2005 Wisconsin Badgers Basketball Preview

Coach Bo Ryan knows how to win at home where the Badgers are an amazing 31-1 in their last four seasons! Ryan (93-37 overall with Wisconsin) is starting his sixth year as the team’s head coach. The club has notched back to back 25-win seasons, a Wisconsin record, and last year finished third in the Big Ten earning a trip to the NCAA Tournament.

This year may be a tough one if Ryan and company cannot make up for the four starters they’ve lost, including forward Mike Wilkinson who was good for 14.3 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. The good news is junior forward/guard Alando Tucker is back.

Tucker, the on and off court team leader, takes it to the basket with authority collecting foul shots like third-stringers collect time on the bench. He moves, handles the ball, and goes inside with confidence. It’s tough to stop such a tenacious offensive player. and if he is stopped inside, he’ll go outside and knock a few down.

Guard Kammron Taylor, another junior, is emerging as one of the conference’s best players. Like Tucker he’s a tenacious force on the court, averaging one free throw per every seven minutes played. With great instincts and a fine work ethic Taylor is expected to vie along with Tucker for Big Ten Player of the Year.

Forward/center, 6’ 11”, 240 pound Brian Butch is another player who seems ripe for a breakout season. A 2003 McDonald’s All-American, Butch is a versatile and athletic player who made steady progress in his first year until mononucleosis sidelined him for the final weeks of the season. This season everything points to Butch becoming the heir apparent to Wilkinson.

Senior forward Ray Nixon, the fourth man, is the team’s defensive gem bringing with him three years of important NCAA experience. The fifth starter is really up in the air. It could be sophomore guard Michael Flowers or freshman guard Philip Perry or first-year guard DeAaron Williams (who was redshirted last season). Perry is expected to have an immediate impact and will vie for what is assumed to be Flower’s starting position.

Whoever is chosen, they need to step up and contribute immediately on both sides of the ball. Bo Ryan has always emphasized disciplined, tough D; a quirky, off-balance position shifting O; and a protect-and-control-the-ball game plan. This season he needs to be sure he has the personnel to execute his well-thought out scheme.

For more info on the 2005 Badgers check out the official Wisconsin athletic site.