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Wisconsin Coach Bo Ryan To Retire After This Season


Principled Man
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[source: Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel]

 

 

Madison – Bo Ryan, who established the Wisconsin men's basketball program as a national power and led UW to the national title game in April, has decided to step down after the 2015-'16 season, which will be his 15th as the Badgers' head coach.

 

Ryan, 67, issued the following statement through the UW Athletic Department Monday:

 

"Back in the spring, in the days after the national championship game, (UW Director of Athletics) Barry Alvarez and I discussed the possibility of me retiring. I've always been told that is not a decision to make right after a season is completed. Barry thankfully encouraged me to take some time to think about it and I have done that. I considered retiring this summer or coaching one more season.

 

"I've decided to coach one more season with the hope that my longtime assistant Greg Gard eventually becomes the head coach at Wisconsin. I am looking forward to another year with our program, including our players, my terrific assistant coaches, our office staff and everyone who supports Wisconsin basketball here in Madison, around the state and across the country."

 

Ryan, a native of Chester, Pa., has compiled a 357-125 record at UW and an overall record of 740-228 in 31 seasons overall.

 

UW won the Big Ten regular-season and tournament titles last season and reached the Final Four for the second consecutive season. The Badgers finished 36-4 after suffering a 68-63 loss to Duke in the title game in Indianapolis.

 

The Big Ten regular-season title was UW's fourth under Ryan. UW made seven appearances in the first 63 years of the NCAA tournament but under Ryan the Badgers have secured 14 NCAA berths in 14 seasons and advanced to the Sweet 16 seven times.

 

UW lost to Kentucky, 74-73, in the 2014 national semifinals. The Badgers avenged that loss in the national semifinals in April in Indianapolis by taking down the unbeaten Wildcats, 71-64, to reach the title game.

 

After serving as an assistant at UW from 1976-'84, Ryan guided UW-Platteville to four NCAA Division III national titles in 15 seasons and compiled a 30-27 record in two seasons at UW-Milwaukee before being named UW's head coach in 2001.

 

UW won the Big Ten regular-season and tournament titles last season and finished 36-4 after suffering a 68-63 loss to Duke in the title game.

 

Although it is too early to identify candidates from other schools, a source close to the program labeled Gard as a legitimate candidate to replace Ryan.

Gard has been an assistant under Ryan since 1993 – at Platteville and then at UWM – before coming to Wisconsin in 2001. He was promoted to associate head coach in July 2008.

 

Ryan has repeatedly touted Gard's coaching acumen and has said he is ready to run a program.

 

"Greg knows why we do drills the way we do them," Ryan said in 2014. "Why we do things in a game the way we do them. He understands the personalities and the interactions of the players. Greg's a guy that knows the teams in the league, works extremely hard at scheduling, which is a very difficult job. Scouting reports. He just does it all."

 

Brian Butch, a first-team all-Big Ten pick as a senior at UW in 2008, raved about his days under Ryan.

 

"Coach has mellowed out a whole bunch," Butch said while attending the annual Legends of Wisconsin Golf Classic Monday at University Ridge. "I don't think he is able to stop and smell the roses but I think he is able to give different things to some of the assistants a little bit more.

 

"But you don't want to not do what he says to do. He is still firm about this is the way we're going to run things. And that's how you're going to have success.

"The one thing about coach is that he has won everywhere he has been. You have no reason not to trust him because that is what he has done is win."

Edited by Principled Man
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Probably the best coach in the country; in team and game prep we can remove the probably.
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Probably the best coach in the country; in team and game prep we can remove the probably.

 

I used to criticize Bo Ryan as overrated. I used to say that the Badgers would never win a national title with Ryan as their coach, as I believed his system was too antiquated.

 

I was wrong. I failed to realize that the Badgers weren't getting the players necessary to win a national title. They would have about one special player every year, but not two or three or even four, like the other big programs have every year.

 

The 2014-2015 Badgers proved themselves worthy of a National Championship. They missed by just a few minutes, but they were second to none when it came to talent, coaching, and performance. Give Bo Ryan the elite talent that other programs get, and his trophy case would be HUGE......!!

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