I have always had a tremendous amount of respect for Bo Ryan. He has built a winner at Wisconsin.
Ryan already holds the school record with 321 wins as the Badgers' coach. In his first 13 seasons in Madison, he has an overall win percentage of .726. He's won more than 70 percent of his Big Ten games. Over his career, he has recorded more than 700 victories. The court at Wisconsin-Platteville is named after Ryan because of his earlier success there.
Talk about consistency. Ryan has won at least 19 games in each of his 13 seasons as the Badgers' coach. He has also posted three 30-win seasons.
Last season, Wisconsin made the Final Four for the first time since 2000, when Dick Bennett had the Badgers flying high. For those who believe the 2014 NCAA tournament success was a fluke, think again. Wisconsin proved that it belonged, beating a number of quality teams to make the Final Four last season. Defeating the likes of Oregon, Baylor and Arizona was an impressive feat as the Badgers punched their ticket to North Texas.
The Badgers will be in the preseason top 10 for the 2014-15 campaign.
Ryan knows how to get the most from his players. That is what coaching is all about, getting the talent to play to a higher level. Ryan is outstanding in conveying his principles to his squad. His teams are always fundamentally sound.
This season, the schedule will provide its share of tests. Look at the Battle 4 Atlantis field. The Badgers open with UAB, then face the Florida-Georgetown winner, with North Carolina, Oklahoma and UCLA on the other side of the bracket. Also on the nonleague slate are games against Duke, Boise State, at Marquette and at California. And the Big Ten will be rugged once again.
Fans have a good reason to be excited in Madison. Ryan is thrilled that big man Frank Kaminsky turned down the lure of the NBA's green and decided to return to school. The 7-footer earned the NCAA West Region Most Outstanding Player award after leading the Badgers to the Final Four. Kaminsky has the potential to be an All-American this season.
Kaminsky is joined up front by Sam Dekker and Nigel Hayes, who showed so much potential as a freshman a year ago. Dekker, a 6-foot-9 junior, was second-team All-Big Ten last season.
Wisconsin has loads of experience in the backcourt. Leading the way are Traevon Jackson and Josh Gasser. Jackson is the son of former Ohio State star and NBA All-Star Jim Jackson. Traevon Jackson made so many big plays during the run to the Final Four. Gasser has always been solid on the foul line. Add in 6-4 sophomore Bronson Koenig, who averaged more than 15 minutes per game last season, and there is super depth.
Ryan also has quality talent as seven of the team's top eight scorers from last season are back. The only player missing is Ben Brust, who was a shining star shooting the rock from outside.
There are greater expectations for the Badgers now. But Ryan has a roster capable of getting back to the Final Four.