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."

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.

On the Stove Top: 4/9/10

Greg Gard is one of five official finalists for the UW-Green Bay head coaching position. The process is expected to drag into next week when a round of more formal interviews will take place on campus. Former Wisconsin interim head coach Brad Soderberg declined consideration.

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In a follow-up to Wednesday's post, day one at Portsmouth went pretty smoothly for Trevon Hughes. He led his team to a blowout victory with a well-rounded effort. Other Big Ten players in the tournament include DeShawn Sims and Lawrence Westbrook. Hughes goes up against Baylor's Tweety Carter as his team resumes play tonight.

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Draft Express was on the scene as the Nike Hoop Summit practices began and incoming UW recruit Duje Dukan got a shout out for his shooting prowess. While Dukan measured over 6'8" tall in shoes, I found it interesting that his wingspan was only 6'7". So despite his nice height as a shooting forward, Dukan is not necessarily "long" in the hoops sense.
[Saturday's results] [box score]

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The premature speculation toward next season ran rampant after Duke's win over Butler Monday night. More often than not, Wisconsin is again being overlooked. Here's just a sampling of early Top 25 lists for 2010-11 and where (if) the Badgers ranks ...

• NBC's Beyond the Arc: Not Considered
• CBS' Gary Parrish: #23
• FOX's Jeff Goodman: Among "More to Watch"
• ESPN's Andy Katz: Not even "On the cusp"
• SI's Luke Winn: #15
• Rush the Court: Just missed
• Rivals: Among "Others considered"
• Online Sport Fanatic: #18
• CollegeHoops.net: #21

Keep in mind these lists hang in varying degrees of accuracy due to the stream of NBA early entrant announcements. The Sporting News keeps a nice up-to-date list of those players.

Head Coaching Candidate Greg Gard

With Tod Kowalczyk's departure to Toledo, Wisconsin assistant Greg Gard has become a prominent name in discussions regarding UW-Green Bay's coaching search. And reportedly Bo Ryan felt the need to vouch for Gard's candidacy personally by placing a call to Green Bay's A.D. Ken Bothof.

In the summer of 2008 when Gard earned a promotion to associate head coach, a common assumption was that Bo was taking another step to groom his successor at Wisconsin. Since then, Gard received props from Bo on national television for his prep work that enabled the Badgers to smash Michigan State to pieces at the Kohl Center. By giving Bothof a good recommendation on Gard's behalf, Bo is making no secret that he wants his right-hand man to get a shot at running his own program.

Bo's campaigning makes sense either way you look at it. Even if Bo thought Gard would make a good head coach at Wisconsin, one look at Gard's résumé would show you he's never faced that task before. Perhaps learning from the Bennett-Soderberg-Ryan transition made it clear that a successful head coaching gig would be a must if Gard ever wanted to lead the Badgers some day. If Gard were offered the Green Bay job and accepted -- even after turning down Toledo two years ago -- I suspect this reasoning would be at least part of his motivation. It makes no sense to leave it to chance that some committee or some individual might hold this lack of experience against him down the road.

Losing Gard would be a hit to the program for sure. In addition to doing at least half of the opponent scouting for the Badgers, Gard handles the scheduling and is arguably the program's top recruiter. Gard was the lead recruiter for most of the "Minnesota Badgers" in addition to bringing Rob Wilson, Keaton Nankivil and now Josh Gasser aboard. So, yeah, basically Gard led the charge in building the team's current nucleus.

As far as current recruits, Gard is working with Traevon Jackson for 2011. He has also been alongside Bo watching J.P. Tokoto.

Money will not drive Gard to UW-Green Bay, that's for sure. Above all, Gard is looking for the right fit -- with the whole athletic department and community in question. As I hypothesized over a year ago, Gard is at home in this state and it would not surprise me if he felt the shoe fits this time around. Gard would make a great head coach in my humble opinion, so I am eager to see if UW-Green Bay gives him that chance.

So It Begins

A new season is finally underway, as the 2009-10 Wisconsin Badgers step into "real" action for the first time against Bemidji State, a name which hockey fans are already familiar with. In fact, I am listening to the game right now. Wisconsin premiered out a full-court press early in the first half and Ryan Evans is having a personal block party from the sound of it.

The biggest storyline heading into the game was whether fans would pay the $2.99 to watch the game on BigTenNetwork.com or just listen to the radio like me. For what it's worth, when you cannot do either, you can always count on the in-game blog at UWBadgers.com.

Duje Dukan, the 6'8" sharpshooter who received Bo Ryan's latest scholarship offer, is supposed to be in attendance tonight. Who knows, maybe Wisconsin will have another verbal commitment by the morning. With future backcourt depth still in flux, the latest 2010 scholarship offer was a curious one. Dukan would be a great weapon to have, but definitely is not the combo guard that many are looking for.

Another option for guard depth next year could be dismissed freshman walk-on Jeremy Glover. According to the Wisconsin State Journal today, Glover could potentially return to the team as a "practice-only" player if he wins his recent appeal.

Big Ten media day archive
In case you missed it, here's a collection of links from last Thursday's Big Ten Media Day in Chicago. There are no new coaches in the league this year. That stability can go a long way in determining how well the conference measures up to all the preseason hype.

Preseason Favorites and All-Big Ten First Team (BigTen.org)

Interviews
Coaches, via Big Ten Network:
Bo Ryan
Tom Izzo
Bruce Weber
Matt Painter
Thad Matta
John Beilein
Bill Carmody
Ed Dechellis
Todd Lickliter
Tom Crean (n/a)
Tubby Smith (not in attendance after recent death of his father)

Complete Coaches Transcript (BigTen.org)
Badger Interviews (Sports Bubbler)

UWBadgers.com
Here's the quote that got everone giddy from this News & Notes piece:

"One of things Coach Ryan mentioned to the Big Ten Network that might surprise people is that he's excited to see Hughes and Jordan Taylor get out in transition a little. While I wouldn't expect the Badgers to run-and-gun, the team might have the athleticism this year to push the tempo a bit. The team actually played with a 25-second shot clock when they were playing pick-up ball over the summer. The idea being to look for a shot quicker and remove the tendency to walk the ball up the floor."

Trouble In Paradise

When a team, like Wisconsin, counts its coach as one of its usual advantages over the competition, not getting any traditional practice time in before a big game should be cause for concern.

Such is life in tropical early season tournaments, I suppose. Trying to squeeze four games in on the final day immediately after the semifinals on Sunday night meant neither Wisconsin nor Connecticut hit the floor in preparation for the Paradise Jam title game. Left more to instinct and natural athleticism than normal, Bucky's first loss of the season was no surprise.

Connecticut is really good. They have the top shelf athletes at guard that traditionally give the Badgers fits. Bo's youngest team in years really showed their inexperience on Monday, hounded into 22 turnovers by the Huskies. Freshman Kemba Walker led the way with four steals.

Not all of the turnovers were forced by Connecticut though. Regular rotation players like sophomores Keaton Nankivil and Tim Jarmusz and freshman Jordan Taylor simply had some very lazy passes picked off. You might be able to get away with that against teams #20-300, but not against a top ten team. It was amazing how many easy fast break points the Huskies got in the game. They had 31 points off turnovers overall.

It did not help matters that UConn center Hasheem Thabeet intimidated even the most experienced Badgers in the paint. Seniors Marcus Landry and Joe Krabbenhoft looked tentative most of the night. My favorite part of the game was Rob Wilson coming in without a care in the world and going up for two dunks on Thabeet and drawing two fouls (never mind that one was a clean block). That turned into four easy points from the line for the Badgers just because one player believed in himself.

These are the types of games where Krabby's offensive limitations really bother me. An extra pass is usually nice, but two or three extra passes is too much, especially right under the basket. You can attribute Wisconsin's 32% shooting inside the 3-point line to Thabeet's presence and the Badgers decision-making around the rim. It is no longer a surprise when UW shoots well from long distance (8-of-17), but those bombs merely kept the Badgers in the game. [box score]

In the end it was just a few sequences like the one at the end of the first half that doomed the Badgers. Wisconsin had held a slim lead through the first 10 minutes or so, but UConn closed on a 19-4 run to go up 10 points at the break thanks to their pressure defense. Jon Leuer and Trevon Hughes keyed an 11-3 run that had the Badgers right back in the game at 45-43, but the Huskies quickly turned momentum with a three-point play and a dunk by Jerome Dyson.

When Jason Bohannon missed both of his free throws and Thabeet responded with two freebies of his own, the lead was back to nine and UW's spirit was seemingly sapped. Though Bohannon appeared to be on track for a nice shooting night when he nailed two early treys, he soon reverted to his previous island form and finished 2-of-9 from the floor.

At least we got to watch this one on TV, right?

On the Stove Top: 10/9

The summer doldrums are behind us Badger fans. As the air turns crisp and the football team's fortunes sour, basketball has finally emerged again as a viable topic. And not just recruiting news either.

- One writer who has been fighting the good fight all summer long is Jeff Goodman, who touched on Wisconsin's returning experience (and lack thereof) in his column yesterday. I like reading Goodman over at Fox Sports because he offers college basketball content every day from all over the country. He did not get bogged down with hyping up high schoolers, but checked in even on low-major programs and presented their outlook on the coming season.

In Goodman's piece on the Badgers, he restates a fact that fans have known for so long we might have forgotten: Bo Ryan's squad has 11 sophomores or freshmen this year. In my eyes, this will make for an exciting year, because there is the stability of proven players but also the opportunity to see which one of the youngsters will surprise us all and contribute right away.

- BadgerBeat.com, the new web offering from Capital Newspapers, is so cluttered and poorly laid-out that I usually avoid it. However, I did catch a piece this week about associate head coach Greg Gard.

Hearing about Gard's desire to head up his own program got me thinking about UW-Green Bay. As the Phoenix have seemingly gone in the wrong direction in the Horizon League over the past three season, grumblings about current head coach Tod Kowalczyk grow. If the slide continued and Kowalczyk got the axe, would Gard consider the position? My gut says that Gard will aim a higher than Green Bay, but you have to acknowledge how clearly at home Gard feels in the state of Wisconsin. Of course, this is all hypothetical at this point, but imagine the three Division 1 system schools in the state all running the swing offense.

- Night of the Grateful Red: Don't forget if you are in the Madison area, you can take a first look at the 2008-09 Badgers for free on Friday, October 17 at 7 p.m.

Wisconsin Still A Football School

The Wisconsin State Journal ran a sidebar in Sunday's paper detailing the financial expenditures of each UW sports program, accompanying an article that highlighted a few of the low-budget success stories.

With the escalating success of the men's basketball team, Bo Ryan has made a Kohl Center ticket a tougher find than one to Camp Randall. However, follow the money and you'll find that football still reigns supreme in the Badger State. Though both Ryan and head football coach Bret Bielema both reportedly earn a $400,000 base salary, Bielema's $900,000 in additional multimedia package revenue dwarfs Ryan's $550,000 package of the same kind.

The multimedia revenue figure for Ryan was raised significantly after the 2006-07 season in which the Wisconsin reached their first ever #1 ranking. It seems a bit peculiar that the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported at the time of Ryan's raise that he would be guaranteed $1.25 million for this past season, whereas the WSJ breakdown showed only $950,000. The $300,000 difference appears to come from a previous deferred-compensation agreement that is also being honored, though I am not sure why or how that number is not reported. I'm not sure what's missing in that equation, but it is clear that no one on either staff is hurtin' for cash.

Every assistant coach in football and basketball is paid more handsomely than any other head coach in the athletic department, except for the aforementioned big wigs and those leading the men's hockey, women's hockey and women's basketball teams. Offensive coordinator Paul Chryst ($300,000) is one of the state's highest-paid employees. If you were wondering, both Greg Gard and Gary Close pulled down $137,902 last year and Howard Moore earned a measly $102,566.

Speaking of Close, shortly after he was passed over for the head coaching position at Drake, former Iowa basketball player Jess Settles wrote in to the Des Moines Register with a fiery defense of Close. That open letter was then followed by this rather thoughtful column on Close in the same newspaper. Wisconsin is clearly lucky to have still have Close on staff, whose temperament may make him the perfect coaching compliment for Bo Ryan's bench.

Other numbers released in the article were for the 2006-07 season. The men's basketball team spent only $55,254 on its recruiting, compared to $177,170 for the football team which must cover many more players. However, travel costs for that season were nearly identical for the two teams.

What's cooking:
- Derrick Rose is gaining steam as the top overall player on this year's draft board. The updated simulator seems to favor D.J. Augustin for the Bucks ... T.J. Ford, the sequel?! Nooooooo!!
- Rob Hernandez relates the recent flap by a high school track and field star to Doug Chickering's vision of the impending curse of young elite athletes.
- From the "They Said What?" Department - Recruiting Desk: Rodney Williams is still claiming an offer from Wisconsin, Jordan Prosser still really likes Wisconsin and '08 G Jacob Jenkins has an offer from the Badgers "on the table." High comedy.
- Don't forget to check out the Senior Salute over at UWBadgers.com for this past season's four seniors.
- A list of state players still ballin' overseas, plus some nice additional links and commentary at Badgercentric.

How Good Is Bo Ryan?

On Thursday, Bo Ryan became the fourth annual recipient of the Adolph Rupp Cup award for the men's basketball coach of the year. Even though Wisconsin had a great season, Bo had not been mentioned much as a national award candidate. Thad Matta took home the hardware in the Big Ten and Tony Bennett was named Coach of the Year by the Associated Press.

Despite finishing the season 4-4, Wisconsin won 30 games, surpassing the old mark of 25 wins (set and matched in Bo's second and third seasons). The school earned its first-ever No. 1 ranking in February and boasted the nation's third-longest winning streak this season. The Badgers proceeded to make a ninth consecutive NCAA tournament appearance, receiving the highest seeding in team history.

The Rupp Cup voters did not hold the late-season slide against the coach and they were right in doing so. UW lost arguably its second-best player for the second half of a two-point loss on the road against the top-ranked team in the country. With Brian Butch done for the season, the fall from grace was not surprising. During the winning streak, I was demanding a Final Four run. "Nothing less should be expected," I thought. By the end of the Big Ten Tournament, I admitted that making the Elite Eight would constitute a successful season. As it turned out, making the Sweet Sixteen would have elated me.

We tend to romanticize the ability of our team's players when all is well and conversely, go overboard negatively when the season bogs down. The only constant is the coaching. I think it's fair to say that the only Badger we know will play in the NBA is Alando Tucker. Based on size alone, Butch and Greg Stiemsma may wind up getting a look next year, but that is contingent on showing a lot of improvement as seniors. Landry? Hughes? Nothing more than potential right now.

This is what Bo has to work with. The coaching record speaks for itself. His 500th career victory came this season at the South Padre Island Invitational versus Auburn.

Along with Tom Izzo, Bo seemingly stands as the very best of the Big Ten's head coaches. That elite class has swelled with the influx of two recent heavyweight transfers, Kelvin Sampson and Tubby Smith. Like Bo, Thad Matta came in with a proven track record at other programs, experiencing immediate success and Big Ten titles. Those five coaches have Hall of Fame potential. However, Bo is the only one from this group who has not been to a Final Four. Hmmm ...

On the other hand, Bruce Weber built the Southern Illinois program into a mid-major power before winning two Big Ten titles and reaching the NCAA Championship Game with the Fightin' Illini. Yet he is knocked down to the middleweight division because of lackluster recruiting skills. There he joins Purdue's Matt Painter, the conference's lone "whiz kid." Painter took over at Southern Illinois after assisting Weber there for five seasons. He finished his training as associate head coach under Gene Keady at Purdue, where Weber was an assistant for nearly 20 years. Coming into the season, Purdue was my sleeper team in the conference and I think Painter's boys validated my thoughts by the end of the year. He's got potential as a coach and a very good incoming crop of freshman this fall.

The final two classes of Big Ten coaches include the "small-time coaches in over their heads at terrible programs" club (Bill Carmody at Northwestern, Ed DeChellis at Penn State) and the "vacancies at sleeping giants" club (Iowa and Michigan). The "former players who can't get it done" club is empty with the recent departures of Steve Alford and Tommy Amaker.

There's reason to believe Bo will take this program to even higher heights. His only "off year" in 2005-06 can be attributed to two crippling academic suspensions. UW continues to gain previously unthinkable media attention since he's arrived. But the Final Four is calling. Bo is principled, but needs to be willing to tweak his famous swing offense to suit the high-level players his staff can now reach.

As an aside, I think the Badgers still have not recovered from losing Rob Jeter two season ago. Sure, the team still has two top-notch assistants in Gary Close and Greg Gard. But imagine having three great assistants. As Jeter begins beating out bigger schools for recruits at UW-Milwaukee, Howard Moore is still feeling his way into the role of the replacement. Moore has cultivated his Chicago background into a recruiting tool for the traditionally fertile area before, but may still be adjusted to attracting the top-level talent that success in the Big Ten requires. Both recent recruits out of Illinois--signed before Moore returned to Madison--have now transferred. Tucker was a smashing success waaaaaa-y back in 2002, but neither Mickey Perry (Chicago) nor DeAaron Williams (Peoria) contributed.


Tasty links:
- Kirk Penney is enjoying Euro-league basketball.
- Keaton Nankovil has big plans (see #12).