Bo Ryan has done it again.

For the past eight years at Wisconsin, we have seen the same old story repeated with the men’s basketball team more often than a pass interference flag at a Packers game.

Bo’s bunch makes the NCAA Tournament and wins a game or two. People swoon in the offseason over some random team (this year Michigan and Minnesota) with the buzzword Mel Kiper has made a living off — potential. And these same people suffer a brain lapse paramount to Tiger’s choice of mistresses (a contestant on Tool Academy? Really, Tiger? At least Spitzer’s harlot came with a five star rating) and leave Wisconsin out of the preseason polls once again.

Like the tide, complaints about the BCS and my awful column metaphors, we can count on seeing this year after year.

The question is why?

With not all members of the media being morons*, one would hope Bo’s eight consecutive NCAA appearances, an average of 24 wins a season and never having finished lower than fourth in the Big Ten would eventually sink in — this guy knows how to win.

*So I am stealing the asterisk in a column from SI’s Joe Posnanski, but it needs to be noted that at least one college basketball guy has learned from his mistakes. CBSSports’ Gary Parrish owned up to leaving the Badgers off his power rankings writing, “”I, Gary Parrish, swear on everything I own — including my iPod, portable GPS and hundreds of thousands of Marriot points — that I will never leave Wisconsin unranked in the preseason as long as Bo Ryan is coaching with his NCAA tournament streak intact. It’ll never happen again. Never. Ever. There’s no sense in annually being wrong about the same thing.”

As dumb as this answer may sound, it lies in Ryan’s coaching.

Meaning, he actually does it.

On a national scale, Ryan is known for the swing offense, strong defense and playing at a tempo slower than SEC students.

While all of these things are true, the most impressive hallmark of a Ryan team is how every single one of the players improves from year-to-year.

Every. Single. One.

Take Trevon Hughes. The now-senior guard played sparingly as a freshman, busted out for 11.2 points per game his sophomore year, then improved his average to 12.1 points as the main man at the point and also increased his 3-point percentage and free throw shooting.

Now a senior, Hughes has turned into a remarkably clutch player (See: Duke and Arizona this year, Florida State in NCAA Tourney last year) and has become the team’s go-to scorer this season at 16.7 points per game. If that wasn’t enough, Hughes’ maturity is most evident in his shutting down of Duke point guard Jon Scheyer and the terrific defense he exhibited on Maryland’s Greivis Vasquez.

In stark competition with Hughes for the Badgers most-improved would be junior forward Jon Leuer. As the Minnesota native flashed against Michigan his freshman year (25 points on five for five 3-point shooting) and showed in bursts his whole sophomore year (the most efficient scorer for UW at a point every 2.4 minutes), it was easier to predict a breakout year for Leuer than Uggs being looked back on like ’80s hair. Seriously ladies, Uggs equal ’80s haircuts.

Leuer has delivered to the tune of 13.9 points per game on 51 percent shooting, and provided an inside-outside presence the Badgers haven’t had since Mike Wilkinson — who, by the way, was another Badger who improved year after year for Bo.

I could go on about how Jason Bohannon’s defense, toughness and rebounding have improved or how Keaton Nankivil went from unknown to reliable role player, but there is another point to be made. Kammron Taylor, Brian Butch, Alando Tucker, Kirk Penney, Joe Krabbenhoft… I realize I am just rambling through names at this point, but look at each of these players’ careers and how they improved during their four years in Madison.

This type of coaching Bo has consistently exhibited — helping players improve each year, and not just from freshman to sophomore year where they improve strength and fitness — is not the norm in college basketball, despite what you may be inclined to believe.

For proof we only have to look down I-94 towards Marquette.

The MU Warriors (I am stubborn) celebrated one of the most successful freshmen classes in recent memory when they brought in the super trio of Dominic James, Wesley Matthews and Jerel McNeal. Carrying Marquette to March Madness as the preeminent diaper dandies (I hate myself for just typing that), huge things were expected over the next three years.

Except, they plateaued.

Exiting in the first round of the tournament their freshmen year, MU proceeded to lose first round, second round and second round.

Not exactly former MU coach Tom Crean’s finest moments.

While Ryan doesn’t bring in headlining recruiting classes like Marquette’s, his team seems to always finish on top.

He takes average athletes with strong skill sets and teaches them how to win.

Teaches being the key word.

With no top ranked recruiting classes on their way in the foreseeable future, Ryan will continue to face the same questions about how long he can maintain this success.

While you can’t seem to teach the media, you can bet his players will continue to learn.

Michael is a senior majoring in journalism. Think he admires Bo to much? Let him know at [email protected].