Ryan Addresses Media Monday
November 11, 2002 | Men's Basketball
Wisconsin men's basketball coach Bo Ryan spoke to the media on Monday during UW 's weekly news conference. Ryan talked about the upcoming NABC Classic and addressed various issues about the team.
A transcript of the news conference follows. The news conference video is available by clicking on `multimedia' on the red menu bar.
Is it difficult to get teams to come and play in the NABC Classic' 'Teams are allowed to play ' in a four-year period ' two exempt tournaments. Exempt: Alaska, where you can get three games; Maui, the Rainbow Classic, those types of tournaments over in Hawaii. And they just started with ones recently where the NABC would choose host institutions where you could host an exempt tournament, use the experimental rules and kind of promote a cause, so to speak. By us being selected as one of the schools to host, it means you don't make a trip to another faraway place. I won't say another country'one player was already quoted saying he enjoys playing in other countries when he was in Hawaii'but to travel to faraway places where the weather might be a little bit better. Then the NCAA was sued, I don't know exactly who the parties were, but with the idea that there shouldn't be a limit on how many exempt tournaments you can play in. The NCAA won their case, a judge ruled in their favor so it's still two out of four. Two every four years, which means back to your question, it's easier to answer when you have that background. Then if a Big East school, an ACC school, a Pac-10 school were asked to be in a tournament on an away court, why would they give up an exempt tournament to play at another Big Ten school's facility and use up one of their years, so it makes it difficult. So therefore a lot of times what you find is very eager, very talented, very competitive schools that are labeled mid-major that will jump in a second at playing in these. So you have an Eastern Washington and a Winthrop, two teams that have not been bashful about who they've played, where they've played. Northern Illinois is in the same boat now with (Coach) Rob Judson there, being an Illinois player and Illinois assistant. We're fortunate to be a host school. I think with our foreign trip coming up that we'll have in two years, the fact that we'll still be able to go on a trip in another two years'I think we're ok as far as travel goes. We're going to play on the West Coast and the East Coast and possibly in the Florida area, depending on what schools we are able to line up right now with our future scheduling. I've never looked at anything as a detriment to the program; it 's just that this is the way it is. They chose us, we accepted and we said whoever you send in here to us, we will play. That's what we have coming up this weekend. '
Would you have been as eager to accept the NABC Classic if you knew the NCAA regulations that would be in place'
'Sure. We knew that it was in place. It was being challenged. So that's ok. We know those teams will be extremely hungry. Those teams have traveled to play other people in conferences like ours. I think it's basketball. I think anything that takes away from what the game is all about and who we 're playing, is kind of an injustice to the teams that are playing. When I was at UWM, we tried to dive into every one of these with an up and coming, young-type program with players that you are trying to get experience for. That's what has made Division-I basketball what it is. You have so-called perceived levels--high-major, mid-major, low-major'that can be thrown out the window when you compete. I think that has been proven so many times that it's been overworked. So we're looking forward to the games, looking forward to having two games at home for our fans and to be selected as a place where the NABC would be willing to play. I look at the positives, but I know what some other people have to do.'
Are you worried about Mike Wilkinson getting into early foul trouble in the exhibition games' 'No, we looked at the fouls. Those won't be two fouls this weekend. He might pick up two fouls, but in each case, one of the two fouls, both times the official comes over, does the old `might have missed that one' and I'm thinking, `what difference does that make if I got my guy sitting on the bench for the rest of the first half'' I don 't foresee it as a problem; it's going to happen sometimes. But in both cases, one of the two fouls was something that isn't going to be called, and if it is, it's very, very rare. So I can't even judge it. If it was two where he whacked somebody, where he was so far out of position and he was lazy'no, that is not what happened. It's a little bit different.'
What do you know about these teams this weekend ' 'Right now, not very much. Just based on [Eastern Washington 's] past, they beat Weber State twice last year. They beat them in the tournament that they had, they beat them at their place, and they lost at Weber State. That's an opponent last year that beat us on a neutral floor. They have played at Minnesota, they played at Indiana last year, so they have a lot of that kind of experience under their belt. Pretty good ball movement. I looked at game or two from last year. They moved the ball well, smart, well-coached. They do a lot of nice things. They don't beat themselves. Same thing with Winthrop. You have seen Winthrop if you have watched the NCAA Tournament. They have proven they can play with anybody. Northern Illinois, with Rob [Judson] being fairly new to the program, we don't have as much info on them. '
Are you concerned about Alando Tucker having to play the four ' 'No, because Kirk Penney played the four for us last year and he's stronger than Kirk. He benches more, and on the vertimax goes higher. So Kirk has played the four, he can play the four. I'm not done yet, he might play the five some. He might play the three, he might be a two eventually. We're just starting. He's made very good decisions with the ball when we do our press break, he's a pretty good passer. I was kidding Charlie [Wills] that he had a little better spin move beating pressure if we had to get it back to the four-man and advance it up the floor. Charlie's feelings weren't hurt at all, he understood. But right now at the four, he's a little more comfortable and he might expand from there. He might be one of those guys that I haven't had since a guy named Shawn Frison at Platteville who I played at five different positions in college. And never started him in a game and he was all-conference three years, so he was pretty versatile. Alando might be able to play two or three positions.
What about the point guard position for Alando ' 'Not yet. That one we haven't put on him. He does make good decisions with the ball so far. We will see what it's like when we get to regular season competition.'
With the way Ray Nixon played in the exhibition games, would you feel comfortable going to a nine-man rotation' 'It 's early yet. He showed he was a lot more comfortable the second night. What a difference in some of our guys just looking in our eyes when I'd say, you go in for such-and-such. The first night'you thought I was kidding when I was talking about checking their uniform. The first night was just `whoa,' here I am going out here. But just the way they bounced up and were ready to go, everybody all of the way down the line went into the game a little more relaxed with a better feel, including Ray. '
How did you like Devin Harris playing at point guard ' 'Same things he did last year, he took care of the ball for the most part, especially in transition. Take all of the film from last year and edit out all of the transition baskets from the Big Ten season, it's a very short film. So he really made good decisions in the transition, but I don't know how many of those we are going to get come Big Ten time. But in the half-court, it was business as usual whether he was on the wing to start the offense as a point forward or at the top. He played the same that way. He gets banged around. A couple of those guys were physical with him which is good because we know he is going to get that anyhow.'
Do you think you can go to nine-deep this season ' 'Don't know yet. If we need to, if it's available. It depends on what is going on in the game'the match-ups, the type of players the other teams are running in and out, what a guy does. You know, I always tell them it's kind of like a bank account. You put the money in and if want to get dividends, you got to make sure you're for real. Counterfeit money doesn't get dividends. So if you go in there and get a good minute, you can get two minutes out of it, that's your return. But if you're not ready yet it's counterfeit, not for real, you don't get that second minute, that third minute. So if it's for real, they'll get the dividend on it.'
