Bo Ryan Retires

[KC4X]

Wow, didn't see that coming...
http://www.si.com/college-basketball/2015/12/15/wisconsin-badgers-bo-ryan-retiring

[GoMuskies]

Looks like a calculated move to get his guy the job. Of course, the train wreck of a team he's left may prevent Gard from keeping it beyond this year.

[X-Fan]

I feel bad for the players on the team that are getting caught in the middle here. I'm sure that when they were recruited Bo said he would be there for a while. Now he leaves mid season? Also, I guess Wiscy has ONE recruit for 2016 and none for 2017. You'd think he'd leave them in better shape. This looks like either health issues or a power struggle...probably a bit of both.

[X-band '01]

First, Bo Ryan was going to coach one more season. Then he decides to continue coaching indefinitely. Now he retires. Who is the real Bo Ryan?

[XUMIOH12]

kind of came out of nowhere, but all indications point to him wanting to give his longtime assistant a shot at the job.

[Milhouse]

First, Bo Ryan was going to coach one more season. Then he decides to continue coaching indefinitely. Now he retires. Who is the real Bo Ryan?

Spurrier said the same thing- it's cuz then you can recruit against that.

[birdman71]

I hope it is not health related. Good coach. Seemingly a good guy.

[D-West & PO-Z]

I feel bad for the players on the team that are getting caught in the middle here. I'm sure that when they were recruited Bo said he would be there for a while. Now he leaves mid season? Also, I guess Wiscy has ONE recruit for 2016 and none for 2017. You'd think he'd leave them in better shape. This looks like either health issues or a power struggle...probably a bit of both.


First, Bo Ryan was going to coach one more season. Then he decides to continue coaching indefinitely. Now he retires. Who is the real Bo Ryan?


kind of came out of nowhere, but all indications point to him wanting to give his longtime assistant a shot at the job.

All indications are it is the assistant thing. He was going to retire after last season and hand the reigns to his long time assistant but Barry Alvarez told him that wasnt his decision and there would be a search/coach discussion/decision.

He decided to then come back and looks like he may have thought this would be what he would do the whole time to get his assistant more than half a season to show he can coach. Alvarez cant be happy about that.

[XUMIOH12]

alvarez probably isnt happy because it is basically an entire season without a stable head coach, when he could have hired one last summer and had 1 transition year instead of 2 now.

[X-band '01]

This would also shed some light on why Bo Ryan stayed as long as he did at Wisconsin:

ESPN.com - Wisconsin Badgers Coach Bo Ryan Retiring Effective Immediately (http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/14378183/wisconsin-badgers-coach-bo-ryan-retiring-effective-immediately)

From all indications, the reason why Gard didn't immediately take the head coaching reins was to attend to his ailing father who died a couple of months ago. I know the timing looks bad from an on-court perspective, but completely understandable when you consider that trying to balance multiple life-changing events was very difficult.

[XUMIOH12]

it looks like it has nothing to do with on court and everything to do with off court timing and issues.

[xubrew]

Looks like a calculated move to get his guy the job. Of course, the train wreck of a team he's left may prevent Gard from keeping it beyond this year.

Most likely. I think had they beaten Marquette, he would have retired after that game. But, even if Gard doesn't get it, he will have been the interim head coach at Wisconsin. That's a nice nugget to have on the resume.


I feel bad for the players on the team that are getting caught in the middle here. I'm sure that when they were recruited Bo said he would be there for a while. Now he leaves mid season? Also, I guess Wiscy has ONE recruit for 2016 and none for 2017. You'd think he'd leave them in better shape. This looks like either health issues or a power struggle...probably a bit of both.

In situations like this, I actually think a change mid year is easier on the players. The reason is because it's actually a less drastic change. The rest of the staff is still in tact. If the coach leaves at the end of the year, that's probably not the case. And, if they do overhaul it at the end of the year, at least the players are more braced for it. And, if the right guy to take over is already in place, then it can be a smooth transition. Take Butler for instance.