Delco Raised Bo Ryan Will Coach His First National Title Game Tonight
After 14 years of being at the helm of the Wisconsin basketball program, 67 year old Bo Ryan will finally coach in his first ever National Championship Game Tonight versus Duke. Even though almost all of Bo Ryan’s coaching career has existed in the state of Wisconsin, where he has amassed a combined winning percentage of .765, Bo actually began his coaching career at good ole Sun Valley high school in Aston. Yes that’s right, a man who is well on his way to the Naismith Hall of Fame and is one of the winningest coaches in NCAA history was born in Chester PA and started his coaching career at a lowly area high school.
I feel like ever since he took over the Wisconsin job in 2001 his teams have been knocking on the door of winning the National Title but they could never quite make it all the way. Many of his critics have always said that they play too slow and leave themselves not enough room for error. They have said it’s boring basketball. The type of basketball that nobody likes. 15 passes around the perimeter and a quality shot. It’s not exactly fun to watch a bunch of white guys play basketball the old school way and grind out victories. But Bo Ryan has never changed his ways. His practices are military like. Many have said the players rarely speak during practice because they know their duties as a member on Ryan’s team: Do your job and play within the system.
A key characteristic of a good coach is his ability to adjust, adapt, and change over time while maintaining the teams ability to win. Bill Belichick adjusts his offense to fit it’s players year in and year out. Mike Krzyzewski started recruiting one and done’s and look where it’s gotten him. Bo Ryan has not started recruiting one and done’s which I don’t think he ever will, but he did take a leap of faith when he recruited Sam Dekker. Usually Bo doesn’t recruit the 5 star talents favoring kids who fit his system more. Sam Dekker happened to be the perfect combination of pure talent and someone who could fit his system. Frank Kaminsky may have won the player of the year award but Sam Dekker should win tournament MVP if they do get that final victory tonight. What he has done for Bo Ryan has been nothing short of phenomenal. He’s figured out how to play within Ryan’s system while putting his own ballsy, game winning mentality into it. It is literally the only reason Wisconsin has made it so far in the tournament. The fact that Bo Ryan has allowed Dekker to play this way cements Bo as a great coach in my mind. He finally allowed his players talents to take him to a place that the system hasn’t allowed, The National Championship game. Even if they don’t win tonight, which I think they will, Bo Ryan will go down as one of the greatest coaches in College Basketball history. Being a Philly basketball junkie, I can’t help but root for the Badgers tonight, and you should too.
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