The sleeping bags have been rolled up, the tents have come down and the tickets have been turned in. Lots of tickets. Every seat in the Kohl Center has been sold out for the 2003-04 Wisconsin men’s basketball season, and following a berth in the sweet sixteen last year hopes are high, even in November, that the Badgers will be playing even deeper into March.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. It is just the beginning of November and the Badgers already have their backs to the wall. Even before formal practices began, the Badgers found they would be without forward Alando Tucker for at least the near future.

If Illinois’ sophomore point guard Dee Brown is “The Human Fast Break,” then Tucker is deservedly “The Human Vertical Leap” of college basketball. With absolutely ridiculous ups for a man listed at 6-foot-5, Tucker was to take the momentum from an all-Big Ten freshman selection into his sophomore year, and the sky might not have been a limit as to the possibilities the new season presented.

Now Tucker will sit with a boot on his right foot until the end of the non-conference season and will watch practices from the sideline.

With the overwhelming importance of conditioning in Bo Ryan’s system, Tucker’s status upon his return remains unknown. With the injury, Tucker and the Badgers’ strength and conditioning team will have to find a way to keep him on the same level of conditioning as his game-tested teammates. If he is to make the impact that had been counted on, how well Tucker can rehab will be a big key to the success of the team.

Filling Tucker’s spot in the line up should be junior college transfer Zach Morley, who has exhibited a knack to play both inside and out. With a jump hook in his arsenal, he might be a formidable solution to the problem left in Tucker’s absence. But Morley appears to be a little shorter than the 6-foot-8 he’s listed. The rebounding that Tucker brought to the floor might be missing in the early part of the season if someone can’t bridge the gap.

Junior Mike Wilkinson, who has just been an absolute horse in the middle of his tenure in Madison, might again be the one who must carry the primary load in the post. Many times last season, Wilkinson looked as if he was playing on his last breath. He would run the floor as hard as he could and, with no rest coming from the bench, he would have to continue the hustle down. Wilkinson may find himself in familiar territory this November and December.

In missing Tucker’s numbers, as well as the production and leadership of the graduated Kirk Penney, the Badgers are left looking for new faces to step up both in the statistics and in command of the team.

Preseason All-Big Ten selection Devin Harris looks to pick up the reigns Penney left as the team’s floor general. With a guard-heavy lineup, Harris is the guy leading the charge, while senior Freddie Owens should provide the locker room guidance. Boo Wade’s shooting should improve to go along with his sound ball-handling, and the Badger backcourt could be as good as any in the conference.

And while both Wade and Harris have shown a knack for playing the boards, rebounding will be a sore spot without Tucker in the lineup, making the non-conference season a much tougher one than it was originally planned to be.

Senior Dave Mader, sophomore Andreas Helmigk and heralded freshman Brian Butch cannot be expected to pick up Tucker’s slack under the boards. As promising as these players are or have been, they shouldn’t provide much more than a limited presence for Wisconsin.

Ryan has proven himself a resilient head coach, very resourceful with the personnel he has at his disposal. Early on, however, the Badgers will be playing from behind. Maybe not on the scoreboard, but by the time Tucker returns, the team should have already found a rhythm. His return might create an interesting problem where the needs of production from Tucker will be weighed against the success the team has already found. But again, it’s early November, and things are still relatively undecided.

If one thing is certain, the Badgers will be playing from behind with Tucker out of the line up. How his absence will weigh out through the non-conference season could significantly determine how the season unfolds. The goal, as it has always been, is to win the Big Ten. If Tucker can get back healthy before the end of December, that goal is still within reach.