Bo Ryan is one of the best head coaches in all of college basketball, but there is a good chance that he will be walking away from the game in the near future. The Wisconsin Badgers are going to suffer in a big way when he decides to leave town, but they have already decided that they will not put pressure on him to come back or attempt to impact his future plans are.
Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez talked about the situation with the media and detailed his thought process.
“I have to give him space,” Alvarez said. “If he decides to come back we have a Hall of Fame coach. If he decides he wants to step aside…we have to respect that and find the best coach we can to replace him.”
That is the right way to handle a situation like this. Many schools end up trying to put pressure on the coach to make a decision and things end ugly. Ryan has meant way too much to the school to end things that way, and they will be happy to welcome him back on the sidelines as long as he feels like he can continue to coach.
Ryan has compiled a 357-125 career record with the Badgers since taking over their head coaching job in the 2001-02 season. That record shows just how great of a head coach he has been in and of itself.
At 67 years old, there is no doubt that his career as an NCAA basketball head coach is coming to a close. Ryan may have another couple years of basketball left in him, but there is a good chance that the upcoming 2015-16 season will be his last.
No matter what Ryan decides, he will leave the Wisconsin basketball program in a very good place for whoever they bring in to replace him.
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*Featured Photo (above) credit to USA TODAY Sports
