Ten Wisconsin Badgers we are most thankful for

Bo Ryan

The next coach on this list is here for an obvious reason. He brought Wisconsin basketball into the modern era and made it the program it is today. He took a leap of faith in almost an undermining fashion and got Greg Gard the job in his replacement and it has paid off too. Bo Ryan is Wisconsin basketball.

Every single year Ryan was running the Badger program he made the NCAA tournament. There was a stretch for a while where those tournament performances weren’t living up to expectations, but he made up for it in the end and came minutes from eternal glory. He already has that in the state of Wisconsin, just not nationally.

He had the Badgers ranked every year except his first and won 30 games four times, including each of the last two years the Badgers went to the Final Four. Reaching back-to-back Final Fours is an insane accomplishment in itself he should be recognized for more than he is. Those teams played a style of basketball that was unique and difficult to beat. It was all because of Ryan.

He coached this program through the formative years and has it as one of the top programs in the Big Ten. Nobody wins the conference without having to worry about Wisconsin first. The Badgers are here to stay in the hoops scene, thanks to Bo Ryan.