City of Basketball Love

Stephen Pianovich (@SPianovich)
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For 14-and-a-half seasons, a footprint from the Philly area loomed large in Madison, Wisconsin.

That’s where Chester’s Bo Ryan took the Badgers basketball program to a Big Ten and national title contender year after year – including about 350 days ago when Wisconsin fell short against Duke in the National Championship game. After originally planning to retire after the season, Ryan changed those plans mid-season, announcing his retirement after a game in mid-December.

So, of course, three months later the Badgers are playing in the Sweet 16 at the Wells Fargo Center, a short hop on I-95 away from Ryan’s birthplace. And while Ryan is no longer at the helm, new head coach Greg Gard and a roster which all committed to and played under Ryan, are remembering his Southeastern Pennsylvania heritage on their trip.

“We’ve heard coach Ryan have many things to say about Chester and Philly,” junior guard Zak Showalter said. “You couldn’t get too far into a conversation without hearing about Chester. We always teased him about it, and now it’s kind of ironic to be playing so close.

“…He said how much grit guys have coming from Philly and Chester. He always loved guys who had that mindset who fought through and earned everything.”

Gard officially inked a deal to remove the interim tag from his coaching status earlier this month, and he has led a turnaround that Ryan would be proud of.

The Badgers, who earned a No. 7 seed in this NCAA Tournament, were 9-9 with a 1-4 conference record after a home loss to Northwestern on Jan. 12. But they regrouped and had a seven-game winning streak which spanned more than a month and saved their season.

Wisconsin won 11 of its final 13 regular season games to safely secure a spot in the field of 68 and last weekend, the team knocked off Pittsburgh and second-seeded Xavier on a Bronson Koenig buzzer-beater to reach the Sweet 16 – and Philadelphia.

Wisconsin has pressing issues to deal with this weekend – the Badgers face No. 6 Notre Dame on Friday night for a spot in the Elite 8. But being in Philly has Gard and his players thinking of Ryan, at least in the back of their minds.

And the irony is not lost on them.

“I haven't talked to our guys about that. And they obviously know. They've heard all the Chester stories,” Gard said. “I promised I wouldn't recite any of them this weekend for them. I'd tell them anything they want to know about Cobb but nothing about Chester. You know, I think it's ironic. The last time I was here was, coincidentally, for Butch Ryan's funeral, that we flew out, myself and the seniors at that time, I think it was the 2013-14 season. Our seniors came out for Butch's funeral. We got a chance to get a little tour of Lincoln Financial. We couldn't get in this building, it was closed. They had something going on -- a concert or something that night. The Phillies were in the playoffs. We saw the field there.

“So that was the last time we've been in the area that I've been here. So it is -- it's ironic, coincidental that we happen to be in Chester, his hometown.”