Yesterday was the beginning of the end of the Bo Ryan era. Outside of Jordan Taylor, who will likely test the NBA draft waters, but likely return they have very little left. Bo Ryan has had a steep dropoff in recruiting and it is going to catch up to them. They'll still be good and it will still be tough to win at the Kohl Center, but the talent difference will be major starting next year. I like some of the players they have but it's hard to expect them to replace players like Leuer and Nankavil. It looks a lot like the Gene Keady years after Big Dog and the other players finally all left the program. Bo Ryan has proved the doubters wrong before but this will be his greatest coaching accomplishment ever if he can put Wisconsin in the top 3 in the conference next year.

Illinois should be good next year. MSU and Ohio State are always there. Purdue will be in the hunt as well if Hummel comes back as a first team All-Big Ten player. If not, they'll be average. Purdue will actually have more capable big men next year but no one will be close to as good as JaJuan Johnson. Michigan should be good but I'm still not sold on them. Minnesota will continue to be a letdown. Indiana will be better but it will still be a tough season. Iowa will make the biggest jump from one of the worst to one of the average. Penn State will be the worst team in the Big Ten unless I'm missing some great players that are returning. Northwestern will continue to be Northwestern.

The really exciting thing about next year is how wide open it is because of all the graduating seniors. It's kind of a rebuilding year but talent is still in the conference.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Serves him right for being at the same school as that asswipe football coach they got.

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

Paul is going to have to work his tail off in the offseason. Illinois is going to
be leaning on him pretty heavily for some scoring and ball handling. He was
really inconsistient and didn't seem to improve much this season from last.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

How long before Bucky Chris arrives to argue with Brick over his Ryan thoughts?

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

+1 to RFDC

As for Bo Ryan, wasn't THIS year supposed to be the year of the drop off? Bo does some amazing things there. He's got a nice class coming in with a lot of size. I think Taylor will test but given the number of better PGs this year he'll be back for year 4. With Taylor back in the fold, they will be fine.

Don't have the time today! I'm frustrated Bo's Badgers have been knocked out of the tourney in the last 4 seasons by mid-majors. I'm frustrated that this was the easiest road to a Final Four I can imagine. I'm also frustrated by his recent troubles in March in general. But Bo has the best winning percentage all-time in the Big10 and has been to a Final Four, unlike another coach mentioned. He's a great coach.


Bo isn't going anywhere, from what I know. This was supposed to be the year of the fall-off and it didn't happen. Rick could be right, but it's also safe to say "this could be the year of the drop-off" every single year of every single season.

I like the core of JT, Bruiser and Gasser. Evans needs to come a far way, as does Berggeren. But with the Big Ten being relatively average next year, I would expect the Badgers to be near the top.

14 mins. Not too shabby.

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

I know it's not an exact science, but rivals has Wisconsin with only one four star recruit next year on the whole team, and he's the forgettable Jared Berggren.

That compares with have 2 of them graduating this year,2 of them graduating the year before and a 5 star recruit the year before that.

That's a massive dropoff in recruiting and unlike anything in the Bo Ryan era. It's true that you don't need 5 stars to win a ton of games but you can find very few examples of big ten teams being good without a bunch of 4 star recruits.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Jordan Taylor is good.

The combover is going to get you!

Bo Ryan has never been to the Final Four.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Touche.

He isn't Shelvin Mack, but he is pretty good.

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

On one of Taylor's worst night's ever, he scored 9 more than Mack, FWIW.

I don't agree with that. I thought he'd improved in a few areas, particularly on the defensive end. Also, he was less prone to the wild shot and he was a bit more aggressive going to the basket.

Overall, I like his development for a 2nd year kid who is really playing out of position for his skills. However, he thinks he needs to be a PG to get to the next level and he's not exceptional handling the ball, is turnover prone, and is an average/good passer. I hope he continues to work on his outside shot to fill the 2/3 guard role for next year with Richardson (who was really the disappointment IMO).

But, it sounds like they still plan to groom him to be the PG for next year which I think is a mistake. He's OK occasionally bringing the ball up but I don't think he can be the McCamey-style PG that's running the show. Illinois is in a bit of a bind though because the alternatives aren't great. I'm hoping Abrams can fill the role with support from Paul/Richardson in combo. And, maybe this Maniscalco kid can bring some stability.

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My Maserati does 186.

And it depends which service you use....
Scout:
2011 4 star recruits: Jared Uthoff (Cedar Rapids, IA)
2010 4 star: Evan Anderson (Eau Clarie, WI)
2008 4 star: Rob Wilson (forgettable), Jared Berggren

They haven't had anything less than a 3 star in years. The cupboard isn't dry, but they will need a big man to step up

Berggren of bust, IMO. Rob Wilson is a huge disappointment, but he could be a starter next year if the freshmen aren't ready.

i think iowa will be real good next year, i look for iowa to challenge for best team in the conference

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No.

But I do expect Iowa to improve on their end of year run and win a couple of games that they lost last year. I'm thinking just above a .500 record and 6-8 wins in conference is about where they should be. They still lack a lot of talent, but Fran is doing a good job with these guys. Unless they get a big man from a JUCO for next year they will be woefully thin upfront and probably get their asses handed to them on the boards nightly.

I guess we'll see. I look at Wisconsin and see Jordan Taylor and a bunch of good role players. They had at least two stars every year and sometimes 3 of them.

I don't see much of a difference between Penn State this year and Wisconsin next year, outside of a home court advantage worth a few Big Ten wins a year.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

I'd be willing to make a friendly wager on PSU vs Wisco.

Wisconsin will be much better than PSU next year. PSU loses more than anyone. I'm saying that I see Wisconsin having a similar season and team to PSU this year. Jordan Taylor= Talor Battle and the rest is just kind of good but not great players.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

I really wish you had more time today because your reactions to my traps are not what I was hoping for. Maybe another day.

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

Rick, this is obviously a long shot but thought you might find it interesting nonetheless....

When it comes to a new basketball coach, Missouri fans are hearing the names Bruce Pearl and Matt Painter, one far less likely than the other. [Pearl] has no chance to be the Mizzou coach. None. He's toxic. ... [Painter]: There's a little more to this than you'd think. I can't go into details, sorry. On the surface it seems crazy, the idea of Painter leaving his alma mater and dream job to go to Mizzou. Would I be surprised if it happened? Absolutely. I think it's a longshot. Do I think Painter could use Missouri to get a better deal at Purdue? Sure. He's a coach, right? That's what they do. But you shouldn't dismiss it. I'll have to ask you to trust me on this one. And if Painter wants this job, then Mike Alden won't have to go on a coaching search. The "search" would begin and end with Painter.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

Wow, I ain't seeing that at all. Why in the world would Painter leave Purdue for Mizzou? Is there some Mizzou connection with him that I don't know about?

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

No chance.

It will get Painter a nice raise which he deserves.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

The rumor is that Missouri would give him a raise of $800k or more.

The only problem for Missouri is that Purdue can afford to match or beat any offer they make.

What's kind of funny is that I think that Cuonzo Martin will end up being the choice there. If Painter was to leave Purdue for Missouri, Martin would be the immediate hire at Purdue. If in a few years Painter moves on to somewhere else, Martin would still be the immediate hire at Purdue.

Missouri can be his practice run for the big time.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

no way bruce pearl lands a good job like mizzou, he is going to have to take a shitty job and earn his way back to a mizzou type job

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Yeah the two names I am hearing the most down here for the Mizzou job are Martin and Brad Stevens. I think it would be a real nice fit for Martin and since I don't see Painter leaving Purdue, Martin could have a nice career there. I don't see Brad Stevens going there. If/when Crean is done at IU I look for Stevens to be in line for that job.

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

I think Brad Stevens would turn them down too unless he believes that this two year run was an anomaly and can't be replicated. The IU job makes a lot of sense, but if he has a few more good years he can pretty much choose where he goes. There are going to be lots of old coaches retiring from traditional basketball powers. UCONN, Duke, North Carolina, and a few others all have old coaches. IU is also a possible destination but to be honest I think that if Crean fails enough to get fired that Stevens wouldn't want the pressure of fixing it.

You'll get Dane Fife or Steve Alford when you fire Crean.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!