel Hayes gets a boost due to the team’s run of success during his time in Madison. Unlike Kaminsky, though, Hayes finished his Badger career near the top of seemingly every leaderboard. He is the only player in school history to finish inside the top-10 in all-time points, assists and rebounds, finished with the fourth-most points in school history (third but has since been passed by Happ), played in the most games in school history (150), was the second player in Big Ten History to top 1800 points, 700 rebounds and 300 assists and, again, was one of the main catalysts for the best four-year run of success in school history. He may have been overshadowed a bit by Sam Dekker and Kaminsky on the two Final Four teams, but his consistent production for four years, versatility and team success make it necessary to put him on this list.

 

Alando Tucker (2002-2007)

Finally, and no I did not forget about him, the school’s all-time leading scorer Alando Tucker. Tucker finished his Badger career with 2217 points, 769 rebounds and an impressive 134 games played. He was also the school’s first consensus 1st-team All-American since 1942, the Big Ten Player of the Year as a senior, helped lead Wisconsin to the Elite Eight in 2004-2005 and really ushered in the Bo Ryan era of Badger basketball, arguably the best run of success the school has had in its history. He came years before current students like myself even followed college sports but his greatness and impact on the program is undeniable.

Stats and accolades via UWBadgers.com.

Badger moments: Bo Ryan finally makes the Final Four

Bo Ryan crosses the threshold

Bo Ryan never failed to lift Wisconsin to a top-four finish in the Big Ten. He never failed to make the NCAA Tournament in 14 full seasons on the job in Madison. A program which had never made the NCAA Tournament from 1948 through 1993 suddenly couldn’t miss the Big Dance. That was most centrally Bo Ryan’s work.

Ryan reached the Sweet 16 for the first time in 2003. He made the Elite Eight for the first time in 2005. He forged a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 2007. He reached back-to-back Sweet 16s for the first time in 2012. The accomplishments kept mounting, but there was always the one gap in the resume, the one thing major college basketball coaches pursue throughout their careers: the Final Four.

Dick Bennett brought the Badgers to the Final Four in the year 2000, and the 1941 team won a national championship, but it would have felt empty, and frustrating, and even a little sad if Bo Ryan didn’t walk away with at least one Final Four to his name.

As the Wisconsin Badgers met the top-seeded Arizona Wildcats in a heavyweight West Regional final in 2014 in Anaheim, every Badger fan knew how massive the moment was. The Elite Eight, not the Final Four or the national championship game, is college basketball’s most pressure-packed game for top teams. The pain of falling one stop short of the Final Four is greater than the pain of any other loss, with the possible exception of a 2 seed losing to a 15, or a 1 seed losing to a 16 (hello, Virginia!).

Wisconsin had come too far, and fought too well, and sacrificed too much, to be denied an appointment with glory. Ryan had put in too much good work over a very long period of time to be stopped one win short of college basketball’s holy grail.

This game against Arizona was always intense, because it was always close. Neither team led by more than three points in the final 12 minutes of regulation, before the contest moved into overtime. Aaron Gordon pulled down 18 rebounds for Arizona, but Frank Kaminsky delivered the performance of his career with 28 points and 11 rebounds. Wisconsin needed every last ounce of production from Kaminsky, because Sam Dekker, Ben Brust, and Nigel Hayes all hit only two field goals apiece, and Traevon Jackson was 4 of 14 from the field.

Wisconsin led by one in the final minute and got three defensive stops. The Badgers forced an Arizona miss, then drew an offensive foul in the final 10 seconds, and caused the U of A’s Nick Johnson to hold the ball too long on his final shot attempt before the buzzer.

College basketball head coaches go to the Final Four on an annual basis because they are there to attend the coaches’ convention, but they all live for the chance to be one of the four coaches on National Semifinal Saturday. When the clock hit triple-zero with the ball still in Nick Johnson’s hand, Bo Ryan knew he would finally be courtside with a team to coach at the Final Four.

It was certainly worth the wait.

Bo Ryan’s first Wisconsin team can teach the 2020 Badgers

The 2002 Badgers

As the 2020 Wisconsin Badgers try to find firmer footing in the middle third of February, one month before Selection Sunday, they exist in multiple realms. One is the realm of a 10-loss team likely to carry at least 12 or 13 losses into the NCAA Tournament. Another is the realm of the team which struggles to find consistency but knows that when it plays well, it is really good. Bottling up and replicating a successful formula is the elusive component, not the winning formula itself.

If you’re worried UW won’t make the NCAAs with 12 losses, or if you’re convinced this team can’t get on a roll in the remainder of the 2020 season, past Wisconsin teams indicate otherwise. Bo Ryan’s first Wisconsin team, the 2001-2002 squad, offers proof.

The 2002 Badgers were 12-11 in early February after 23 games. They started the season 3-6, which is worse than the 2020 team’s 5-5 start, but still reminiscent of a November-December nightmare in which little went right. Would you believe that like the 2019-2020 Badgers, the 2001-2002 team won four games in a row in the second half of December? Sounds really familiar, doesn’t it?

Would you believe that the 2001-2002 Badgers beat Tennessee on the Saturday after Christmas Day? That’s exactly what the 2019-2020 Badgers did as well. This is almost creepy at this point!

BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE!

Wisconsin played three road games in a four-game sequence in late January and early February. It lost the three road games and won the home game… just like the 2020 team, which lost at Purdue, Iowa and Minnesota but won at home against Michigan State!

After losing three of four — with the three losses all coming on the road and the one win at home — the 2002 Wisconsin team returned home in early February to host Ohio State. Wisconsin won.

Hey now, wait a minute — THAT JUST HAPPENED WITH THE 2020 TEAM AS WELL!

Aren’t sports fascinating?

Here’s the unwritten part of the 2020 story, however, and how it relates to the 2002 team: The 2002 Badgers proceeded to win their next six games, starting with that Ohio State win in Madison.

What if the 2020 team can get hot like that? While you ponder that question, do realize that Wisconsin lost its first game in the 2002 Big Ten Tournament to go 18-12. The Badgers not only made the NCAA Tournament but got in comfortably, as a No. 8 seed.

If the 2002 Badgers could lose 12 games and comfortably make the Big Dance, and also play close to .500 ball for most of the season but then find a higher gear in February, there’s no reason the 2020 can’t do the same… or better.