August 11, 2012

My All-Time Bo Ryan Team

Mike Lucas wrote a little story about his all time Bo Ryan team which can be found here: http://www.uwbadgers.com/blog/2012/08/bo-ryan-era-dream-team.html. The roster, of course, isn't the best players only.. but the best team that you can put forward. Naturally, you need role players, shooters, defenders and so on. How would you fill out your roster?

Guard: Devin Harris. Easy choice. Runs the point, plays off the ball, good size/length, very good defender and great at jumping the passing lanes to help get easy baskets.

Guard: Kirk Penney. Efficient. Not very athletic, will have trouble defending some of the bigger players and better athletes but he can use his body very well and is extremely hard to guard in the college game.

Forward: Mike Wilkinson. Not as athletic as the 2 guys he's sandwiched between here but you won't find a more efficient player at the 6'8 post position. He can be a solid on-ball defender, tenacious rebounder, and he can shoot the ball very well; he's another great player.

Forward: Alando Tucker. Another easy choice, another collegiate stud and the best part on an all-time team he could do what he does best.. play around the paint. He doesn't have to worry about playing around the 3-pt line, he can slash and rebound which he was excellent at.

Center: Brian Butch. When he came to Wisconsin he was the 2nd biggest Badgers recruit I know of after Sam Okey. He was underrated as a Badgers center and when he freakishly injured his elbow against Ohio State it was the downfall of the #1 Badgers team. Rebound, shoot 3s, and alter shots, do it Polar Bear.

1st Bench Guard: Michael Flowers. Lockdown defender and really improved offensively at Wisconsin, can shoot the ball, play off the ball or run the offense. I obviously really like him for the defense as he'd help shift match-ups with Penney/Wilkinson/Butch sliding over spots and to the bench.

1st Big: Jon Leuer. Big time offense, but I always thought he should have been a better rebounder/defender. He was solid at weakside D by senior year.

Subs: Marcus Landry. Solid size can play big and can play a little bit of the wing. Marcus really turned into a solid outside shooter, efficient rebounder and could even score a bit on the block. Underrated athletic ability.

Trevon Hughes: Excellent athlete, big time player. One of the few Badgers that wasn't afraid to make plays and could get to the rack more than other guards in the Ryan era.

Jared Berggren: Little bit of a ahead of time pick becuase I think he's set for a HUGE senior year. He's a solid player that can score from all areas of the floor. He's a VERY good defender and a solid rebounder.. I honestly think by the time the 2012-2013 season is over he could be on this starting squad.

There were my toughest picks to fill out the last 2 spots and I went with..

Jordan Taylor: I don't think I really need to explain why, do I? We've all watched recent Badgers basketball and know what he can do. If he doesn't need to put an entire team on his back then he can really defend as well as run the offense.

Clayton Hanson: Surprised? I can only think about the Elite 8 run the Badgers made and how he dogged guys defensively and hit huge 3 after huge 3. An elite marksmen and, at worst, a great 12th man practice player.

Notable guys that didn't make it:
Joe Krabbenhoft: Filled the gritty role with a better shooter in Hanson but I do lose size.
Greg Steimsma: Going off what they did in college and sadly for the Badgers it was mostly foul trouble.
Keaton Nankivil: Spot taken by Berggren and the fact you don't need multiple bigs anymore.
Sam Dekker: He'll be on it soon.. I hope
Zach Morley: Not in a Badgers uniform long enough
Shariff Chambliss: Same