Expect The Disrespect In March

The University of Wisconsin basketball team has achieved much since Bo Ryan took over a perennially bad team, which had experienced the joy of March Madness only seven times since 1898.  Dick Bennett, head coach of the Badgers between 1995 and 2000, left the Badgers in a better position when he retired a few months into 2001.

But it didn't take much to improve upon a record as dismal as Wisconsin's.  Back in those days, going to the NCAA post season wasn't the highlight of our season -- occasionally beating a powerhouse like Illinois, Michigan State (I have a friend who likes to remind people that we were the last college team to beat Magic Johnson) and Ohio State served as the pinnacle of that achievement.

Much has changed since 2001, when Bo Ryan took over.  In the 11 years since Bo was introduced as the new coach, Wisconsin has gone to the NCAA tournament eleven times.  It has won or shared the Big Ten title three times.  Won the conference tournament two times.

With an overall record of 242- 91, Bo has a 73% winning percentage.  Within the conference, where Wisconsin has never finished lower than fourth place, he is 120-48, which is the second best record in the conference among active coaches (Ohio State's Thad Matta is first).

I mention all of these stats, because despite Wisconsin's success on the basketball court, hoops prognosticators continue to dismiss the Badgers as a team that will be upset in the first or second round.  It's fashionable to pick teams to upset Wisconsin. In typical fashion, ESPN's Myron Medcalf had this to say about the Badgers in the College Basketball Nation Blog--

"Badgers will go home early.  I'm picking Montana over Wisconsin... (their) offense has stalled multiple times in recent weeks.  Even though the Badgers are capable of neutralizing any offense, they've had problems capitalizing due to their own inconsistent offense.  Montana will be ready... plus Will Cherry (16 points per game) can match Jordan Taylor.  Grizzlies will advance."

Yet despite the repeated calls for a quick Badger demise, if you look at the Sweet Sixteen appearances since 2000, here's how Wisconsin ranks:

Duke 10
Kansas 8
Michigan State 8
North Carolina 7
Kentucky 7
Wisconsin 6
UConn 6
UCLA 6
Syracuse 6
Arizona 6

Even more impressive is the fact that Wisconsin has done it with only one McDonald's All-American.  No other team on that list has had fewer than five.  So not only is Wisconsin getting to the sweet sixteen, but they are doing it with far less talent.

Later this week, Wisconsin takes on Syracuse in another Sweet Sixteen appearance.  Wisconsin is seeded 4th, while Syracuse is the East Region's number one seed.  So naturally the Badgers are being dismissed before the tip-off.  Seth Davis, on CBS Sports, said right after Bo and his boys dispatched Vanderbilt,  that it's a bad match-up for Wisconsin.  Syracuse likes to play zone (that's all they've played in over 36 years), and Wisconsin won't be able to consistently shoot the 3 ball.

Now, I'm realistic about Wisconsin's chances, so I realize we have a tough game ahead of us.  But it just shows the bias these television analysts have when they dismiss us before the Badgers are even back to their team locker room.  No high flying dunks, no NBA-caliber players, no chance.

Jordan Taylor leads the Badgers

It's actually very easy to see why they have this bias.  For many of them, basketball is meant to be a fast paced game, with fast breaks, Sports Center slam dunks and incredible shooting.  The athletes on Duke, Kentucky and North Carolina are one-and-done players with dreams of playing in the NBA.  They play exciting basketball, even if it comes at the cost of turnovers, poor defense and egos the size of New York City.  But are they good for the game?

I was listening to the Dan Patrick radio show where an interesting point was raised about the state of college basketball.

Dan said, "I don't enjoy the game anymore.  College basketball is all about the coaches.  The faces of the game belong to John Calipari (Kentucky), Billy Donovan (Florida), Jim Beiheim (Syracuse), Tom Izzo (Michigan State), Roy Williams (North Carolina), Bill Self (Kansas) and Mike Krzyzewzki (Duke).  It's not about the players who play the game."

He continued, "I always enjoy and want to follow a player's progression.  I'd love to see Anthony Davis as a freshman, then see him as a sophomore, to see how his game has improved.  I don't get a chance to see what he can do as a sophomore, because he's gone after his first year.  And that's the problem with college basketball -- you don't watch during the regular season because you don't know who these players are.  You watch them for two weeks in March and they're gone.  Say hello to them and goodbye -- all in the same season."

Obviously, Dan Patrick is talking about the "elite" teams like North Carolina, Kansas and Kentucky.  Because some of the other teams that have been bracket busters -- VCU, Butler and Northern Iowa -- are usually loaded with juniors and seniors.  You can tell, and it's not unusual for these mid-major teams to make a run in March because they have played together for a long time.  They know each other and have improved their game beyond high school and traveling AAU teams.

As I listened to Dan talk about everything that's wrong about college basketball, all I could do was think about how different Wisconsin basketball is.  If he wanted to get to know players, he should follow Jordan Taylor, Ryan Evans and Josh Gasser.  Watch Taylor go from a 13 minute (1.6 points per game) player as a freshman to a 36 minute (14.7 points per game) player as a senior.

The Big Ten Network has a terrific program called The Journey, that showcases various players on each Big Ten team throughout the season.  You find out a lot more about these players -- like their childhood dreams, post college aspirations, the grueling therapy needed to overcome injuries, the time spent on studying, and the heartbreak of losing a close game.  Perhaps if the media spent more time getting to know the players and coaches there would be more interest in the game.  And more respect for teams like Wisconsin and what they do.

I doubt that Wisconsin will ever be thought of as elite.  To gain that moniker you need to win national championships.  Until we can recruit better players willing to stay for three or four years, it will remain a reach for Wisconsin to make it past the Sweet  Sixteen or Elite Eight.

There's some good basketball to watch if you get away from the one-and-done crowd.  The talking heads on CBS and ESPN may not respect our game, but that's only because they don't watch.

I'll be watching on Thursday.  I hope we prove them wrong (again).