Bo Ryan has earned the right to retire however he sees fit, I suppose but the narratives being spun 90 miles west of us are pretty hilarious.
Selfless, loyal, etc. Yes, Bo Ryan wants Greg Gard to take over "his" program. Gard has been a loyal assistant for years and is highly regarded within basketball circles. Bo says he wanted to quit after the Final Four. It would have been a grandiose send off. But there was one problem, Barry Alvarez wouldn't sign off on Greg Gard assuming the position.
Barry Alvarez isn't to be blamed. He circumvented state law by naming Bret Bielema his successor. Any position within state employment has to be posted, even head basketball coach. Also, Barry has national candidates he should inquire on. The lead name of course is Tony "Death to Basketball" Bennett. His new contract makes it unlikely. Given how cheap Barry is with football coaching hires, he isn't going to spend $3 million on Bennett's buyout.
There are other names to be considered. What about Wisconsin native Saul Phillips, now head man at Ohio? Archie Miller? Ben Jacobsen? Just spitballing here. No, Uncle Barry should do his due diligence.
The one reality is this, it's almost certain we saw the greatest Wisconsin basketball team we'll ever see last season. Repeating that is going to be hard to achieve.
Finally, as for the debate between Al McGuire and Bo? Please. Al's run at Marquette was better than Bo's at UW. Both are great coaches but Al's 1970 NIT title, '74 runner-up and '77 title trump all.
The media and fans make college coaches into these mythical, benevolent figures. Some are better than others. But when it comes to Bo, the story should include he left his team in the middle of a season when things were tough. Spin it however you want, but this was as much about Bo as it was about Wisconsin basketball and the "kids".
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