SPORTS
Bo stands by play call after loss
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Also by Ben Voelkel:
- Lack of execution down stretch dooms Badgers (January 28, 2008)
- Badgers survive scare from Wolverines (January 24, 2008)
- Beckum shut down by Vols defense (January 21, 2008)
- Badgers bowled over in Tampa (January 21, 2008)
Related Stories:
- Badgers hit by upset train at Purdue (January 28, 2008)
- Badgers survive scare from Wolverines (January 24, 2008)
- Wisconsin wins with 'throwback' style (January 21, 2008)
- UW heads for 1st league test (January 25, 2008)
- Donovan has rough day against Tennessee 'D' (January 21, 2008)
by Ben Voelkel
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Never expect any gifts.
Two days after Michael Flowers’ final-seconds shot attempt
was turned away by Purdue’s Robbie Hummel, that’s the message UW head coach Bo
Ryan was selling. He wasn’t pining over the fact that no foul was called,
despite replays that appeared to show some contact.
“We always practice with the idea that in order to get a
call, it’s got to be something that’s pretty obvious,” Ryan said during a
Monday press conference. “That young man, with his length, just made a great
play.”
“The unfortunate part … is that the ball didn’t go out of
bounds. It hit the part of the backboard there and went straight down. If it
goes out of bounds, every coach and his team have two or three different plays
off of an end line with a second or two to go, and we would’ve had a chance to
run them.”
The fact that the play happened in a road venue probably
didn’t help Flowers’ chances for a call.
“Even back when I was coaching junior high, … if we were going
on the road, I never gave the starters any break,” Ryan said. “It was always
going to be tough. In order to get a call, you really get the tourniquets out,
as the expression always goes.”
Despite the end result of the play, Ryan was still happy
with Flowers’ decision to try to use his speed to attack the basket against a
much larger defender.
“I sure like Mike on the read turning the corner on a big,”
Ryan said. “That’s one of the four or five things that can happen in that
situation. We had a chance, and that’s what you have to be happy for, for your
players.”
Leuer rebounds
Jon Leuer opened the Big Ten season in a way few freshmen
ever do. The forward went off for 25 points against Michigan in his first-ever
conference game — the most points ever scored by a UW freshman in his inaugural
Big Ten contest.
Leuer followed up by scoring seven points against Iowa, good
for third-best on the team. Since then, however, he has seen his play fall off,
failing to score more than two points in the five games since then, including
one point against Purdue.
But even in scoring just one point, Ryan saw some positive
signs from Leuer in Saturday’s game that may hint at the freshman turning it
back around.
“He made two plays, two reads on dribble attack, pick up,
deliver (plays) … when he put it on the floor, got a better angle (for a
pass),” Ryan said. “He hit (Joe) Krabbenhoft on one and Brian Butch on another.
… That’s progress. He did look a lot more comfortable.”
Leuer, standing a spindly 6-foot-10, also mixed it up a bit
in the rebounding game.
“I like the fact that he got in there and stuck his nose in
and got called for an over the back, trying to get an offensive rebound in the
second half, trying to make a play. Nothing wrong with that, and that shows
some progress.”
Defense not an issue
Despite allowing two of its higher opponent
points-per-possession statistics in the last two games (1.08 vs. Michigan, .955
vs. Purdue), Ryan didn’t seem too worried about his team’s defensive performance.
“Shooting percentage-wise we did OK,” Ryan said. “We’re
getting teams to take tough shots, other than a couple of the put-backs that
Michigan had. Our guys are working; they’re still a good defensive team.”
The fact that both of the last two games were close contests
means more attention is paid to the defense, as well.
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