Former Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan makes the cut, will be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame

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MADISON – Bo Ryan fashioned a Hall of Fame résumé during his 31-plus seasons of coaching college basketball.

That résumé now includes a spot in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Ryan, 76, was named part of the 2024 class on Saturday at the NCAA Final Four in Arizona.

The honor came eight-plus years after Ryan’s final game at UW, a 64-49 decision over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Dec. 15, 2015.

“I mean, it’s a no-brainer,” UW coach Greg Gard, an assistant under Ryan for more than two decades, said earlier this year. “You look at the numbers.”

The numbers, please:

Ryan compiled a record of 747-233 record in 31-plus seasons, a winning percentage of .762.

During that run his teams failed to qualify for the national tournament – NAIA, NCAA Division III or NCAA Division I – just four times, twice at UW-Platteville and twice at UW-Milwaukee.

UW-Platteville won Division III national titles under Ryan in 1991, 1995, 1998 and 1999. Those teams combined to post a remarkable record of 119-5 for a winning percentage of .960.

Ryan’s Platteville teams had the best record among all NCAA men’s basketball programs in the ’90s –  266-26 (.908).

Bo Ryan guided the Badgers to 14 NCAA Tournament berths, including two Final Fours, in his 14 full seasons.

After leading UW-Milwaukee’s program for two seasons, Ryan came to Madison in 2001 and guided the Badgers to 14 NCAA berths in his 14 full seasons.

UW won four Big Ten regular-season titles and three conference tournament titles during that run. The Badgers never finished lower than fourth, a feat no other Big Ten coach has achieved.

Despite the remarkable regular-season success, Ryan didn’t lead the Badgers to the Final Four until 2014, less than a year after his father, Butch, died.

UW lost to Kentucky in the national semifinals and returned to the Final Four in 2015, only to lose to Duke in the national title game after ousting unbeaten Kentucky in the semifinals.

Ryan was inducted…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/former-wisconsin-coach-bo-ryan-152332504.html

Author : Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Publish date : 2024-04-06 15:23:32

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