Zetlin: Time for Bo to take next step

by Derek Zetlin

Wednesday, December 3, 2008 00:00

If you ask any businessman, teacher, politician or scientist how to be successful, they’ll all tell you to be goal-oriented. Set a target; once you achieve it, strive for another. The same holds true in sports. Or at least it should.

It’s hard to argue with Bo Ryan’s seven straight (in seven tries) NCAA Tournament appearances with Wisconsin, four Division III National Championships at UW-Platteville and the highest winning percentage among active coaches with at least 20 years under their belts. That’s why I’m not going to argue with the numbers. The goals, on the other hand, are a different story.

Since arriving in Madison in 2001, Ryan has verbally made it clear that winning Big Ten championships is more important to him than postseason success. He has won three conference titles in his seven seasons at UW and has never made it to the Final Four. He also takes pride in graduating his players — a phenomenon often overlooked in today’s game — as evidenced by his steering clear of the Mike Conley Jr.’s, O.J. Mayo’s and Derrick Rose’s of the basketball world. Nothing wrong with that, but it does raise an interesting question about recruiting.

Ryan is one of, if not the best, college coach today in terms of maximizing production with the least amount of overall talent. But analyzing recruiting is like critiquing the CIA. It’s hard for anyone outside of the program to criticize or commend — fans and media alike, no matter how knowledgeable they think they may be — simply because no one knows what goes on behind closed doors.

That said, until last year, when Ryan recruited Ian Markolf from San Antonio and Ryan Evans from Phoenix (neither of whom were highly touted nationally), it was rather obvious that, for the most part, Ryan stayed within the Midwest bubble in his search of future Badgers. In turn, these players knew that when they came to Wisconsin, they were going to be patient, run the swing offense and contend for a Big Ten title.

Seems logical, but my perspective changed a bit Sunday while reading John Feinstein’s biography of Red Auerbach, perhaps the greatest basketball coach that ever lived.

“Their whole thing is their system. They bring in players and say, ‘You will play this way,’ even if their skills aren’t right for playing that way,” Auerbach said of stubborn college coaches. “One thing I always noticed with (Duke head coach Mike) Krzyzewski was that he changed the way he ran his offense every year based on the players he had. That’s the kind of flexibility you need.”

Granted, this quote is taken out of context. As GM of the Celtics, Auerbach wanted to steal Krzyzewski from the Dukies and hire him as the new Boston head coach. So the quote is somewhat skewed, as it is in relation to Auerbach’s confidence in Coach K’s ability to make the switch to the pros (in comparison to Kentucky’s Rick Pitino, who took over the Green instead and failed miserably), not success at the collegiate level. But Krzyzewski has won three Division I National Championships and has seven other Final Four appearances at Duke by recruiting talented kids from Maryland to Oregon and adjusting accordingly based on their strengths. So it does raise an interesting point, especially in relation to the man we’ve been accustomed to see scowling at referees from the Badgers’ bench.

With Ryan, it’s all about the system: the swing offense. He gives up athleticism points to recruit smart, fundamental players to fill specific roles and stay for four years. And they run it and run it until they’re swinging in their sleep. He knows what he wants and he goes out and gets it.

With his system, Ryan has created a program that is in the Top 25 and makes the Big Dance every year. It doesn’t contend for a national title, but it will be a half-step below that on an annual basis. To some national media, that is perceived as mediocrity, not being able to get over the hump. They’d be right, if Ryan was trying to turn Madison into Durham, N.C.

Coincidentally, this reminds me of a different team, one that plays just blocks from the Kohl Center, run by a guy named Bielema. You’d think that following Barry Alvarez’s overwhelming success and playing in four consecutive January bowl games — the program’s current pride and joy — Bielema would be able to bring some out-of-state, four and five-star recruits to Wisconsin’s capital.

I’ve yet to figure that one out.

With the way Ryan recruits and the system he has intact, Wisconsin basketball will not be a national powerhouse, and it won’t produce many superstars for David Stern’s enjoyment. It will, however, be a Big Ten contender every season, be a true “team” by definition, graduate its players and yield smart individuals prepped for real-world success.

There’s certainly more to life than wins, losses and weakside help; I’ll agree with Ryan on that every day of the week. But when you have a strong foundation in place and you continue to meet the same goals year after year (compete in conference, make the tournament), isn’t it time to raise the bar when there’s more out there to accomplish?

For Ryan to be considered among the best in the business — which I believe is the case — he’s got to take the next step, a la Michigan State’s Tom Izzo.

Krzyzewski made his first Final Four in his eighth season in Durham. This is Ryan’s eighth cardinal and white campaign.

Derek is a junior majoring in economics. He’s very curious to hear your thoughts on Bo Ryan’s legacy. Is it time to change the system? Is everything fine the way it is? Let Derek know at dzetlin@badgerherald.com.