I took Wednesday night off from working off my debt to The Rolling Stones to watch the men's team become Big Ten Champions. Big Ten Champions? How on earth did that happen? Yup, I was one of the doubters of this 2002 team. But could you blame me?
First there was the hiring of Bo Ryan. I had been happy with what Brad Soderberg had done. Sure, he still referred to Dick Bennett as \coach,"" but he'd done a pretty good job during the short time he'd been coach and I had thought he'd gotten a bum rap. But the coach search was on and I was hoping maybe Tony Bennett would get the nod. He had pro experience, obviously knew Bennettball and was from my high school. That had nothing to do with his qualifications, but I just wanted to mention it.
If Tony didn't get the job, I was secretly hoping that Bobby Knight would be picked up. We know he looks sharp in a red sweater, and who wouldn't want to see him toss a chair at a ref? OK, so maybe not the ref or the players, but safely seated in the eighth row I would have thought it was pretty cool. But instead, they hired Bo Ryan. Bo Ryan?
First, the man has two first names, which is always kind of shifty. Second, the last place Bo had coached at was UW-Milwaukee. Sure, some good things have come out of Milwaukee'my dad, Pabst and occasionally the Brewers'but college basketball powerhouses don't readily come to mind. Plus, coaching in Milwaukee is a different world than coaching in the Big Ten. In Milwaukee your biggest worry is that Brian Botham keeps his mouth shut on the bench so you don't get a technical. At Madison you've got to worry about Tom Izzo's coaching savvy, Robert Archibald's shooting skill and Gene Keady's comb over jumping off his head and attacking you.
Lastly, there was Bo Ryan's plan to overhaul the way the men played. Personally, I always liked Bennettball. In what other system can you score 10 points and be the team's main offensive weapon? But Ryan wanted to eliminate it in favor for a more offensive style. I thought, ""Has he seen these guys? You're telling me Charlie Wills is going to run a run-and-gun offense?""
I doubted our players too. We'd lost ""The Stormin' Mormon"" Ricky Bower, Julian Swartz and Latrell Fleming, not to mention five seniors and I didn't know if our new guys could make up the difference. I didn't know if Wills could be Kowske and Vershaw rolled into one. I didn't know if Travon Davis could carry the team and not carry the ball in the lane.
My doubts only skyrocketed after watching 20 points get chipped out from under the team at Georgia Tech. If we couldn't hold out a 20-point lead, how did we expect to compete in the Big Ten? ""Back to Bennettball,"" I cried.
The team slowly got better, but even then I doubted them. When they beat Marquette, my family was still hoping that Wisconsin would just finish in the middle of the pack. Well, today they're the lead dog, and I hope they enjoy the view because not only have they earned it, but they've proved all the doubters, including me, wrong by doing it. So thank you for that, guys.
Now then, it's back to work for me. Did you know The Rolling Stones own a coal mine? Neither did I.
OUT!
