Wisconsin Badgers Basketball

[Roscoe Chill]

I'm telling you guys, when tourney time comes, it will be a GOOD thing that there isn't the possibility that Tucker and Taylor are cold and everyone else on the floor is scared to shoot. I've said this from the beginning. Bohannon hasn't even warmed up yet this year. They'll have enough offense.

[danzig6767]

While in the NBA a coach matters, it's largely a players league and they control which teams win and lose. College ball is largely about the coaches, get the right coach and your program will be good the majority of the time. Bo Ryan is a great coach and his teams simply win basketball games.

 

Bo may not be able to recruit enough high end talent to be able to hang with the elite programs when it comes to being in the hunt for a national title, but for a school like Wisconsin that was mostly a doormat for so long in college ball, it would be hard for any UW fan to complain about what level Ryan has taken the Badgers program. It's now to the point where making the NCAA Tournament is pretty much expected. That's a far cry from the days of say Steve Yoder where hanging close to an Indiana in a home game was almost considered a victory. The moral victories in a loss days are thankfully over.

[TooLiveBrew]

College ball is largely about the coaches, get the right coach and your program will be good the majority of the time. Bo Ryan is a great coach and his teams simply win basketball games.

 

Imo college ball has gotta be somewhere around 75%+ about the coach(es). They're the GM & coach of their respective programs, and are receiving much more malleable products in incoming freshman/recruits than a college guy heading to the NBA.

 

Agreed on your analysis of Bo... the Badgers & their fans are so lucky to have him!

 

Bo may not be able to recruit enough high end talent to be able to hang with the elite programs when it comes to being in the hunt for a national title

 

This may be true, but you know he's going to get lucky every once in a while like with D-Ha (I know Bennett recruited him) & Tucker. Bo recruits very well-rounded rosters, and really, if that 'lucky' break on a player is a low-post force, the nat'l. title could be a real strong possibility.

[Oldcity]

Rematch tonight with Iowa. Should be much different than the massacre in Madison, as Iowa's been tough at home. These are the type of games I worry about (i.e. at Iowa, at Illinois, at Ohio St, etc.).

[Roscoe Chill]

I don't want to open up a big can of worms here. But the myth that Bo Ryan doesn't get blue chip recruits I think is based on the fact that he gets a lot of white guys really. Jon Leuer was a highly rated recruit. Keaton Nankivil was a highly rated recruit, and he can't even get on the court. Next year Jared Bergrenn is a highly rated recruit. Trevon Hughes, Jason Bohannon, Joe Krabbenhoft...all highly ranked recruits.

[JJHardy7]

That's kind of a bold statement. There's no doubt in my mind Wisconsin is better than Drake, St. Mary's and Gonzaga. And at least two teams in every BCS conference? How about the SEC. I'm not so sure even Tennessee is better than Wisc, let alone teams like Florida, Ark, or Miss.

 

I don't think the Badgers are better than Tennessee -- and I don't think it's that close. Tennessee's team is freakish athletic. The only thing going against them is that haven't really been a winning program (a la the Badgers) so Pearl is still getting through that doubt. Remember the UW-M team that went to the Sweet 16 with Pearl? This team is similar to the way that team played -- and even more athletic. I really believe Tennessee beat any team ranked ahead of them on the right night. I do think the SEC as a whole is somewhat down this year in terms of basketball, but I wouldn't discount Tennessee as a team that could get to the Final Four.

[Roscoe Chill]

You may be right on Tennessee. Quite frankly, I wouldn't discount the Badgers as a team capable of getting to the Final Four though.

[homer]

I think that list of recruits is terrific, NDog, but to me blue chips are the 5 star recruits and Bo has only had one of those - Butch. Just my opinion of course.

 

 

Now if he could somehow land that Wilson kid from Racine......

[Roscoe Chill]

Krabbenhoft was a 5 star recruit for what it's worth.

 

I'd rather have a whole team full of four star recruits that stay for four years rather than a team that had to replace 5 star one and dones with another 5 star one and done I guess. Sure, it'd be nice to get that GREAT player, but how many of them are really out there that are going to stay for more than two years? Or one year?

[TooLiveBrew]

Krabby was a 5-star only by a few systems - most had him at 4, iirc.

 

to me blue chips are the 5 star recruits and Bo has only had one of those - Butch. Just my opinion of course.

Ahhhhh, cruel irony - we get a 5-star, and he turns out to be a 3/4-star (not that there was a shortage of people who knew that at the time).

[NeedMoreFans]

So how are they playing so poorly against Iowa? I know Iowa is tough at home, but come on!

[Roscoe Chill]

FWIW, the Badgers roster and their overall ranking (if in the top 150) of college recruits in their class...according to Rivals:

 

Brian Butch: 9

Greg Stiemsma: 45

Joe Krabbenhoft: 23

Trevon Hughes: 58

Jason Bohannon: 88

JP Gavinski: 116

Jon Leuer: 82

Keaton Nankivil: 92

-------------------------

And the future:

Jared Bergrren: 58

Jordan Taylor: 109

 

*Michael Flowers and Marcus Landry weren't ranked.

[Glennron]

I don't think the Badgers are better than Tennessee -- and I don't think it's that close. Tennessee's team is freakish athletic. The only thing going against them is that haven't really been a winning program (a la the Badgers) so Pearl is still getting through that doubt. Remember the UW-M team that went to the Sweet 16 with Pearl? This team is similar to the way that team played -- and even more athletic. I really believe Tennessee beat any team ranked ahead of them on the right night. I do think the SEC as a whole is somewhat down this year in terms of basketball, but I wouldn't discount Tennessee as a team that could get to the Final Four.

I guess we just disagree then. It's hard to compare them to Wisconsin because of the contrasting styles. Tennessee has given up 70+ points in 13 games, compared to only 2 for only Wisconsin. Now obviously a lot of it's due to Tennessee's Run-n-Gun style, and that they average around 80, but I still believe a good defense is more important. I wouldn't be surprised if they made the final four, nor would I be surprised if they were bounced in the 2nd round of the tournament.

 

Anyway, huge win for Wisconsin. I always hate road games at average teams in the conference, because Wisconsin really should win most of them but they can be really difficult. It's the type of game they have to win if they wanna win the Big Ten. If they can take care of business at Iowa, Illinois, OSU, Minn, etc., they put themselves in good position for Purdue, IU, and MSU.

[jason21nl]

I have watched a bunch of Tenn. games this year, and IMO TN would blow the doors off WI, the same way Duke did. I like the Badgers and think they can make some noise in the tourny, but I think TN is a team that could win it all.

[homer]

Good road win - Iowa has been playing tough lately.

 

And Tennessee is pretty average defensively for a top tier team - if UW could slow them down I think it'd be a heckuva game.

[Oldcity]

I don't think the Badgers are better than Tennessee -- and I don't think it's that close. Tennessee's team is freakish athletic. The only thing going against them is that haven't really been a winning program (a la the Badgers) so Pearl is still getting through that doubt. Remember the UW-M team that went to the Sweet 16 with Pearl? This team is similar to the way that team played -- and even more athletic.

And Wisconsin shut down that UWM team. The Badgers are match-up nightmares for those teams that don't bother playing defense (like Tennessee). I think it would be a good game, but I'd give the Badgers the edge on a neutral court.

Anyways, good win tonight. Any road win is big. 9-1 in conference is just a great record at this point.

 

[homer]

"TN is a team that could win it all. "

 

I'm puttin' my money on Kansas.

[pitchleague]

Nice win but it wasn't pretty. It felt like I was watching "Hoosiers" for a little while, what with the sloppy play and fouls and stuff.

 

A win on the road is like 2 at home, in my book.

[Oldcity]

Yeah, it definitely wasn't pretty. For awhile Iowa was out-Wisconsining Wisconsin (i.e. rebounding and getting to the line). The Badgers D really clamped down in the second half though. That nine minute field goal drought lost Iowa the game.

[danzig6767]

I don't want to open up a big can of worms here. But the myth that Bo Ryan doesn't get blue chip recruits I think is based on the fact that he gets a lot of white guys really. Jon Leuer was a highly rated recruit. Keaton Nankivil was a highly rated recruit, and he can't even get on the court. Next year Jared Bergrenn is a highly rated recruit. Trevon Hughes, Jason Bohannon, Joe Krabbenhoft...all highly ranked recruits.

I wasn't trying to imply that Ryan can't recruit at at all when i said that he likely won't be able to recruit enough really high end talent to compete for a national title. Bo is a great coach, but he of course isn't just coaching up a bunch of low talent scrubs into teams that consistently compete for Big Ten titles.

There is an obvious difference though between getting good recruits like Ryan does and the great ones like the nation title teams generally have. That's no knock on Bo, Wisconsin is hardly a school with a great basketball tradition that is a natural draw to most high profile recruits, nor is it a yearly fertile state full of big time recruits. Given those built in disadvantages, Ryan is a fine recruiter, not simply a good coach.

 

[heresrobin]

Pretty big game this Saturday at home against Purdue. Time for a little revenge. I doubt the refs at the Kohl Center will allow Purdue to play such physical, hand-checking defense. I'm expecting the same score as last time, only flip the teams. I don't look forward to seeing Hummel and Moore for the next three years.

 

Also, on a sidenote, since we don't have a thread for just College Basketball in general (maybe there should be one?), I thought that I'd just point out my favorite player in the nation this year: Todd Golden of St. Mary's. Todd has an Assist to Turnover ration of 3.8/1, shoots 91% from the FT line, and shoots 47% from beyond the arc. That's not the interesting part though. He has taken 81 shots this year, 79 of which have been from behind the arc! I wonder if there is a player who has ever even come close to a ratio like that who gets significant playing time - I think he starts as he gets more than 27 minutes/game and he averages 6.8 ppg. He's taken 375 shots during his career at St. Mary's, 309 of those shots being threes. He's just completely abandoned shooting inside the arc this year. He's a lefty too and has a goofy, hitchy looking shot.

[Roscoe Chill]

Wisconsin is hardly a school with a great basketball tradition that is a natural draw to most high profile recruits, nor is it a yearly fertile state full of big time recruits. Given those built in disadvantages, Ryan is a fine recruiter, not simply a good coach.

 

Agreed, and you also forgot the academic requirements.

[Glennron]

I have watched a bunch of Tenn. games this year, and IMO TN would blow the doors off WI, the same way Duke did. I like the Badgers and think they can make some noise in the tourny, but I think TN is a team that could win it all.

I don't like comparing teams based on one common opponent, but that's all there is between UW and Tenn.

11-24 Texas vs. Tenn on a neutral court in NJ: Texas 97-78

12-29 UW @ Texas: Wisconsin 67-66

 

There's obviously a couple flaws with this. For one, both were well over a month ago, with UT-UT (is that their abbreviations?) game about 2 1/2 months ago. Also, Lofton is starting to play better after a pretty poor first couple months, by his standards. As Stephen A. Smith would say, howEVA, Texas is a little comparable to Tenn because of their fast paced style, although Texas is a little better at defense. Wisconsin was able to slow Texas down enough to only score 66 points, and fortunately grab the win thanks to Flowers. Tennesse obviously didn't care much about defense, and pretty much got blown out on a neutral court.

 

Will this mean much in March? Most likely not, however it might be a slight indicator as to how a UW-Tenn matchup would be, because I really feel Wisconsin could slow down Tenn and take them out of their element. I realize I'm not going to change anyone's opinion on it, but I guess I was trying to come up with something to back up my view on the two teams.

[Oldcity]

I'm not expecting a game as close as the one in Purdue. UW didn't play very well and the game still came down to the last possession on the road. The crowd should be pretty pumped for a first place game. I'll say Badgers 70 Purdue 59.

[fondybrewfan]

I just dont think Purdue is as good as their Big Ten record. I seem them losing at Wisconsin, at Indiana, home against Michigan State, and maybe one more loss. They will finish I would guess 4th in the Big Ten. I guess I am just not buying into this team yet. Their non conference schedule was just pathetic with the only decent win against Louisville, who at the time was playing like crap. Thier only notable Big 10 win was the UW game and as mentioned UW didnt play especially well in that game. They are a good team but I just dont think they compare yet to UW, IU, and MSU. That being said this will be a team to be reckoned with for the next several years, lots of young talent.

 

By the way, what the heck has happened to Marquette? Yeesh. THey are getting worse as the year has gone on. Maybe the criticism of Crean was warranted, he gets talent but doesnt develop it all to well.