CHICAGO—UW's Final Four goal fell short at the United Center Sunday, but afterward no one could discredit the accomplishments of the 2006-'07 Wisconsin Badgers.
Entering the NCAA Tournament, seniors Alando Tucker, Kammron Taylor and Jason Chappell knew every game could be their last and Sunday's game was their last one as UNLV topped the Badgers 74-68.
""I'm very frustrated,"" Taylor said after the game. ""This is not the way I wanted to go out and I'm pretty sure this is not the way Tuck wanted to go out. Right now it stings, but life goes on.""
In his final collegiate game, Taylor scored a game-high 24 points with 19 of them coming in the second half when Wisconsin was battling back from a 12-point halftime deficit.
Tucker finished with 17 points on 4-of-11 shooting and talked about the end of his UW career after the game.
""As seniors, you have a feeling of frustration and disappointment, but I wouldn't change anything that happened this whole season. I had fun, it's been a journey,"" Tucker said.
That journey started with a tough upbringing and while his college career did not include any national titles, Tucker did a lot for the Wisconsin program.
""If [people] can't admire a guy like Alando Tucker and what he's been through and what he's done, then they don't have a pulse,"" UW head coach Bo Ryan said. ""I think Alando makes a huge statement for the University of Wisconsin.""
Ryan said after the game that he was pleased with what his players gave him this season.
""I think this group took advantage of a lot of chances and did some really good things. But you always want more,"" Ryan said.
The returning players will have the opportunity to do more next season and one of those players is freshman guard Jason Bohannon who played over 55 minutes combined in his first two NCAA Tournament games. He too could not take anything away from a big season that ended too soon.
""We accomplished a lot this year. It's a little short of what we wanted to do but we accomplished a lot,"" Bohannon said.
The freshman will play a much larger role next season with Taylor gone and Bohannon touched on what this year's senior class meant to him.
""Alando, Kam and Jason all brought great tradition to Wisconsin basketball and meant a lot to the entire program. They took the program in a different direction,"" he said. ""Having those three guys as teachers, it meant a lot. With the guys [we have] returning we can only learn from this experience.""
With Tucker, Taylor and Chappell on their way out, the future is now in the hands of a new senior class that will include Michael Flowers and Brian Butch. Butch's season was lost when he suffered a dislocated elbow at Ohio State Feb. 25.
The junior center was actually cleared to play this weekend, but Ryan said it was more likely he would have gotten the chance next weekend in St. Louis had UW advanced to the Sweet 16.
For now, Butch will have to wait until next year, when he will be Wisconsin's leading returning scorer. For this group, next year can't come soon enough.
""We know that next year starts tomorrow,"" Bohannon said. ""We'll start to prepare tomorrow and try to get better each and every way we can.""
