Legendary former head coach Bo Ryan gets inducted into Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame AND Kentucky Fans Want Mark Pope Fired After March Madness Upset Loss to Oakland.
Bo Ryan. The Badger Herald archives.
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2024 was announced April 6 and, for the first time since 1964, the list included a member of the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Sixty years later UW–Madison has put its third coach or player into basketball’s most prestigious hall of fame, with 15-year head coach Bo Ryan joining former UW–Madison player and coach Harold “Bud” Foster and coach Walter Meanwell as the only Badgers to receive the honor.
Joining Ryan in the Class of 2024 are Chauncey Billups, Vince Carter and Jerry West — who was inducted as a contributor to the sport of basketball and became the first player to be enshrined as a player and a contributor — as part of a 13-person group.
Ryan stands as the winningest coach in Badgers men’s basketball history, a category he leads by 99 victories. In 494 games coached, Ryan compiled an astonishing 364-130 record, placing him second all-time in win-loss percentage (.737) among Wisconsin Men’s Basketball coaches.
As former Athletic Director and head football coach Barry Alvarez said during Ryan’s retirement press conference, “He’s put our basketball program on the map.”
Ryan inherited a Badger program that was just one year removed from a Final Four appearance, but he brought the UW–Madison men’s basketball to unparalleled success. In 2001 to 2002 — his first season as head coach — the Badgers earned a share of the Big Ten regular season title for the first time since 1947. His efforts were rewarded with Big Ten Coach of the Year honors, becoming the first Badger to obtain the accolade.
He was also incredibly successful in postseason play — making the NCAA Tournament in all 14 seasons as the Badgers’ head coach and reaching the second weekend a staggering seven times. At UW–Madison, Ryan had an all-time NCAA Tournament record of 25-14.
Most notably, Ryan spearheaded the iconic 2013 to 2014 and 2014 to 2015 teams that reached the Final Four and National Championship Game, respectively.
The 2015 run was highlighted by one of the more memorable upsets in college basketball history, when UW–Madison took down the then 38-0 University of Kentucky Wildcats team that was led by Karl Anthony-Towns, Devin Booker and Trey Lyles, among many other future NBA players to book a spot in the National Championship game.
Kentucky fans are putting head coach John Calipari on the hot seat after the Wildcats fell to Oakland 80-76 in the first round of the NCAA tournament Thursday night.
The No. 14-seeded Golden Grizzlies pulled off a massive upset over the No. 3-seeded Wildcats, marking Kentucky’s second upset in the last three seasons. The Wildcats were also upset by No. 15-seeded St. Peter’s in 2022 when they were a No. 2 seed.
After the game, college basketball fans called for Calipari’s firing after 15 seasons at the helm.
It’s not clear whether the 65-year-old’s future is in jeopardy or not, but he will certainly be nervous heading into this offseason.
While the last few seasons have been marred by early exits, Kentucky has reached the Final Four three times and won a championship under Calipari, but the latest upset could be enough to end his tenure in Lexington.
