The head coach said all the appropriate things for a man whose team had just been issued a cease and desist from NCAA Tournament play. Bo Ryan spoke glowingly about his players – all 14 on the Wisconsin basketball team.

He said they played hard, they showed heart and hustle, they were role models, heroes to throngs of Wisconsin youth. Usual hyperbole for most coaches, but not Ryan. He was honest in his assessment, genuine and correct.

Although they lost to North Carolina on Sunday afternoon, the Badgers made themselves out to be the darlings of the Syracuse Regional. (ITALICS) Fan (ITALICS) favorites despite being the severe underdogs.

‘They taught young players some things in Wisconsin,’ Ryan said, ‘about how to play the game, how to play together, how to be tough mentally and physically.’

The lesson came across. The Badgers were supposed to be slower than North Carolina (they were). They were supposed to be less athletic (uh huh). They were supposed to get run out of the gym by UNC’s thoroughbreds. But that never happened. Wisconsin entered the game against the Tar Heels significant underdogs and athletically overmatched. But it never folded and almost pulled out an improbable win.

Throw away the rankings. A win over No. 1 seed North Carolina would have been the biggest upset of the tournament. Bigger than Bucknell/Kansas, Milwaukee-Wisconsin/Boston College and Syracuse/Vermont. Even in the toughest bracket in the tournament, the Tar Heels were supposed to breeze to St. Louis. Instead they were challenged twice – once by Villanova on Friday and again by Wisconsin on Sunday.

The Badgers did it with team basketball, using its swing offense to scorch Carolina. But they deviated, too. Alando Tucker, Wisconsin’s 6-foot-5 forward, took the UNC players one on one, slicing to the hoop. He scored 25 points, most coming in the same fashion: break the Tar Heel defense off the dribble and convert a flying lay-up. With 1:38 left in the game, Tucker threw down an alley-oop, his eyes on plane with the rim.

And we thought the Badgers were supposed to be unathletic.

‘We played for what’s on the front of our jerseys,’ Tucker said. ‘And we did that all year. That’s one thing we stuck to and that’s what made this such a great season. We just play for Wisconsin.’

He said it with pride. He paused for effect, the statement lingering in front of a packed room of reporters.

He, like Ryan, had a point to make. The Badgers had earned their way to the Regional with victories over Northern Iowa and Bucknell. But that meant that they were open to national scrutiny. Their prodding offense was criticized for being un-sexy and their players – nine of which are from the state of Wisconsin – were repeatedly reminded they couldn’t keep up with faster teams.

But they answered every critic, and in the process, attracted a lot of fans. The Badgers lose four senior starters, including forward Mike Wilkinson and former walk-on turned starter Clayton Hanson. But they return the sophomore Tucker, whose 38-inch vertical leap will continue to put some energy in an offense as exciting as Ben Stein, and Kammron Taylor, a sophomore who lit up the Tar Heels for 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting.

That’s why Wisconsin, not just the team, but the state, has hope for the future. People take pride in the fact that the team is essentially home grown, and that the only player who grew up west of Indiana is Andreas Helmigk – and he’s from Australia.

‘I’m so proud of these guys,’ Ryan said. ‘I can’t even put it into words.

‘I haven’t been around a team that’s done what this group has done with what they’ve had. And I’m telling you, this group was unbelievable.’

Pretty hearty praise. We couldn’t help but believe him.

Michael Becker is the sports editor at The Daily Orange, where his columns appear regularly. Email him at mibecker@syr.edu.

Published on March 27, 2005 at 12:00 pm