Matt Painter gives his take on who should succeed Bo Ryan

Wisconsin Badgers Coach Bo Ryan released this statement in early July regarding his coaching future:

“Back in the spring, in the days after the national championship game, (UW Director of Athletics) Barry Alvarez and I discussed the possibility of me retiring. I’ve always been told that is not a decision to make right after a season is completed. Barry thankfully encouraged me to take some time to think about it and I have done that. I considered retiring this summer or coaching one more season.

I’ve decided to coach one more season with the hope that my longtime assistant Greg Gard eventually becomes the head coach at Wisconsin. I am looking forward to another year with our program, including our players, my terrific assistant coaches, our office staff and everyone who supports Wisconsin basketball here in Madison, around the state and across the country.”

Essentially, Bo Ryan is hand-picking his successor with that statement. Or at least attempting to. Obviously, the buck will stop with Athletic Director Barry Alvarez on this decision. Today, at Big Ten Media Day, Purdue Coach Matt Painter gave his two cents on who the next Badgers Coach should be. Turns out, he agrees with Ryan.

“He’s (Bo) been one of the staples in the past 11 years for me,” Painter told The Sports Bank.

“He’s been great for our league. I hope they (Wisco) keep with the same system. Michigan State made a great choice twenty years ago, hiring their assistant. That’s worked out pretty well.”

Yes, indeed it has for Izzo and MSU, as the Spartans have reached seven Final Fours in the past 17 years; tops in the nation. They’ve reached the Elite 8 two additional times in that span, meaning Michigan St. has pretty much been going to the Elite 8 every other year for close to two decades.

Perhaps there is something to this system idea?

“I like the system approach. When something works in a system, I think Bo has good values. I think he’s good for that state. I think he fits in that state and I think Greg has some of the same values and some of those things,” Painter continued.

“When I was at Southern Illinois and I replaced Coach Weber, I wasn’t the most qualified guy for the position but I thought I was the best choice for coaching Southern Illinois at that time. If you would have opened up the job, I went to another school, mid-major, I don’t know if I would have got a lot of jobs, and right fully so. I think the timing is important. I think the system is important.”

“This job takes it out of you. We all have moments where you see some somebody and say, “he’s tired” or “he’s not quite into it.” He (Bo) doesn’t have that. He has energy. He’s on those guys. He’s on the officials. He’s still prime to be successful for a long time, but you also want someone of that stature and those accomplishments to go out on top. Very few of us do that. Very few of us go out on top,” Painter concluded.

On a side note, let’s commend Painter for going well above and beyond his media responsibilities at Big Ten Media Day today. Each coach is required to do an hour of roundtable Q&A and nothing more. Painter set an apparent unofficial record by staying about 80 or 90 minutes.

Ryan’s predecessor, Dick Bennett, restored the Badgers to relevance. Then Bo Ryan took over and elevated the program to elite status. He took them to the national title game this past season and the Final Four the previous year.

Under his watch, Wisconsin players became NBA Draft lottery picks and the Badgers dominated Big Ten Tournaments. Even in so called down or rebuilding years, Bo Ryan’s teams were always finishing in the upper division of the league.

Paul M. Banks owns, operates and sometimes writes The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. The website is also featured on News Now.

Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes to the Chicago Tribune RedEye. He also appears regularly on numerous talk shows all across the country. Catch him Tuesdays on KOZN 1620 The Zone.

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