With four Wisconsin seniors playing in their final game at the Kohl Center Wednesday night, Badger head coach Bo Ryan spent several minutes talking about the class of 2008 during his press conference Monday.
I just think this class has done an unbelievable job coming together collectively,"" Ryan said. ""Early in the year, we said this team would have to do it with the numbers [as] a group, and, for the most part, they've done that.""
Ryan also listed the individual accomplishments of seniors Tanner Bronson, Greg Stiemsma, Brian Butch and Michael Flowers.
According to Ryan, if he had to pick an all-time scout team captain for the UW teams he has coached, it would be Bronson.
""During the game, you think I kneel down just for whatever, but I actually try to kneel in front of Tanner and have him tell me who to put in and what the other team is going to run,"" Ryan said.
Although he said he was only kidding about letting Bronson dictate his substitution patterns, Ryan said the former walk-on is like another coach on the bench, shouting out the opponent's plays as they run them.
Ryan commended Stiemsma for growing as basketball player and as a person since arriving on the UW campus. Both his ability to recover from injury and his handling of personal problems off the court impressed Ryan.
When talking about Butch, Ryan echoed several of his statements about Stiemsma. He noted how Butch was resilient when responding to adversity and injuries.
Ryan commented on Flowers' impressive work ethic while working at practice, running ""the Hill"" in the off-season and playing during games.
""I still have yet to see the day when Mike doesn't go all-out,"" Ryan said.
Praise for Penn State
When asked how he felt about the way the Nittany Lions recovered from the season-ending injury to Geary Claxton, Ryan said PSU has found ways to stay competitive.
""To their credit they've done some things offensively,"" Ryan said. ""They have quickness now which they didn't have in the last few years.""
Ryan also said Penn State had the ability to shoot 3-pointers as good as any team in the conference when they are on.
Helping around the house
Ryan said one of the greatest coaches of all time fell and broke a leg last weekend, but it was not UCLA legend John Wooden.
Kelly Ryan, Bo's wife and one-time youth soccer coach, slipped and broke her fibula while brushing snow off her daughter's car.
Ryan said he was lucky that his wife had so many friends dropping off meals so he did not have to cook. He also said his wife has a rolling office chair to get around the house so all he had to do was ""keep the wheels oiled.""
Moving on up
The Badgers are currently No. 8 and No. 10 in the polls, respectively.
- uwbadgers.com
contributed to this report.
