In his two years on campus, Wisconsin men's basketball Head Coach Bo Ryan has won two Big Ten conference championships. In that two-year span, Ryan also has a Big Ten record of 23-9 and an overall winning percentage of .672, the best since Guy Lowman's tenure during 1918-'20.
With Thursday marking the annual Badgers Media Day and the season right around the corner, there are even more expectations for the coach because of his past success. Thoughts of another Big Ten championship and maybe a better showing in the NCAA tournament are on the minds of fans and critics alike. Yet, according to Ryan, success hasn't gone to the head of the team.
\We do things geared towards being successful. Right now, in October, block your guy out. Get ready for the Big Ten first,"" Ryan said.
Blocking out? The Badgers have been on top of the Big Ten two years in a row. Why would Ryan be focusing on the fundamentals of basketball with his players in practices this week?
""We don't talk about Big Ten Championships when we're working on our two-on-two recover drills. The only thing that's important is to get your feet and get your body to this spot. I keep it pretty simple. We're just doing the basics and there's not a whole lot of conversation about back-to-back titles going on right now,"" Ryan said.
The fundamentals also allow the freshmen to get their legs underneath them and learn the system before things get too far along.
""This week has been rough,"" freshman guard Kammron Taylor said. ""Coming into college, you look forward to playing, but you don't know what goes on behind the scenes that makes great teams. I'm finding out this week. We've been practicing hard and I've learned a lot in just this one week.""
Freshman standout center Brian Butch, who is above and beyond other freshmen because of his aggressive play and 6'11"", 215-pound stature, agrees with Taylor about the rigors of the first practices.
""Defense is how you win championships and defense is how you win games, and I think Coach [Ryan] has stressed that from the beginning. That's one thing that makes it hard for a freshman to adjust to right away because definitely back home and back in high school we didn't have to play a lot of defense back then,"" Butch said.
""You just kind of beat them up a little bit the first week and you're like 'Welcome to college. This is Big Ten basketball.' The more you beat them up early, the faster they learn,"" junior forward Mike Wilkinson said.
Ryan knows the freshmen will get frustrated with the rigors of practice. All he asks is that they roll with the punches and learn from their mistakes.
""Right now we're just asking them, in each one of these drills where freshmen tend to be behind, don't get frustrated and just keep working hard,"" Ryan said.
With the loss of guard Kirk Penney to graduation and sophomore forward Alando Tucker on the injured reserve for at least eight weeks, questions surround the Badger squad as it opens up season play Nov. 8 versus the EA Sports All-Stars. However, as in years past, men's hoops enters the season with only one thing on their mind.
""We're just want to take it one game at a time,"" senior guard Freddie Owens said. ""We can't predict the future and tell you the outcome of every game, but we'll take it one game at a time and just do our best.\
