According to ESPN and CBS Sports, Bo Ryan has announced he's retiring from coaching immediately.
Bo Ryan Retiring Immediately
- Thread starter Michael1969
- Start date
Too bad. Really wanted to see the look on his face when we beat Wisconsin by 20 at Carver. Maybe this is a way to preserve his streak of always finishing in the top 4 in the Big Ten?
Smells like what Spurrier did. Sees that this season is going to go bad and just leave immediately to avoid it.
wow...maybe his team losing 3 home non-conference games & more important the way they have been playing so unlike a Bo Ryan team was getting to him.
Regardless...whether you like him or not his record at Wisconsin & Eau Claire speak for themselves.
What he did at Wisconsin was nothing short of great. I remember attending a game in 1983 in Madison in that old barn attached to the football field...Ryan was an assistant on the Wisc team. I know we won cant remember the score but at that time Wisc fans would have never predicted the success that Ryan brought.
Regardless...whether you like him or not his record at Wisconsin & Eau Claire speak for themselves.
What he did at Wisconsin was nothing short of great. I remember attending a game in 1983 in Madison in that old barn attached to the football field...Ryan was an assistant on the Wisc team. I know we won cant remember the score but at that time Wisc fans would have never predicted the success that Ryan brought.
doesn't sound like it..speculation is Alvarez didn't want to hand the job next year over to Gard...this now gives Gard the chance to win the job.
Uthoff really made right decision now? We need to really crush them this year hopefully we can learn to close out games
No he made a bad decision. He should have picked Iowa State.
Just having a little fun with you. That kid can play ball.
This.
When he decided to come back last June, he made a "secret deal" with Gard that he would walk away after the first semester. Barry wasn't/isn't set on just handing the program over to a career assistant for the long term, so this gives him a chance to prove himself before his resume has a chance to get outclassed in a national coaching search.
The clip ESPN shows makes it look like Bo was looking out for his assistant, and possibly that he is sick. BTN has the whole presser, and gives much better context. Based on BTN, I believe Bo was ready to retire before the season started, and Barry was willing to give Gard a shot, but couldn't devote full time while attending to his sick father. Gard's father passed, and 2nd semester becomes Gard's proving ground as an interim. Either he wins the job, or Barry finds a coach elsewhere. Everyone wins. I believe it's that simple.
He won 7 Conference Championships in 14 years.............................at Wisconsin. Guess the excuse train of why it can't be done at Iowa kind of goes down the drain looking at that.
Anyway, good luck to Coach Ryan in his retirement. Love him or hate him he did one hell of a job.
Anyway, good luck to Coach Ryan in his retirement. Love him or hate him he did one hell of a job.
Goodbye to a great coach. He was good for Wisconsin and the B1G. Can you imagine what the league would have looked like w/out Wiscy being very good to great? We would look weak as heck. Michigan has been up and down (mostly down); IU has underachieved w/ the talent they've had; Purdue had been down for a bit; Illannoy sucks; so do the Goofers, etc. I used to hate the guy but after seeing him interviewed after a win where the reporter asked him about his recently passed father, and seeing his emotion and reaction, it made me see him as a regular guy. Anyone who loves their father that much can't be that bad. I wish him a happy retirement.
He supposedly decided last April right after the championship game that he was done. Barry urged him to reconsider. He came out publicly in June and said he would go one more year, hoping to turn the reigns over to his longtime assistant, Greg Gard. Barry seemed tepid to the idea, so Ryan abruptly changed his mind and recanted on his retirement announcement. By leaving in mid-season, he guarantees his buddy a pretty good shot at an audition before a final decision is made. Barry being Barry possibly has his sites set a little bit higher (Tony Bennett).
I think Wisconsin's top choices will be as follows for replacements:
1) Tony Bennett
2) Ben Jacobson
3) Archie Miller - Dayton
4) Greg Gard - current interim coach
My question is, and it will be interesting to see is, how good of a job is Wisconsin? On one hand, it's a solid program with a good fanbase. However, you are replacing a legend at a place where it isn't exactly easy to recruit.
1) Tony Bennett
2) Ben Jacobson
3) Archie Miller - Dayton
4) Greg Gard - current interim coach
My question is, and it will be interesting to see is, how good of a job is Wisconsin? On one hand, it's a solid program with a good fanbase. However, you are replacing a legend at a place where it isn't exactly easy to recruit.
just one losing season in his 30 year career. .760 win percentage. Dude can coach. Glad we are done with him though.
Wisconsin, like Michigan, always wants a native son to return. Hard to fathom they wouldn't look at someone with some WI lineage first before going 'outside the family'. Bennett has it rolling at UVA and I suspect is paid very well, not sure he would leave more fertile recruiting fields in the ACC for the heartland.
How badly would you have to feel knowing that it was your team that was playing so poorly that it drove him to retire mid-season?
I was never a fan of Ryan's antics and ref intimidation, but you got to hand it to the man. He was a helluva coach.
I was never a fan of Ryan's antics and ref intimidation, but you got to hand it to the man. He was a helluva coach.
IMO Ryan (with a big assist from Bennett) is the Bill Snyder of Wisky BBall.
1995–present
The revival of Wisconsin basketball began in 1995, when Dick Bennett took over after leading Wisconsin-Green Bay to mid-major prominence. In 1997, he led the Badgers to their first winning Big Ten record in 23 years, and only their second in 43 years.
1999–2000 season (NCAA Final Four)
In 2000, the Badgers entered the NCAA tournament seeded #8 in the West bracket. Beyond most expectations, they defeated #9 Fresno St, #1 Arizona, #4 LSU, and #6 Purdue in order to advance to the Final Four. However, the Badgers then lost to #1 and eventual national champion Michigan State, 53–41.
2000–2001 season
After three games into the 2000–01 season (in which he went 2-1), Bennett abruptly retired due to burnout. His final game was a 78-75 win over eventual Final Four participant Maryland. Assistant Brad Soderberg was named interim head coach. Soderberg led Wisconsin to a 16–10 record (18-11 overall), but was upset in the first round of the NCAA tournament by Georgia State. Soderberg was let go at the end of the season, and Wisconsin hired University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee coach Bo Ryan as the new head coach. Ryan had previously won four Division III national championships at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville.
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Around the time Iowa was experiencing it's fall from grace, Bo elevated Wisky to the level we were shooting for when Davis was shown the door. Can't help but think about Nebraska's ascension after Evy stepped down. Now Fran can turn the tables and we can occupy Wisky's place in the conf. That's my hope.
I think this is a big fork in the road for Wisconsin basketball. Bo Ryan, despite my view of him personally, was a hell of a coach. He elevated that program to unprecedented heights. No doubt about it. That being said, winning that consistently is tough anywhere let alone in Madison. I do not believe the basketball program overall is quite as good as Bo has made it. In other words, I am not sure Wisky will be able to find a coach that fits that program and city any better than Bo did.
I do think Wisconsin will remain a solid and viable program going forward. However, I do expect and imagine there will be a bit of a dropoff starting with this year. I no longer believe NCAA tournaments and top four BIG finishes will be happening year after year for Bucky. I hope their fans fully realize how special these last 14 years were.
You pretty much captured the reason I typed my last sentence. I expect Iowa to finish higher than Wisky this year. I honestly can't remember the last time that happened.
Historically I would say lower tier. But they did follow up Bennett with Ryan. It's pretty hard to complete the hat trick in coach hiring.
At the age of 67, Bo Ryan wanted to have a life outside
of basketball. He had made the Final Four the past two
years and wanted to go out on top. Who needs the
stress? He can enjoy vacations with his wife.[/QUOTE]
wanted to go out on top...enjoy vacations with his wife..
holly crap thats' funny...
The real story is that its almost xmas and he needs to concentrate on his other gig.
And OSU has had some downs, especially after some guys have headed early to the NBA. Yet, some people still think the B1G has been so strong the past several years. Laughable. It's basically been two consistent good teams in MSU and Wis, occasionally OSU, and then a bunch of mediocre teams fighting for runner up behind those 2/3 teams.
