As a Marquette fan, I've often heard the joke about Badger fans discovering the game of basketball in 1994 and claiming it as their own. 1994 would be the year Dick Bennett took the job. It's a jab at an in-state rival but the truth is, Wisconsin fans didn't have any reason to be excited about basketball prior to that. Trust me, at one time I followed them religiously as they would fatten up on cupcakes under Steve Yoder in the 80s and then get beat down in Big Ten play.
Prior to Bennett's arrival in 1994, The Badgers had exactly 3 NCAA tournament appearances. 1941, 1947 & 1994. That's bad. In fact, between 1954-95, Badger basketball produced only 8 winning seasons and only 2 winning seasons in the real Big 10. Their best conference finish in that time was 4th, which they achieved on 4 seperate occasions.
Bennett guided the Badgers to tourney appearance 3 times, culminating with an unlikely Final 4 appearance in 2000 that rivals VCU & Butler (at the time) as one of the more unlikely runs in recent memory. Bennett resigned a year later citing burn out and assistant Brad Soderbergh lead Buckt to an opening round loss in the 2001 tournament.
After Soderbergh was not retained, the Badgers hired Bo Ryan who proclaimed it "his dream job'. Today, Badger fans would accept a coach saying that given their recent run of success but even with the 2000 Final 4, there was no guaranty of sustained success. That wasn't a shot at UW, it was reality. The program benefited from better facilities certainly but Wisconsin doesn't have the history or pedigree of the blue bloods. 5 stars don't traditionally grow in state and those that do often leave. Sustaining success, even at a school in a power league, was no given.
That's what makes what Bo Ryan has done at Wisconsin remarkable and worthy of praise. Since he took the reins, the Badgers haven't missed the tournament. Blue bloods have and often. UCLA, Kentucky, Indiana & North Carolina all have multiple misses since then. He's won 3 Big Ten titles during the reign of Izzo. This week, they embark on their 6th Sweet 16 appearance since 2001. Here's the list of teams that have bettered or matched that:
- 10: Duke, Kansas
- 9: Michigan State
- 8: Kentucky, Arizona
- 7: UConn
- 6: Florida, UNC, Louisville, Syracuse, UCLA
That's impressive company. One could nitpick and point out only one Elite 8 appearance. Go ahead and do that. You'd be a fool to question what has been accomplished and what a great coach Bo Ryan has been.
I don't know if Bo Ryan will ever make a Final 4 but I'm not betting against him. This year's team has to go through Baylor which we'll preview later and either San Diego State or Arizona, two stout defensive teams, one athletic enough to score against Bucky. Next year's team should be a top 10 team at least entering the season and a favorite to make the Final 4 barring some unforseseen roster attrition.
As a Marquette fan, I won't be sad to see him leave. But as a fan of the game, it's pretty easy to appreciate just what he has done 90 minutes to the west.
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