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UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN BASKETBALL MEDIA CONFERENCEMarch 31, 2015Bo RyanTHE MODERATOR: We can start with questions for Coach Ryan. Q. Bo, every coach has different challenges with the schools they coach at and the teams that they have, what are John Calipari's challenges and what makes him a good coach? COACH RYAN: His challenges are expectations, needless to say, you don't take a job at a place like that without understanding that. Thick skin if you don't have it, then don't get into this business. So, you know, that's what‑‑ his challenges are to keep his players understanding day in, day out, that, yeah, we're pretty good, but you know what, it only takes a bad 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 40 minutes, and then it's over. Whether it's two games left, possibly, four games left, end of the regular season, just to keep guys focused on trying to stay within the framework of what made your team pretty good to get to the point where they are now. Don't forget how you got there. Every team that's gone to the Final Four has something to hang their hat on and Kentucky knows that. Their players know it, John obviously has reminded them. The main thing is just to be themselves and not worry about the expectations from John's standpoint in his job, just to coach and make sure players understand that everybody is out to get 'em, they're marked. We were marked this year, Duke was marked to some extent, Michigan State had ups and downs and now is playing really well. Making sure the expectations are the ones that you have control over. As a coach. Not outside ones. That's what John has done, a great job of. Q. When you were here as an assistant for that eight‑year span, not a lot of victories, no NCAA Tournament appearances, what do you remember most from those years and did you ever envision this program would be able to achieve the consistency it has? COACH RYAN: I just kept filing everything away, just kept learning, like if I ever get a chance, this is what I'm going to do. Or I might not do this or I learned this is the right way, this isn't the right way. I watched other programs, studied other programs, saw players come and go, and then when I finally got my opportunity, then you do your thing. So at least somebody believed in me. In every job that I've ever taken, there was a person who said ‑‑ and the first one was Bill Cofield. What he saw in me was based on two former players of his at Lincoln University in the Philly area, and I worked with him one year, and then the school folded, and he said when I get my head job, you're the first one I'm asking. He lived up to it. He lived up to his word. He got the Wisconsin job, called me, took me about 2 seconds to say yes and I owe everything to him for getting me into the college profession of coaching. The best way to say thank you to people, I've said all along, and in other interviews, is to do your job the best you can, and that's the way you say thanks. So to the George Chryst, to the Pat Richter to Barry with his support now that he's AD, Bud Hadie, Nancy Zimpher, the high school principal that I worked for, the junior high school principal, you know, if somebody‑‑ when I was an assistant, I was eyes, ears, and mind were constantly open. Thank goodness, because it helped me later. That and I didn't like losing. Q. Bo, how much of a point of pride is it for you that half the field of the Final Four is from the Big Ten? COACH RYAN: That's great, Tom and I ‑‑ we talked about it yesterday. Whatever day it was, they all run together when you get in at 4 in the morning two weekends in a row, but I got confused. The fat paper came in‑‑ telling you that's what older people tell me, fat papers and trash cans, so I did realize it was Sunday. What was the question? Two teams in the Big Ten‑‑ I know! Yeah, so Tom and I were‑‑ I was just trying to get what day we were talking, it was yesterday. We're proud of that, the heck! Then you move on‑‑ and it's okay now you play. I'm proud of this conference. Q. Bo, when you see the personality that your players exude, what do you think? COACH RYAN: Well I thought about doing like a reality show and getting about 15% of it to put toward scholarships and meals. Okay, do you believe that one? No. It's amazing that they can do what they do and still when it comes to practice time, I'm going to kick your butt, I want you to try to kick mine but I'm going to get yours and compete and compete hard, and go into the locker room and argue again about who is the best video player. You know what these guys don't know is in Pennsylvania in the 60s, I was the number one pinball player in the state of Pennsylvania. These guys talk about video games? I could freeze flippers better than anybody! I could hit that clown's nose or the spinner‑‑ whatever, and it was‑‑ I could take a dime and play for two hours. Now, what's that tell you? You think the "Who" had somebody in mind when they did that song? Q. You're one them! COACH RYAN: That's why I'm telling you this! I'm laughing inside because I was always telling guys, hey, you can't beat me at this. You have to back it up, a lot of people can say you can't beat me. So then into college it got to be darts. Don't lose at darts. But we're all competitors, anybody that plays a sport, and you find other ways to compete. But we didn't have‑‑ heck, I'm so old, Pong wasn't around when I was young, and that was the first one. But every time I hear 'em talk about the video games and who is the best and the Ping‑Pong table in there ‑‑ there was this one kid at Wilkes that beat me at Ping‑Pong, and I still to this day want to find him again because maybe he slowed down. Boy, was he good! It's like being a kid again, being around them. But when we get on the floor, we do anything basketballwise, I never have to worry about 'em. They can separate. Q. The players mentioned whether it was in the locker room right afterwards on Saturday night there was a little different of a different feeling, more of a business trip this time, just a different feeling going back. COACH RYAN: Well, because Aaron Rodgers wasn't telling jokes this year in the locker room; he didn't come in. It was different. This is great! Believe me, they did not take anything for granted, that's not what is meant by that it's okay, the euphoria then, hey, we got a game, and we gotta get ready for our next weekend. So it hit 'em a little sooner this time. Q. Bo, back to your skills as a pinball player for a second. Last year you didn't know what Mario Kart was. Do they know what pinball is? COACH RYAN: Probably not. I don't think any of them have ever played on a pinball machine. I'm sure they have somewhere, some older uncle has a relic down in the basement or in the family room. But we would get a dollar at Wilkes for the day, so I would get two meals for 90 cents. When there was break and one pinball machine at the greasy spoon, at the diner, so I would always have one dime, and my goal was to spend the two, three hours and not use anything other than a dime from my dollar meal money. Couple of us tried to do that. Be wasn't much else to do. Q. Bo, did you watch the game from last year or is that irrelevant because‑‑ COACH RYAN: The personnel is different, but of course I looked at it, but, you know, they're a different team. I think it's easier for them to look at us than it is for us to look at them, for anybody that's‑‑ I looked at ten films today, couple of games where I only looked at a half, but, no, they're different. They're undefeated for a reason. Q. Bo, it's one thing to say for the team to make goals and say you want to get back to the Final Four, whatever. What does it mean for this group to do this? COACH RYAN: They said it and they did it. I told them I would go along with 'em, I would patrol the sidelines, I'm with you! But I don't ever put that on teams, hey, you've got to do this or you're not fulfilling anything. Okay, guys, you ready? Let's go. Roll your sleeves up, let's get after it. They've lived up to what they said they were going to do, to this point. Q. Bo, what's impressed you the most about Sam over the last couple of games, namely what you saw in the second half against Arizona? COACH RYAN: He made shots! The ball‑‑ the basket is looking big to him, he felt confident, and, you know, on that last one, because of the length of the close‑out defender he did have to launching it just a little bit higher, but he was feeling it. But at least it wasn't a spin‑around, fall backwards‑‑ I only take them out when he takes hernia shots. You know what a hernia shot is, you hurt yourself with all the contortions in order to get the shot off. That tells me he's tired. Q. How do you think he's advanced from where he was at this point last year, what advances has he made as a player? COACH RYAN: Well he's‑‑ in the breakdown films I didn't have to mention his name 20 times, not blocking out, not rotating defensively, not running the floor in transition. So probably of all the players, his notations on our teaching clips dropped probably 80%. Not 100%. Trust me. He blocks out better, he runs the floor better defensively, he rotates better. His shots around the rim, he finished on more of those this year. That's how we try to get guys better, by pointing out this is what you're not doing. I can't coach by constantly saying, "Hey, way to go young"‑‑ "Hey, you're always doing the right thing," "Hey"‑‑ no, no, "Hey, you're doing a good job, but here is a way we can get better." Plus he's handling it better. They're growing up, right in front of our eyes. That's what I get to see. That's how lucky I am. Q. At what point do you and your staff start looking at Kentucky and how much has the advancement of technology helped your ability to prepare for a team? COACH RYAN: We had an assistant getting stuff ready on Kentucky well before, because you say okay if we do this and they do that‑‑ but we had it on other teams, too. It's not like if Kentucky was defeated by one of these other teams that we were like, oh my goodness, we don't have anything on them, no, we had stuff on everybody, because of technology, if that's what you're looking for, but not only that, we would get it anyhow, some how, some way. I only coached one NCAA Tournament game without seeing the other team on film. And that was‑‑ we won the National Championship in '91, went back in '92, and the team we were going to play, Rochester, Mike Nier, good guy, he had a team sign contracts, if they were playing nonconference, that the team could never give the film to anybody else, and then their conference had to rule. So we get to play Rochester at the Final Four in a return year, we went back‑to‑back in '91 and '92, we've got nothing to look at. So I was on the Division 3 Congress with the National Association of Basketball Coaches, we passed a rule that you had to give at least two tapes. We couldn't get a tape on them. That was uncomfortable. That was the last time that will ever happen. So happened, it happened to us. Mike Nier was smiling though after they won. I said, "Mike, did you have film on us?" Oh, yeah," "Really?" Okay. But not from the conference, not from Whitewater or Stevens Point or anything. Q. Whether it's Frank on Sports Center or any of the other guys in the national spotlight, how do you think they've done? COACH RYAN: You wouldn't believe what we're getting at the office. You wouldn't believe things that are coming back to us of what‑‑ how these young men have represented the university. Boy, they actually are having fun, they're students, they're taking care of business, they're playing competitive basketball. It's like, aren't you lucky, and I'm like, yeah, I am! I got a good bunch here, and I haven't had a bad bunch, ever! It's just this group because of how well they've played they've garnered more attention so, therefore, more people see with social media and everything else, who these guys really are. Nigel doesn't have to do the Ron Burgundy thing this year, I don't think he's doing it, is he? I wouldn't know because I don't go on that stuff. Q. Bo, 1999 you coached in the National Title game in front of 4400 people, which was a record at the time. Back then did you‑‑ COACH RYAN: Because we were playing a team from Virginia and we were in Virginia, right. Q. Right. Did you ever think back then something like this would be possible where you compete in front of the whole world pretty much with television and potentially another National Title? COACH RYAN: Never looked into it, that's not why I got into it. There are guys getting into coaching because of the spotlight, hey, there is money to be made there! Look at what these guys are getting paid for you. You guys know my background. That's the last reason I ever got into this profession. So I can't relate to the question of, did I ever think‑‑ I never sat around pondering that I would be coaching in the semifinals of the Division I National Tournament. I never did. It's notwhere, it's like when you are in a position do the best job at where you. So I never worried about how many hits, because they didn't have 'em back then, but how much attention I would get, that's the last thing‑‑ I would like to disappear during the game, and sometimes the officials I think have agreed with me on that. But I can't answer that question because I've never gone there with my mind, as to why I do what I do. I am really fortunate to be in this position, but I could be doing this in high school. And I could be bantering with the one or two media people that might be asking me questions, because you don't get too many people in high school or in Division 3. Q. Bo‑‑ COACH RYAN: By the way, I didn't get back to you, because of those recruits, and I can't believe we didn't do a story about Latrell Fleming. I feel ‑‑ what a great young man and how far he's come, but that was a good piece. Q. Thank you. The players when they were here before referred to Saturday's game as just the next game, but how do you guide them through this week when they get‑‑ I know as the Tournament goes on you get more and more attention, but this week, whether it's texts, ticket requests, media interviews, how do you guide them through this? COACH RYAN: Our first practice last year in Dallas, closed practice, we're in that place‑‑ you people saw when it was full. We're in there and it's like being outdoors in some big canyon. I had these certain drills that I do and I watch body language and interaction of play and then we started doing some possessions (whistle noise) everybody on the line. We did 16 lines, you have to do it in under 60 seconds and you gotta sprint! Nobody hesitated. They knew‑‑ we were throwing the ball away, we're air balling shots, we're‑‑ we looked like we had never practiced before! They blue their lungs out, meaning they sprinted, and I always feel they enjoy it when they can do that. Then they were ready to do practice. Then we practiced. Then it turned out to be a great practice. So when you say how do you get 'em to‑‑ I'll get 'em to focus, but I would rather not have to run 'em to get them to understand, look, guys, we only get so many minutes on this floor, this is the game floor, let's not waste the minutes. It's not like they were but their minds‑‑ they were not ready to go. But they were ready to go after that. Q. (No microphone.) COACH RYAN: It can be. Yeah, it can be. It's hurry up and wait sometimes. You know, sometimes, like after games, media will come into the locker room and ask unbelievable questions that have nothing to do with the game that was just played, and our guys scratch their heads sometimes and they go, "What?" "What was that about?" But now that they've been through it, they know what to expect so maybe they'll take their games things with them and have contests. Pinball machines are too big. I would love to have one. Q. Bo, people have talked about the quality of the coaches in the Final Four, but have you looked‑‑ COACH RYAN: Did I bring 'em down? Q. No, you're right in there, you're holding your own. Have you looked at the players in this Final Four? What do you think of the quality of the players still alive in this tournament? COACH RYAN: Unbelievable. Yeah, and I hope people are talking about that, because sometimes you might never see a conglomeration of student‑athletes like this that will be playing for money down the road. I think there are several draft picks and‑‑ eventually and all that but I never get‑‑ that's all for other people to decide on but there is a lot of talent in this tournament, very much so. There was in the Sweet 16 and the Elite Eight, so I hope people enjoy it. THE MODERATOR: Anything else for Coach? Thanks, Coach. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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