From summer workouts to the first day they ran the hill and all the way to the NCAA Tournament, one word led the way to an improbable season for the Wisconsin men's basketball team. Four letters spell it out clearly on the wall of Bo Ryan's office: NEXT.""
No other word to describe what the 2007-'08 Badgers had to do to be successful after losing Alando Tucker, Kammron Taylor and Jason Chappell to graduation. New guys had to step up in the scoring department, new leaders had to emerge to keep the team chemistry high and more than anything, a coach with over 500 career wins had to make sure it all happened quickly.
What resulted was one of the most memorable seasons in Wisconsin basketball history. In arguably Ryan's best season of coaching, an entire team effort led to a school-record 31 wins, an outright Big Ten title, a Big Ten Tournament title and a Sweet 16 appearance, all while a number of players said multiple times, ""This was the closest team I have ever been a part of.""
Here's a look back at the '07-'08 season:
Most Valuable Player:
Michael Flowers
Never before has an MVP been so hard to find on a team that had so much success. Six players finished the season with a scoring average between 12.4 ppg and 7.6 ppg. Senior forward Brian Butch led the way, but no one stood out more on the defensive side of the ball than senior guard Michael Flowers. Game after game he drew the assignment of guarding the opposing team's best guard. He also quietly improved his 3-point shooting and hit 41 percent of his 3-pointers, which made the Badgers a tough perimeter matchup with three guards who could consistently hit outside shots.
Most Improved Player:
Jason Bohannon
This distinction is even harder to pinpoint because one of the reasons the Badgers had so much success was because a number of players improved in a hurry. Sophomore guard Trevon Hughes came out of nowhere to lead the team in scoring early in the season, but he was inconsistent at times and finished at 11.2 ppg. Butch had his most successful and consistent season of his career, leading the team in rebounds (6.6 rpg) and scoring (12.4 ppg).
One could argue that Greg Stiemsma improved the most with a number of key performances off the bench. Almost every time the senior center came in, he would block three shots, score six points and grab five rebounds while a teammate got some rest.
But no one improved more throughout the season than Jason Bohannon, the sophomore guard who in his rookie season was a key 3-point threat off the bench. Unfortunately, in the early stages of his sophomore year there were signs that he would never be more than an outside shooter. But after looking at old films of Kirk Penney's ability to move without the ball and successfully adding the dribble-drive to his game, Bohannon found himself open a lot more. He ended up averaging 8.2 points per game and led his team with 53 3-pointers on the year.
Best shot: Flowers' game-winner at Texas
No shot meant more than Flowers' game-winning 3-pointer at Texas in late December. After losing to Marquette at home, the Badgers were in danger of ending the non-conference season with no wins over ranked opponents and had very little proof that they could beat the likes of Indiana and Michigan State. To make matters worse, UW lost its leading scorer (Hughes) to an ankle injury the night before the game. But Flowers shot and subsequent steal arguably changed the entire season.
Best moment: UW's 77-41 win over Penn State
From Flowers' winner, to Butch's banked 3-pointer at Indiana, to the come-from-behind-win over Michigan State in the Big Ten Tournament, the '07-'08 season was full of great moments. But nothing could top UW's blowout win over the Nittany Lions to secure a share of the Big Ten Title, Wisconsin's first since 2003. The game was over before it began, but every single fan stayed in his or her seat until the end when the students flooded the court to celebrate with the team on Senior Night.
