After a successful campaign for Wisconsin in 2003-04 under head coach Bo Ryan, the men’s basketball team prepares for yet another rigorous season of Big Ten basketball. Last season, Ryan’s third at the helm, Wisconsin closed the season with 25 wins, breaking the record set the previous year and subsequently captured the first Big Ten Tournament title for the first time in school history.

Since then, however, the Badgers have experienced a vicious series of ups and downs. For starters, standout pointman Devin Harris earned recognition as Big Ten Player of the Year (the first badger since 1950 to garner that honor) after breaking the season points record set by pro star Michael Finley in 1993. Just months later, Harris announced his intention to forego another year at Wisconsin to enter the NBA draft.

Wisconsin easily earned its seventh consecutive bid to play in the NCAA Tournament, yet failed to advance to the Sweet 16 after suffering a hard fought loss to Pittsburgh in the second round.

Finally, with the emergence of then-sophomore guard Boo Wade backing up Harris at the one spot, it seemed the Badgers had a replacement candidate for the 2004-05 season adept at running the point and defending the perimeter. Then, for reasons still largely unknown, Ryan announced in late October that Wade would take an indefinite leave of absence from the squad.

As Wisconsin looks to overcome the loss of one of the most valuable players in college hoops, there will be voids to fill, not only at the point guard position, but also in terms of finding a go-to playmaker and a leader both on and off the court.

“Losing a guy like Devin, it’s always hard to replace — he brings so much to the table,” senior forward Mike Wilkinson said. “But it’s not crucial to have a guy like him to make your offense go. We have so many weapons that we can put on the floor that can make a difference and we have so many guys to fill in at that point guard spot who can really play basketball.”

With Wade out of the picture for the time being, the focus shifts to three prospects: sophomore Kammron Taylor, senior Sharif Chambliss and freshman Michael Flowers.

“We never talk about replacing; we talk about opportunities,” Ryan said. “This is going to create opportunities for probably a couple people because were going to have two or three guys probably before the season is over playing some of the one spot.”

After leading the ramshackle Nittany Lions in scoring both his sophomore and junior year, it’s been a rocky road to the cardinal and white for Chambliss. Due to NCAA transfer rules, the Racine, Wis., native lost his basketball scholarship in the move and was forced to redshirt the entire 2003-04 season. To make matters worse, Chambliss injured his right ACL in the second to last practice of the spring.

“It’s feeling pretty good right now,” Chambliss said. “We’ve got a lot of guys coming off injuries, so we all support each other. It’s helped a lot with being able to get out on the floor.”

Generally considered a perimeter shooter at Penn State, running the point presents Chambliss with a new challenge. For the inexperienced Taylor and Flowers, adapting their game to fill a prominent role on a Big Ten backcourt remains a challenge upon itself. With the Badgers’ non-conference schedule almost underway, all eyes focus on the three guards battling for playing time on the squad.

“Nobody has a locked position on the floor,” Taylor said. “Everybody’s just going out and playing hard. I know people around the country like to put an emphasis on the battle of the point guards, but we’re teammates; we’re just going out there and trying to make each other better.”

Breaking from the recent trend, the Badger frontcourt constitutes the strength of the squad in Ryan’s fourth year. After missing virtually all of last season due to injury, athletic sophomore forward Alando Tucker made his return to the court against UW-Parkside Nov. 10. Tucker’s strength inside and towering vertical leap provide the Badgers with an explosive presence up front.

Tucker spent much of the off-season increasing his tempo by going one-on-one with the fleet footed Kammron Taylor.

“[I’ve been working on] getting my shot quicker,” Tucker said. “My release has to be a lot quicker than when I’m playing the four because guys are quicker with their feet. But it also gives me an advantage. After playing in the post for a year, I actually can post up the smaller guys and use my strength.”

Returning senior forward Mike Wilkinson and keynote contributor Zach Morley join Tucker up front. Wilkinson averaged 13.1 points and 6.8 rebounds per game last season with Morley chipping in 8.9 and 5.8 in a supporting role. Former first-team Parade All-American Brian Butch should also see considerable time after redshirting in 2003-04.

“[Butch] came in highly ranked by a lot of people but just wasn’t physically or mentally ready for that next step,” Wilkinson said. “I’ve talked with him a lot and he’s really come to understand a lot more about basketball and become a more complete player taking this time off. He has a chance to become something really special and he’s taking full advantage of it.”

Though the departure of Harris left a gaping hole on the Badger roster, the team feels they have the talent to compensate for his productivity at both ends of the court. As far as appointing a new leader, Tucker asserts he and Chambliss will take up the reins vocally with Wilkinson leading more by example.

“A strong part of our team has always been leadership,” Wilkinson said. “I think even when Devin was here, we still had guys that were considered leaders on the side. Devin was the most obvious one but there were always guys in the background that if Devin wasn’t on the court, there were guys [out there] that guys could look to.”