End of Summer Status

Just one week into September and football season, it already feels like the previous basketball season ended years ago.

Luckily a lull in groundbreaking Wisconsin basketball news came at a perfect time. It was a busy summer for me personally and changes are in the works regarding this blog as well. But when I rehash what people might have missed during the lazy summer, it turns out that a lot went down and most of it was good.

While the Big Ten collectively celebrated the return of many of its top players from the brink of the NBA Draft pool, other key pieces like Kevin Coble evaporated unexpectedly. Or in Chris Allen's case, not-so-unexpectedly. Meanwhile, UW said goodbye to two seniors and one non-contributor without any teeth-gnashing. That is especially great when you consider what was going on last year at this time.

Rather than the program kicking a couple kids off the team, recovering from a dramatic decommitment and sending Bo Ryan to coach Team USA, Wisconsin flew under the radar (except for this). A flurry of recruiting activity in June wrapped up nicely with Jarrod Uthoff's semi-surprising commitment in mid-July. What followed was a month of relative silence.

Though student-athletes typically get a couple of short breaks from class and teammates, an incredible amount of hard work is going on behind the scenes to prepare for the next season. Just ask the new freshmen. Or ask sophomore Ryan Evans if the hard work pays off. He was selected by Global Sports Academy for a team that toured Europe in August. Evans played well, even if it barely registered at all in the media.

However, one fellow who is no longer inconspicuous in any sense is Jon Leuer. A lot of praise was heaped on the 6'10" forward this summer as he impressed during his Team USA internship. That'll get you hyped as one of the top three players in your conference, although some draftniks over at Draft Express might be eating some crow based on how low they placed Leuer on their list of Big Ten draft prospects.

Leuer leads a six-man senior class heading into the fall semester as the program adjusts to one new assistant coach in light of Howard Moore's departure. But people forget that number could have doubled if Greg Gard had gotten the UW-Green Bay job in the spring (Ed. note: could have tripled really). Again, disaster averted.

So it's a good time to be optimistic about an even more enjoyable basketball season lurking behind the changing colors of the trees. We can even take a deep, relaxing breath knowing that the divisional realignment scare has passed ... I think.

Decision On New Assistant Expected Soon

Rob Schultz reported last night that Bo Ryan is interviewing four candidates for Wisconsin's vacant assistant coaching position this week. Applications for the opening were due by today, while an official announcement would likely be made closer to the expected start date of Tuesday, Sep. 7.

Three of the candidates appear to be former UW guard Freddie Owens (Montana), Pat Baldwin (Loyola) and Ben Johnson (Northern Iowa). All three men played collegiately in the Big Ten. Possibilities for the fourth candidate include Paris Parham (Illinois State), Sharif Chambliss (UW-Platteville), Rodell Davis (Providence) and Kareem Richardson (Drake) -- several of whom are noted forces in the Chicagoland recruiting game.

The early whispers said that Owens had an edge, but there is no clear leader at this time.

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Many Badger fans will keep an eye on Illinois-Chicago this year because of the man Bo is trying to replace. I know it will be easy for me to root for a guy like Howard Moore to re-energize the UIC program in the near future. Moore hit the turf running by adding two new assistants already, including one sage hire from the Chicago Public League. Assistants from Indiana State and Providence have been rumored for Moore's third opening.

Under Moore's guidance, UIC has extended a slew of scholarship offers to Chicago prepsters already, as well as a familiar name in Wisconsin. It will be interesting to see whether Moore makes acquiring prevelant junior college talent a part of his strategy.

The guys from Illinois Prep Bulls Eye had this to say about whom the Flames might go after next:

"We would also not be the least bit surprised to see UIC end up on the radar of several other 2011 prospects before it is said and done, including 6'7 forward Devon Hodges from Bolingbrook High School in Bolingbrook, IL; 6'4 forward Quintin Chievous from Notre Dame High School in Niles, IL; 6'5 wing Jacob Williams from St. Patrick High School in Chicago and possibly 6'3 shooting guard Will Sullivan from York Township High School in Elmhurst, IL just to name a few."

Big Ten Releases Conference Schedule

With today's release of the Big Ten Conference men's basketball slate, Wisconsin's 2010-11 regular season schedule has been finalized.

We knew several of the big dates when ESPN announced its TV schedule yesterday.

The rivalries renew immediately on Dec. 28 when Minnesota makes its first trip to Madison since the Gophers' shocking comeback at the Kohl Center two seasons ago. Unfortunately, Wisconsin plays Minnesota and Iowa just once during the regular season. With the Hawkeyes expected to be dreadful in year one of Fran McCaffery's tenure, that could be a slight disadvantage for the Badgers when comparing unbalanced league schedules.

Other marquee revelations are Wisconsin's trip to Illinois on Jan. 2 and the Illini's return trip to Madison less than two weeks later, on Jan. 15. Bo Ryan and Co. also welcome Purdue (Feb. 1) and Michigan State (Feb. 6) to the Kohl Center for back-to-back tilts. Wisconsin then heads to West Lafayette, Ind. on Feb. 16. Luckily there are no back-breaking road stretches for Badgers.

The previously released non-conference schedule, which tips off Nov. 14 after two exhibitions, includes true road tests against UNLV (11/20) and Marquette (12/11) in addition to three games in the Old Spice Classic. The Badgers drew the North Carolina State Wolfpack at home on Dec. 1 in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.

Wisconsin will begin the eight-team Old Spice Classic with a game against Manhattan on Nov. 25. Potential opponents in later rounds include Boston College, Texas A&M, California and Notre Dame. [View bracket]

2010-11 Wisconsin Big Ten Schedule
Date - Opponent, Time (TV)
Dec. 28 - Minnesota, 7 p.m. (ESPN2)
Jan. 2 - @ Illinois, 6 p.m. (BTN)
Jan. 5 - Michigan, 8:30 p.m. (BTN)
Jan. 11 - @ Michigan State, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
Jan. 15 - Illinois, 3 p.m. (BTN)
Jan. 20 - Indiana, 9 p.m. (ESPN/ESPN2)
Jan. 23 - @ Northwestern, 1 p.m. (BTN)
Jan. 29 - @ Penn State, 4 p.m. (BTN)
Feb. 1 - Purdue, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
Feb. 6 - Michigan State, 1 p.m. (CBS)
Feb. 9 - @ Iowa, 8:30 p.m. (BTN)
Feb. 12 - Ohio State, 2 p.m. (ESPN/ESPN2)
Feb. 16 - @ Purdue, 6:30 p.m. (BTN)
Feb. 20 - Penn State, 6 p.m. (BTN)
Feb. 23 - @ Michigan, 6:30 p.m. (BTN)
Feb. 27 - Northwestern, 6 p.m. (BTN)
Mar. 2/3 - @ Indiana, 8:30/9 p.m. (BTN/ESPN/ESPN2)
Mar. 6 - @ Ohio State, TBD (CBS/ESPN/BTN)

Howard Moore Will Be UIC's Next Head Coach

According to a source cited by the Daily Herald's Lindsey Willhite, Howard Moore will be named the new head coach at the University of Illinois-Chicago as early as Monday. Previous UIC head coach Jimmy Collins announced his retirement last month, effective at the end of August. Some are already hoping the Flames pick up the swing offense.


Let the speculation on Moore's replacement begin. It should be quite a scramble, as Andy Katz speculated earlier this week. Teaching-wise, Bo needs to find someone capable of working with his post players.

Recruiting-wise, Illinois is thought to have a weak crop of 2012 ahead of a loaded (or at least top-heavy) 2013 class. Wisconsin's new assistant who inherits that turf from Moore would have the luxury of a full 2011 class and half of the 2012 class in tow. That means little urgency to land recruits at the start. There's plenty of time to worry about 2013.

Think Mike Finley has an interest in coaching?

Moore Among Six Finalists For UIC Job

The head coaching vacancy is still unfilled at the University of Illinois-Chicago, but the Chicago Tribune is reporting that Wisconsin assistant and Chitown native Howard Moore is one of six finalists for the position. (Ed. note: The Tribune has edited the linked story, stating Tony Barone is no longer a candidate.)

Moore appeared to be one of the top candidates for the position ever since Jimmy Collins announced his retirement last month, but there has been no word on an interview until now. Minnesota assistant Vince Taylor could be one of the front-runners after interviewing this weekend, but apparently all six candidates met with the UIC brass today.

The other four finalists are Mark Montgomery (Michigan State), Willis Wilson (Memphis), Joe Pasternak (New Orleans), and Tony Barone (Memphis Grizzlies' director of player personnel). I think Moore, Taylor and Montgomery are on the short list. Illinois' recruiting savant Jerrance Howard already expressed his desire to stay with the Illini.

Moore's qualifications look good. The natural connection to the loaded talent base is there. Besides the obviously exciting opportunity to get his first head coaching job, though, there are a few reasons why Moore might want to continue solidifying his coaching resume with Bo Ryan and wait for something else down the line.

For starters, it's now the middle of August and the interview process appears to have just kicked off. For comparison, when Rob Jeter left Bo's staff five years ago, he was hired by UW-Milwaukee in April, with plenty of time to build his staff, hit the recruiting path and develop the program's culture. Is it too late in the offseason for UIC's new head coach to be effective in year one?

Not to mention that Tracy Webster, one of the guys who might have been on the short list of replacements for Moore, took a job on the Nebraska bench earlier this month. Don't you think these two former Badger teammates might have discussed whether a position might open up at Wisconsin?

If Moore were to accept a job offer to lead the Flames, his replacement would probably need to possess several characteristics that he and Webster share. Webster and Moore are both 30-something African-American coaches with Chicago roots and a wide range of coaching experience. In addition to his interim head coaching experience at DePaul, Webster has had short stints at some major programs (Purdue, Illinois, Kentucky) after rising quickly from D-III through Ball State at the mid-major level. Moore has been on the grind right from the get-go in 1996, coaching at the high school, D-III, mid-major, and now power-conference levels.