It's a simple four letter word that hangs in Bo Ryan's office, but it is an important word when describing the UW men's basketball team: Next.""
Who's next and what's next for a program that climbed a mountain last season while seizing it's first No. 1 ranking in program history? Those are the burning questions that everyone is wondering - and they will be answered soon, as the Badgers face Edgewood on Sunday in their first exhibition game of the season.
At this point, the Badgers return only one starter from last season, senior center Brian Butch. Senior guard Michael Flowers could make it two starters, but the defensive specialist is currently on a leave of absence from the team with an undisclosed health issue. It is not the best situation for a team that must find scoring after departed seniors Alando Tucker and Kammron Taylor combined for 33 points per game a year ago.
""Now remember, we haven't lost anybody,"" Ryan said, referring to Flowers and his leadership. ""Who's that guy that hides in the picture and they say find him? Waldo. What we have right now is it's kind of a group leadership, especially from seniors Tanner [Bronson] and [Butch].""
With Flowers out, the Badgers only return 29.7 points per game as a team. So where will the scoring come from? There will be a number of options, including junior forwards Marcus Landry and Joe Krabbenhoft. A lot will be expected from sharp shooting sophomore guard Jason Bohannon as well. Still, it will start with Butch, who is now in his fifth year at UW and must get his scoring average (8.8 last season) into double digits if the Badgers want a similar scoring output.
""[Butch] knows there will be some opportunities for him, but how much will he average? I don't know. There might be some games where he gets 20 and there might be other games where he gets six. I don't know. It depends on how much the other guys are doing. All I know is that he wants to play on a successful team,"" Ryan said.
There is plenty of talent to make the 2007-'08 Badgers successful. That's why Wisconsin was still picked to finish fourth in an ""unofficial"" media poll released at Big Ten Media Day Sunday in Chicago.
The freshman class is good. Forward Jon Leuer is another steal from Minnesota and Keaton Nankivil was Wisconsin's Mr. Basketball last winter. Meanwhile, Tim Jarmusz led Oshkosh West to two state championships. It's just hard to predict how quickly the potential talent will turn into points on the scoreboard.
That time frame will have a lot to do with sophomore Trevon Hughes, the team's most talented true point guard. With Taylor gone, the offense is Hughes' to run, but in his freshman season the point guard put up only 11 assists to 19 turnovers in limited playing time. He has a ton of talent, however.
""[Hughes] will have some nights where I'm sure he'll look like a world beater. You've got to take the good with the bad. But hopefully its more good,"" Ryan said.
With Flowers out, Bohannon is likely to join Hughes in the starting backcourt. The sophomore shooting guard showed flashes of greatness last season and turned it on late when his team was relying on more minutes from the then-true freshman. Bohannon got important playing time late in the season, including an 11-point game in the loss at Ohio State.
""That was a great experience,"" Bohannon said. ""We accomplished a lot of great things last season, and the experience I gained playing in those games can only speak volumes of the experience I will gain throughout my career.""
Still, while Bohannon might be able to replace Taylor's 13.3 points per game, Tucker was such a unique player that it is unlikely one star will be able to emerge and fill his void. While Butch is one option, Landry is another. The junior averaged 5.9 points per game last season, but was going through his first trip through the Big Ten after an academic suspension his freshman year.
""I think he'll get better from now until the start of Big Ten,"" Ryan said. ""His upside between November and January I think is probably the highest on the team, because he's got to get comfortable with the position. That's where we have to help him.""
While the offense will be a question, one thing is for certain. This is a Bo Ryan coached team, and they will hustle and play defense. With a healthy Flowers down the road, UW might have two of the fiercest seniors in the country in its starting lineup, and fans know Butch will be hungry after having his season cut short last year with an elbow injury at Ohio State.
""Personally, not playing anytime is a difficult thing, and I think if you ask any of the guys they would say the same thing,"" Butch said. ""The guys did an excellent job of finishing the year. We had a school record. It was the first time we were ranked No. 1 in school history. You look back on those things and it was a pretty impressive season.""
Impressive yes, but it would be even more impressive if Wisconsin returned to Columbus this year on that same February weekend with another Big Ten title on the line. No doubt Ryan would like to see that out of his team.
""We'll definitely try to compete in the upper half of the Big Ten,"" Ryan said. ""Just something that hasn't been easy to do. If you look at the last six years, us and Illinois, the average finish is second. That's the best averages, two most consistent teams, Illinois and Wisconsin. I'd like to be consistent again and other teams will have something to say about that.
