Location: Madison, Wis. | Founded: 1848 | Enrollment: 41,466 | Colors: Cardinal and White
Coach: Bo Ryan | Home Court: Kohl Center | Capacity: 17,142 Record:
(31-5, 16-2
Big Ten)
WHAT WENT RIGHT Why did the Badgers eclipse everyone's preseason expectations? Because every player, to a man, delivered more than expected. From sophomore point guard Trevon Hughes' breakout campaign to Brian Butch's stellar senior season, the Badgers' individual parts were better than anticipated and their sum was even more.
Junior forward Joe Krabbenhoft joined senior Michael Flowers on the all-Big Ten defensive team -- a key to Wisconsin building the nation's No. 1 scoring defense -- while sophomore sixth man Jason Bohannon showed he'll be one of the Big Ten's most consistent perimeter players over the next two years.
WHAT WENT WRONG There aren't many negatives in a 31-5 season, especially when the five losses all came against teams that did no less than reach the second round of the NCAA Tournament. In fact, if Hughes' gimpy ankle hadn't given out during the Badgers' season-ending loss to Davidson, Wisconsin might not have bowed out in the Sweet Sixteen.
If there's going to be any regret over the way the season played out, it will be in the way that Wisconsin's freshmen didn't get a ton of playing time to accelerate their learning curve. Jon Leuer, Tim Jarmusz and Keaton Nankivil combined for 411 minutes and 116 points in Wisconsin's 36 games. Unless an incoming freshman is going to earn a starting job, which seems unlikely under Bo Ryan, then one of these three guys, must start next year.
QUOTE TO NOTE "We had a great year. Big Ten championship. All those things are great and I'm so proud of 'em. But, you know, you always like 40 more minutes. We're not going to get it." -- Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan to the media after the Badgers lost to Davidson March 28 in the Midwest regional semifinal.
Copyright (C) 2008 The Sports Xchange. All Rights Reserved.
I did these as part of a project over on RP, and I thought I'd put them up over here. These show the top prospects in the state and where they're from going back to 2003 and out to 2011.
With the allegations of OJ Mayo taking money from signing agents, it makes me wonder how much of this occurs at all the big name schools including UW. I won't pretend I'm naive enough to think it doesn't happen at UW. The only incident I can remember with UW was the Shoe Box scandal (if you consider it at a 'scandal' level) with the football team back in the late 90's
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He must have felt left out of the recruiting spotlight in Wisconsin because of Vander Blue's commitment earlier this week, because Evan Anderson has committed to Wisconsin as first reported by Mark Miller. Anderson is a 5-star center out of Eau Claire North HS. Here's his
Hey guys, I'm trying to set up a sim league starting next season, where a simulator plays out the game and gives you realistic scores and stuff, and your Badgers are still available! If you are interested or have any questions feel free to e-mail me at dosegorillaz@aim.com.
Hey everybody! There is a new website on the rise that will provide Wisconsin sports fans with all the info they can handle. The website covers everything from Badger's, UWM, and Marquette sports to the Professional teams from the state!
