As UW men's basketball coach Bo Ryan spoke on Tuesday, one couldn't help but notice the pride with which he wore his Big Ten Championship ring, glistening prominently in Badger red. This upcoming season will present a series of new challenges for Wisconsin, which became one of just five Division-I schools to win at least 30 games in each of the last two years.
The Badgers return three starters: senior forwards Marcus Landry and Joe Krabbenhoft, and junior guard Trévon Hughes. Hughes is Wisconsin's top returning scorer, averaging 11 points per game last year. Junior guard Jason Bohannon also looks to play a significant role after earning Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year honors last season.
Wisconsin is coming off a 31-5 season where it won both the Big Ten regular season and conference championships. Wisconsin beat Cal-State Fullerton and Kansas State in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament before falling to Davidson in the Sweet 16.
This year's Badgers are extremely young - 11 players have either freshman or sophomore standing. Although Ryan knows that having such a young team will present some difficulties, he also has a lot of faith in his seniors and the leadership they provide.
When we start traveling, when we start doing things that are a little different than right now, that's where you always want the seniors, the upperclassmen to pass on to the underclassmen. This is the way we do it,"" Ryan said. ""When you say leadership, we've got leadership. The players have shown that and now I'm not as concerned with it.""
One of those leaders is Landry, who finished last season as Wisconsin's third-leading scorer and rebounder. Ryan believes Landry has a great chance for success in this year's system.
""The sky's the limit for him,"" Ryan said. ""In our offense and the things that we do, Marcus has more opportunities to score than anybody else in the league because he can take advantage of some of the things that you can do from the swing [offense].""
As always, Ryan emphasized Wisconsin's excellent defense, which limited their opponents to just 54 points per game last season, among the best in the nation. Ryan says footwork will likely determine which players see the most playing time.
""It's still all about feet, particularly on defense,"" Ryan said. ""The guys who struggle with their feet are going to find it very hard to get on the floor. Big men with good feet are so hard to find, but they don't have to have great feet, just good feet.""
With the graduation of seniors Brian Butch and Greg Stiemsma, the Badgers will have a major hole to fill at the center position. Fortunately for Wisconsin, this year's freshman class offers plenty of size. Freshmen big men like 6'10"" Jared Berggren and 7'0"" Ian Markolf could possibly see extended playing time early in the season. Berggren is excited about the possibility of being able to contribute in this fashion.
""It's a nice opportunity, being able to compete for some time,"" Berggren said. ""We'll all be working hard trying to do what's best for the team. That's what I'm going to try and do - work as hard as I can everyday, whether it's pushing other people to fill the role, or filling the role myself.""
Other newcomers include guard Jordan Taylor, who was named Minnesota's Mr. Basketball last year, and swingmen Ryan Evans and Rob Wilson. Several Badgers including sophomore swingman Tim Jarmusz are already impressed with what they've seen so far from the freshman class.
""They're very athletic and very quick,"" Jarmusz said. ""They come from good high school programs and know the game well. Their basketball IQ is very good, too. Our job is to put these guys in the right position at the right time, and the coaches have done an excellent job with that.
