What makes a team these days? Well, duh. It’s the players. Of course it is…..isn’t it? Many college teams rise and fall with the incoming and outgoing players, and such words as “rebuilding” and “changing it up” seems to be a lot of coachspeak, but is this necessarily the case? In defense of it not just being about the players, I give you exhibit A: the Wisconsin Badgers.

Over the years, the Badgers have had some solid teams, ones that have risen above speculation of not having talent like some other Big 10 teams have, and have consistently performed at a high level. Why is this? In two words, it is Bo Ryan. The coach that has more scowls than John Gruden has been a mainstay at Wisconsin for quite some period of time, and despite the fact that his teams don’t have flashy “Big 10 player of the year” candidates or even a ton of people that go on to the pros, every year they seem to be at the top of the conference and ranked among the nation’s elite.

It’s the system. It’s the coach.

It goes back to what used to happen at Indiana while Bobby Knight was there. Yes, he had some big-name talent from time to time. But quick–other than Keith Smart, who sank the game-winner against Syracuse in the 1987 final, can you name anyone off that team? (Indiana fans, stand down). The point I am making is that Bobby Knight didn’t become the winningest coach in history because he was able to recruit guys that won him games; he recruited guys that would fit in his system and he coached to the system–and—I’ll be damned–he won!!

The same is true of Bo Ryan, without the whole choking players and throwing chairs thing that still dogs Bobby. Ryan is a fiesty competitor, and his disciplined approach to both offense and demand for good defense has carried his Badger teams deep into the postseason on several occasions. His players look to him as a true leader and he gets everything he can out of them. If there’s someone to hang your hat on, Big 10 fans, it is Ryan.