Men's basketball head coach Bo Ryan addressed the media Monday and in particular talked about the play of sophomore point guard Trevon Hughes in Sunday's 77-48 win over Edgewood.
Hughes scored 11 points and grabbed six rebounds in a team-high 25 minutes, but indicated after the game that he was not ecstatic with his play.
He's not pleased because he likes to do everything right every time, and that's what's going to make him a heck of a player,"" Ryan said.
Ryan added that Hughes was admittedly nervous before his first start as UW's point guard. The head coach also said that being nervous was a good thing.
""I'm glad he's nervous,"" Ryan said. ""Bill Russell was nervous before every game he played. I'm not comparing the two, but I like a guy who gets excited about taking over a team as a point guard. That's his role and he has known that for a long time, but all [of a] sudden yesterday was the first game day, and it doesn't matter who you are playing - he had some trepidation.""
Hughes is taking over the Badgers' offense after Kammron Taylor's departure. Taylor was a two-year starter, and Hughes played limited minutes off the bench last season as one of Ryan's point guard options. Now the sophomore must grow up in a hurry, because he is the team's best true point guard.
""He knows it's his turn. Sometimes in life when you realize it's your opportunity you approach the day differently, you feel differently about yourself and that's not in a cocky way. It happens to all of us when we are growing up. I'm still waiting to have it to happen for myself,"" Ryan said jokingly.
Southern recruiting
Ryan went up to the podium Monday with a pair of sunglasses - a prop he said he was using for recruiting purposes.
""I wore my sunglasses in because we are recruiting some guys from the South and I wanted them to think that it's pretty bright and warm outside,"" Ryan said.
Monday's weather included sleet and a low of 31 degrees.
