Farewell to Bo

So, here we are. It's a rainy Monday July 6th in Madison. After a beautiful weekend, we've gone back to the rain-filled usual Monday.  Everything is normal. Some people have different definitions of normal. Merriam-Webster defines normal as usual or ordinary. As a Wisconsin basketball fan, I've become accustomed to "normal." Over the past 14 years, things have been normal in regards to the Wisconsin basketball program. Much of that is thanks to William Francis Ryan Jr., more commonly known around here as Bo. As many of you know, Bo announced a week ago that he will retire after this next season. It sent a shock throughout Madison and Wisconsin as a whole. That's because Bo established what was "normal" for Wisconsin basketball. I could go on-and-on about stats on what he's accomplished. 357 wins, 14 straight NCAA appearances, two straight final fours, but that's not what Bo was about. He was about tradition, and staying the course. Under Bo Ryan, we as Badger fans knew what we were getting each year and each game from the teams he coached. Sure, he had some teams that were better than others. But the philosophy never changed. They were going to play good defense, rebound, and run an ultra-efficient offense centered around taking care of this basketball. This was the norm over the last 15 years. 

My grandparents graduated from UW-Madison and had season tickets to badger basketball as long as I can remember. I don't remember a game without Bo Ryan at the helm. The way the Badgers played under Bo gave me a sense of pride because I knew that we were going to play the right way with solid defense and without the sloppy turnovers that had seemed to plague college basketball over the last decade. It wasn't flashy but I knew we had a chance to beat anyone on any given night. I remember going to the Kohl Center when we beat number two-ranked Pittsburgh in crushing fashion highlighted by an Alando Tucker alley-oop in the closing moments. I remember going to the Kohl center when we knocked off number-one Ohio State when Jordan Taylor forgot who he was and turned into Michael Jordan in the 2nd half of the game. Students stormed the court and the party was underway. A similar mobbing of students happened a couple years later when we beat one of college basketball's "most hated" poster-boys in Kyle Singler and Duke. These sorts of victories have become the norm for Wisconsin basketball. Under, Bo the Badgers were all about consistency. As a fan I never expected too much or too little. The team was never going to be great, but we were always going to be in the top part of the Big Ten. This was fine for a program that struggled to find consistency, making the NCAA tournament just seven times before Bo showed up. 

I remember making a bet with my roommate my freshman year of college in 2011-2012. It was about who was going to be the next head basketball coach here at Wisconsin once Bo decided to hang it up. I got Tony Bennett and Shaka Smart (along with Tom Thibideau and Phil Jackson for comedic effect) and he got the field. FYI this bet just got real with Bo pushing Gard into the spotlight. This bet came about because we were both (mostly me) were getting frustrated with the Badgers' offense under Bo. The philosophy of swinging the ball and getting low post touches was gone. The team had turned into a compilation of players competing on who could shoot the most three pointers. This frustration boiled over when we lost to another one of college basketball's most hated players, Marshall Henderson and 12-seeded Ole Miss in the first round of the 2013 NCAA tournament. I was done with Bo. The efficient, methodical offense that he coined with Mike Wilkinson and Kirk Penny was gone, Bo looked old, and the program appeared to be on the down-swing. 

But then something happened. I can't put a finger on exactly what it is, but the team changed starting in the fall of 2013. It's like Bo was rejuvenated all of the sudden. The team started off the season on a double-digit win streak which concluded with their first trip to the final four in almost 15 years. They went back to the old style of playing inside out, dominating teams on defense and the boards, and rarely turning the ball over. I'm not sure what got into Bo, but he changed. Maybe it was the arrival of Frank Kaminsky onto the scene as a full time starter. Maybe it was freshmen Nigel Hayes and Bronson Koenig stepping up in key roles. Maybe it was the hiring of former NBA strength coach Erik Helland and the impact he had on the team. Most likely, it was a combination of all three of those things. But the main reason for the turnaround of the program was, once again, William Francis Ryan Jr. For the first time in his coaching career at Wisconsin, Bo adapted for the right reasons. The team's strength was their inside game with outside shooting to supplement. Bo went away from his trend of the "bombs away" offensive strategy and went back to pounding it inside to Frank and Nigel until teams sucked in, where they would kick it out to the shooters. It was the modern day basketball philosophy and Bo worked it to perfection. 

All of the sudden, our bet was less meaningful. We didn't want Bo to leave, especially after the team made the final four again this last year. Wisconsin Basketball had reached heights it had never been to before, thanks to Bo. The old saying goes "All good things must come to an end." Yes, Bo is prepping for his farewell tour whether he'll acknowledge it or not. The team doesn't have the talent it had the last two years, and will probably have a tough time making the Final Four a third year in a row. It wouldn't be normal for a "3-peat" by any stretch of the imagination. However, these doubts I have about this next year are similar to the ones I had of Bo and the direction of the program just three years ago. But one thing I've learned the last two years is never count out William Francis Ryan Jr. Bo is anything but normal.