Having been a lifelong fan of Wisconsin sports, I have been spoiled with success. In my 23 years of life thus far, I have seen the Packers make 17 playoff appearances, three Super Bowl appearances, and win two Super Bowl titles. Additionally, I have never seen a quarterback start and finish a season who isn’t a sure Hall of Famer (Brett Favre; Aaron Rodgers). Moving to Wisconsin Badgers football, I have seen my beloved Badgers make 18 post-season bowl appearances, including six Rose Bowls in my lifetime. While the success experienced by both the Packers and Badgers football teams over the past 20-plus years has been incredible, some could argue that the Wisconsin Badgers basketball team has experienced a more incredible, more improbable reign of success than either of Wisconsin’s most popular football teams. This success can be almost entirely attributed to the work of Bo Ryan.
Bo Ryan, who has been at the helm of the Wisconsin Basketball program since 2001, released a statement Monday announcing that the 2015-16 season will be his last. While this came as a bit of surprise for me, as it did for many, it didn’t take long for me to begin reflecting on the monumental impact Bo Ryan has had on the Wisconsin Basketball program.
Wisconsin Basketball Before Bo Ryan
To get a true appreciation for what Ryan has done for Wisconsin Basketball, it’s important to understand what life was like before the Hall of Fame bound coach.
Let’s start as far back as World War II. In 1941, Wisconsin Basketball won the Big Ten Championship as well as their first, and only, National Championship. This team was lead by head coach Bud Foster, and included notable All-American Gene Englund and tournament Most Outstanding Player John Kotz. In 1947, Foster led the Badgers to a second Big Ten Championship in his time as head coach. This would prove to be the last taste of success the program would experience for 42 years (NIT in 1989). From 1954 to 1995, the Badgers would accomplish only eight winning seasons, and only one measly NCAA Tournament appearance (1994).
In 1995, the year many people begin to credit the turnaround of Wisconsin Basketball, Dick Bennett became Wisconsin’s head coach after leading UW-Green Bay to improbable mid-major success. After only two seasons as head coach, Bennett lead Wisconsin to their first winning conference record since 1974, and only their second in the previous 43 years. In 1999, Bennett would go on to lead Wisconsin to their first Final Four appearance in more than 55 years, before retiring the next season.
While Bennett led Wisconsin to an incredible Final Four run in 1999, this was as an 8-seed, and it was hard to deny that the season felt like a bit of a fluke. With the departure of Bennett, it was difficult to predict the direction Wisconsin Basketball was heading. Fortunately for Wisconsin Basketball, Bennett’s retirement made way for the hiring of Bo Ryan.
Prior to taking the Wisconsin job, Bo Ryan experienced incredible success with Division III UW-Platteville. In his 15 seasons at Platteville, Ryan led the Pioneers to a 352-76 overall record, and four National Championships. Badgers sports fans would be eager to see how this success would translate to the Division I level.
Wisconsin Basketball with Bo Ryan
In 2001, Ryan’s first season as Wisconsin’s head coach, the team exceeded expectations, a trend throughout the Bo Ryan era. The team was predicted to finish as low as 9th in the Big Ten, but ended up sharing the regular season conference title with three other teams. The Badgers would go on to make their first of 14 straight (and counting) NCAA Tournament appearances.
In the 2002-03 season, Wisconsin won their first outright Big Ten title in 56 years. The team went on to make a Sweet 16 run in the NCAA tournament, before losing to Kentucky by six points.
The trend of success continued into the 2003-04 season, where the Devin Harris-led Wisconsin Badgers would go on to win the Big Ten tournament title and make their third straight NCAA tournament appearance.
In 2004-05, Wisconsin made yet another jump. This team reached the Elite 8 for only the second time since 1947, before losing to the eventual national champions, the North Carolina Tar Heels.
In 2006-07, Wisconsin Basketball temporarily reached the top of the college basketball world; they received their first #1 ranking in school history. This ranking was short-lived, though, as Alando Tucker and the Badgers lost to Michigan State immediately following their #1 ranking. The team would go on to receive a two-seed in the NCAA tournament, but ended up losing to seven-seeded UNLV in the second round of the tournament. Despite the relatively disappointing finish to the season, the 06-07 season put Wisconsin in the upper echelon of college basketball programs, a position Ryan wasn’t going to let slip away.
In 2007-08, Bo and the Wisconsin Badgers continued their success. The team won both the Big Ten regular season title, as well as the Big Ten tournament title. The Badgers were given a three-seed in the NCAA tournament. The team made another Sweet 16 run, before being upset by Stephen Curry and the 10-seeded Davidson Wildcats.
From 2008 to 2013, Ryan and the Badgers experienced consistency, never finishing lower than 4th in the Big Ten. The team experienced it’s share of ups and downs during this span, beating several top-5 teams throughout the regular season, but never making it further than the Sweet 16. The fact that this stretch of five seasons seems simply average for Wisconsin Basketball may speak more highly than anything else to the impact Ryan has had on the Wisconsin program. To think that making five straight NCAA tournaments and never finishing lower than 4th in the Big Ten would be something to shrug your shoulders at is incredible given the state of Wisconsin Basketball just 15 years ago.
From Consistency to Greatness
You don’t need me to remind you of the unprecedented success the Wisconsin Men’s Basketball program has experienced in the past two seasons, but I will anyways.
In 2013-14, Wisconsin Basketball reached its first Final Four appearance since 2000, and the first appearance for Ryan. The Badgers, led by Sam Dekker, Ben Brust, and newly established superstar, Frank Kaminsky, received a #2 seed in the NCAA tournament. As a two-seed, the team had high expectations for itself, but there was still some national doubt as to how far this team could truly go. Despite this, Bo and the Badgers remained confident, and Oregon, Baylor and perennial powerhouse Arizona, before losing in the Final Four to Kentucky. While this left a bitter taste in Wisconsin fans’ mouths, there was a sense that the Badgers had some unfinished business.
With another offseason to work and develop, Frank Kaminsky had become the National Player of the Year frontrunner heading into the 2014-15 season. Sam Dekker received high praise heading into the season as well, and Wisconsin was poised and ready to go back to the Final Four. Wisconsin experienced great success in the regular season, and earned a one-seed heading into the NCAA tourney. With the incredible pay of Dekker and Kaminsky, Wisconsin held-off Arizona in the Elite Eight, and was headed back to the Final Four again. Incredibly enough, the Badgers were presented with a chance to get revenge against the Kentucky Wildcats, who were touted as one of the best college basketball teams of all-time. Despite this praise, Wisconsin defeated Kentucky 71-64. The Badgers would head to the national championship game for the first time since 1941. In the championship game, Wisconsin put up a valiant effort before ultimately losing to the Duke Blue Devils by five points. Although the 2014-15 season didn’t end how Wisconsin had dreamt it up, there was a collective understanding of just how incredible these past two seasons were for Wisconsin Basketball.
Bo Ryan has successfully taken Wisconsin Basketball to a program with an uncertain future (2001) to a program that expects to consistently compete for Big Ten and national championships.
The Lasting Legacy of Bo Ryan
With the announcement of Bo Ryan’s retirement at the end of the 2015-16 season, I want to end this article with some reflection on Ryan’s impact on Wisconsin Basketball as a whole, and what it means going forward.
When Ryan arrived at Wisconsin, the state of the program was in question. Adding to this uncertainty was the fact that Ryan wasn’t even the first option for head coach, Rick Majerus was. With the departure of Ryan at the conclusion of next season, you can be sure there will be no shortage of applicants for the Wisconsin head-coaching job. Ryan has transformed Wisconsin Basketball into a top-tier program, and the number of options to replace Bo Ryan should certainly reflect that. Ryan has made it known that he would like long-time assistant coach Greg Gard to replace him, but that won’t stop many other coaches from showing interest in the Wisconsin program.
When the 2015-16 season reaches its conclusion, we will look back at Ryan as a man who has changed the reputation of Wisconsin Basketball forever. In all likelihood, Ryan will lead the Badgers to another NCAA tournament appearance in his final season. This will bring the Badgers tournament appearance streak to 15 straight, and nine more than the team experienced in its history prior to Ryan. Take another second to think about that again. Incredible.
Beyond the culture of success on the court that Bo has established at Wisconsin, the impactful relationships that he is known to have with his players is equally impressive. Current and former players alike constantly bring up their growth as both players and young men throughout their time as members of the Wisconsin program. Expectations for achievement both on and off the court are extremely important for a coach of any truly successful collegiate program. Ryan expects his players to achieve as well in the classroom as they do on the court; and Wisconsin will certainly emphasize these same values in whomever the program chooses to ultimately go with to replace Ryan.
While the news of Ryan’s plans to retire after the 2015-16 season certainly came as a surprise to some, no one can argue this decision isn’t well deserved. Bo Ryan has accomplished more in his 15 years as head coach of the Wisconsin Basketball team than has been accomplished in the previous existence of the program. Bo Ryan deserves a chance to rest, relax and reflect on his incredible career, but thankfully, we have one more year to enjoy with him at the helm. Cheers to Bo Ryan; and cheers to one last hoorah.
Sources:
ESPN.com
NCAA.com
Image via OnMilwaukee.com