Ryan Addresses Media Monday
December 02, 2002 | Men's Basketball
Wisconsin men's basketball coach Bo Ryan spoke to the media on Monday during UW 's weekly news conference. Ryan 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.
Do you put any stock in the ACC versus Big Ten games or the notion of conference versus conference games' 'I think it 's good. Again, you heard me talk about what was good for basketball in the state of Wisconsin with playing Milwaukee, Green Bay, and Marquette. Originally, when it was tougher to get a lot of match ups on a more national scale, getting the two conferences that were pretty well represented in draft picks, Final Fours, Sweet 16's, I thought it was natural to put the two conferences together. Certainly being a coach in a league, being the Big Ten where we are, you like to win as many as you can and try to dominate the other leagues or try to edge out the other league or whatever it takes. I think that's okay for basketball. I think it's good.'
Do you think they will continue the Big Ten-ACC Challenge ' 'I know there has been conversation, but what the powers that be are going to say, I am not sure. I think it's good and I think it's good that the leagues can play one game. It would be nice if both leagues had the same number of teams. But two teams in the Big Ten have to not play each year.'
Do the Big Ten coaches ever talk about the Big Ten-ACC Challenge' 'When we get together, most of the guys that are good golfers are talking about what course they are going to play ' We didn't talk about the ACC outside of the Big Ten meetings. In the meetings, we tend to talk more about officials and what a good job they have been doing over the years. The guys say 'Oh yeah, it's good.' Sometimes they'll say 'Why are we going here'', 'How come we didn't get this game'', 'Why are we away'', 'Why are we neutral 5000 miles away from home'' There have been different things said. But I am sure on the ACC side, if you sat in a meeting with those coaches the same things would be batted about.'
Do you want to continue participating in the Big Ten-ACC Challenge' 'We're going to keep saying yes, because we 've had two away games and this will be our first home [game]. So we're going to get another home and then an away neutral. How about those two words together ' An away neutral. So we would want to stay in the mix.'
Your team has only turned the ball over 35 times in four games. I know that number is probably higher than you would like it, but it's about half of that of your opponents. Do you feel you still need to improve in that area, or are you happy with those numbers' 'I think we are going to see with the games on the schedule, there are teams that are going to use their pressure more, maybe their rosters are a little deeper, or their players have longer arms, or are a little quicker. We play some tough match ups that defensively will get tougher as we go along. I'm not saying the teams that we have played haven't been good defensively, but if you look on paper there are teams who can step it up defensively. They 've been known for it and have historically proven it. We still have a lot of tests coming. I thought the first four games helped us. We only had seven turnovers up in Green Bay. You might say that it's not anything great. But, yes it is. It 's on the road and it was our first time away from home. I thought we did a very good job making good decisions with the ball. As you look at the video tape, three of them were not turnovers, but they were called turnovers. That made me feel even better. But we do value the ball and so does everybody else. I don't say things in coaching that other coaches aren't telling their players. But again it is what we are willing to accept at practice. If you accept the guys throwing the ball around, then they might throw the ball around a little bit more during games. I have a pretty short fuse when it comes to that, and they know that. The idea is not just to please me; it is also please your teammates. Take care of the ball, make good decisions, have good balance and good feet and good ball fakes ' the things that don't take a lot of talent, the things that everyone can do. Why not be the best at those kinds of things' I have been saying that for a long time. I can remember telling my first junior high school class that I coached that there were better teams in the league, a lot more athletic teams, so we should be good at the things that don't take a lot of running and jumping talent. '
Do you know your average points per possession this season ' 'Yes. Close to 1.1.'
What is that telling you' 'That so far we have taken advantage of our opportunities. Some second shots, some offense off our defense. It doesn't answer all your questions of what you are getting off your half court offense if you are scoring in different ways, but it's still a part of your total offense. Some teams rely a lot on offense from defense.'
Do you believe that if you are at a point per possession that you are going to win' 'It's a proven statistic. It is one of the most reliable statistics that is out there. Nobody else uses it, except a few coaches that I know. But it's pretty reliable. There are a few that sneak on the radar screen, but not very many.'
Is there a certain number of free throws that you like to see per game' 'We had a year where we shot over 30. Again it doesn 't matter where. It is how you are getting to the line. Are you playing with the league' You will get more free throws when you are playing with the league as long as you are not just coming down and jacking up wild shots. Hernia shots, as we like to call them. If you are working the ball and working through the post, you tend to get to the free throw line more. Obviously we've been working on the perimeter. It's a statistic that is a pretty good one. If you are making more free throws than the other team is shooting, you tend to have a pretty good year. But it's early and we just have to understand that in order to keep doing that there are certain things that we have to improve on every day.'
Can you live with a seven man roster' 'No, and the amazing thing about Saturday is that there was no foul trouble. And we were aggressive enough. Look at the steals we had, look at the deflections. It was definitely going to be eight if not nine, figuring that we would get a couple of fouls. We were on the road and a couple guys would have to sit. But in that game with the TV time outs and the time outs that were called, fatigue never became a factor or the necessity to play four or five minutes with someone in the first half or sub more frequently in the second half.'
Discuss your views on having a high assist team. 'Sometimes you have a high assist team because you get people who are really tough on giving out assists. I know some places where they'll give out an assist where the pass has to lead directly to the basket. If you throw the ball to somebody and he dribbles two or three times and drives and dunks the ball they'll give an assist to the guy. The guy made the offensive move on his own and the pass did not necessarily create the shot. It's tougher some places. The other thing is if teams are really over playing passing lanes and you can get dribble penetration to the rim by dribble attacks then you don't have as many assists. There are some games where people sag and you can move the ball, attack a gap, kick it, and then someone gets a shot and knocks it down. Then you get more assists in those types of games. It depends on what type of defense the other teams play.'
Discuss Jason Chappell's connection to Wake Forest. 'I don't know ' I let his dad take care of that. I am sure he's heard enough about it. His brother was recruited by Wake Forest and then signed with Wake Forest, but ended up in South Carolina when Dave Odom left Wake for South Carolina.'
Did you have a chance to see tape of the Temple game from last night' 'I just watched it while it was on.'
What did you see in Wake Forest' 'A lot more athletic than people realize. The big kid, Williams, by losing the weight has become very active. The other kid, Danelius runs the floor extremely well. The guards ' Josh Howard looked fine to me. When all three guys in a front line have double-doubles that tells me something. And Temple is still Temple defensively. Hawkins got in foul trouble and he is going to be a consistent scorer for them this year. I thought they played pretty well. For being young, they are pretty talented at the right spots. '
With many teams doing great things with freshmen and sophomores, that it is no longer a handy thing for coaches to sit there and say 'We're young'' 'You just say it and get it over with if you are. And you don't have to belabor the point. But if you are, you are and it might show up in some games. In other games being young might be an advantage with how lose guys play. That has happened. But the other game is the Yale game that is even scarier from the standpoint of Yale drilling Penn State at Penn State. Yale and Penn are quite possibly the two best teams in the Ivy League, the two teams that could play in every one of the major conferences in the upper half of their leagues. They beat Yale in their first game at home, and then Temple. Yale travels and plays a lot of places. I was impressed with that game. I think that their younger guys played older. Last year if our younger guys had a chance to play a couple of games early in the year before we went to Hawaii, would we have been a different team earlier in the year' I don't know. But fortunately for Wake, their schedule playing Yale and Temple at home real early helped their young guys. That definitely helped their team I think, before coming in here. '
Discuss the success of young players on your team, such as Alando Tucker and Boo Wade. 'I see two guys that get a chance at the beginning of the game to see what's going on. There is not a lot of pressure heaped on. Those two guys know the game. I have been impressed with how they react to situations and I think that has helped them. Last year Mike [Wilkinson] was a redshirted freshman. Devin [Harris] was really the true freshman that got the most minutes, and he is a pretty calm and cool individual. Your personality will determine a lot of that. Plus, as a coach, there are the expectations you put on the players. We just talk about our expectations of playing hard and playing smart, and how well you play and what you need to do for us ' we don't put a lot of pressure on them that way. '
Do you expect consistent offensive play out of Mike Wilkinson later in the season' 'Yes. I think what Mike is experiencing now as a starter is that defensively he is been matched against some pretty active guys. He 'll score for us eventually. He'll have some nights where he can do that. Coming off the bench last year I think he came in when the other guy was a little tired. Mike took advantage of guys that stayed in the paint and didn't close out on him. He had some wide open shots from the perimeter. He'll be able to adjust to that. He works so hard on the glass, defensively. He understands that's part of it. He 's not worried about the offensive part of it ' he knows it'll come.'
When you look at his shot, do you see anything wrong with it ' 'No. Nope, he's had some rattlers, some Jerry Lee Lewises, some `shake, rattle and rolls' that come out. They call the ones that just hit the front of the rims the Roy Orbisons ' Criers. There is a bunch more, but we won't get into that.'
What do you know about Wake Forest's coach Skip Prosser' 'We've met at different Final Fours. Skip has been around. He knows the game, he knows what it takes. I know Pete Gillen really well, and I know Pete and Skip go way back, as they say. And they are both cut out of the same cloth with their sense of humor. He's a good guy - very professional. And basketball has been his life. He has a passion for it. I like that kind of guy. He has worked hard and hasn't had anything handed to him. I like that kind of guy.'
