[media-credit name=’JEFF SCHORFHEIDE/Herald photo’ align=’alignright’ width=’336′][/media-credit]Bo Ryan doesn't even know.
Coming off one of the most successful seasons in the history of the Wisconsin basketball program, the UW head coach has fielded more questions this year about his team than ever before in his 23-year career as a collegiate head coach.
Ryan will have his first glimpse at the new edition of the team Friday night, when the Badgers officially open the season with the "Night of the Grateful Red," an interactive open practice for fans at the Kohl Center.
Last year saw the Badgers reel off 17 consecutive wins and reach No. 1 in the Associated Press poll for the first time ever. With the loss of more than 47 percent of last year's scoring to graduation in the form of Alando Tucker and Kammron Taylor, even Ryan isn't quite sure how this year's squad will shape up.
"It's just one of those years where everybody's so … inquisitive," Ryan said. "It's like, ‘How are they going to do this?' and ‘How are they going to do that?' … I've never had as many different questions in coaching as this year.
"That, for me, makes it very exciting, because the players are also anxious to show what they can do."
For fans without season tickets, the "Night of the Grateful Red" is one of two preseason opportunities to get into the otherwise sold-out Kohl Center to watch the Badgers play for free.
"I really feel we'd be making a big mistake if we didn't give people a chance to see their team who cannot, on a regular basis, get into the Kohl Center," Ryan said.
One of the reasons a ticket to a basketball game at the Kohl Center has become such a valuable commodity in recent years is numbers.
The demand exceeds the number of available tickets, but 17,190 is not the most telling number.
The most telling number would be 2.1, the average finish for Ryan's teams in the Big Ten over the last six years. That ranks second in the league over that time, a mere one win behind Illinois, according to Ryan.
But heeding his own credo of "Next" — one which emphasizes always looking ahead to the upcoming opportunity and moving on from the past — Ryan can't wait for the new season to finally get here.
At this time last year, the Badgers had already completed a playing tour of Italy and had several practices. This past summer, however, there was no tour, leaving Ryan "chomping at the bit" to finally get going.
"The feelings I've had this past month. … It's like I'm looking at my watch, the calendar, like ‘Let's go!'" Ryan said.
What fans will see on the court is a team that will likely resemble Ryan's teams from his first few seasons on campus. Those Badger squads were exceptionally well-balanced, with the bulk of the scoring spread fairly evenly between five or six players. Often times last season, the Badgers relied heavily on their two main scorers and opposing teams responded by sagging off other players to crowd Tucker in the lane and harass Taylor on the outside.
"Every team takes on its own personality," Ryan said. "Maybe Tucker and Taylor's points will be picked up by four guys, five guys. Who knows?
"We know we want to get good shots and somebody's going to get points."
The most likely source for increased scoring would seem to be senior big man Brian Butch.
Butch, along with senior guard Michael Flowers, was most impressive during the team's preseason conditioning running "The Hill" in Elver Park.
A former McDonalds' High School All-American from Appleton, Butch scored 8.8 points a game last season and used his soft touch from the perimeter to go off for big games against Pittsburgh (27 points), Southern (18) and Winthrop (17).
Butch's true importance to the team became evident after the Badgers lost him for the remainder of the season when he suffered a grotesque elbow dislocation against Ohio State in the second-to-last regular season game.
"Losing Brian was a situation where teams didn't have to stretch anymore, because he could shoot. He was also our leading rebounder," Ryan said.
Along with Butch, sophomore guard Jason Bohannon will also be looked at to carry some of the load scoring-wise.
A lethal shooter from three-point range, Bohannon earned more and more minutes as the season progressed last year and impressed Ryan with his overall game.
"I think Jason is very capable of getting some numbers, because you need to guard him," Ryan said. "His ball handling is better than people think. He's a little bit quicker with the ball than he might look."
How the Badgers tackle this season remains to be seen. Will Butch, Bohannon and others be able to pick up Tucker and Taylor's lost scoring? Can Wisconsin continue its impressive conference run? The answers may not be known now, but soon should become evident.
"Yeah, there's a lot of question marks, but they're good questions," Ryan said. "They're questions of ‘Coach, how're we gonna do it this year?' Well, go on out. Take a look. We'll see."