Ryan may have been assistant’s Gard-ian angel

“I think with the kids they bring in, the student athletes they bring in, it will be a pretty easy transition because there are a lot of great kids”.

“I remind him every time I see him, ‘I’d probably be in the Major League hall of fame by now if it wasn’t for you derailing my career, ‘” Gard quipped. But I couldn’t make the decision at that time.

Ryan said the decision was “months in the making”, and he had several talks with athletics director Barry Alvarez.

“He oversaw an incredible run of sustained success and helped elevate Wisconsin among the nation’s elite programs”, Alvarez said in a statement. He became the most successful Division 3 head coach in history. “He will be missed”.

“From the players’ standpoint, we wish him well with his retirement and all the things old people do”, forward Nigel Hayes told reporters after Tuesday’s game.

Now that the info is out, the speculation as to why immediately begins. The Badgers under Ryan were known for a methodical style that relied on tough defense and efficient offense. Assistant Greg Gard takes over as interim coach.

Ryan initially implied, if not said, he’d retire after the 2015-16 season and that he wanted Gard to succeed him. Bennett cited burnout as his reason for stepping down so early in the season. Wisconsin is now 7-5 on the season with losses to the likes of Marquette, Milwaukee, Oklahoma, Georgetown and Western Illinois.

And then comes this season, trying to bounce back from Frank Kaminsky, the best player in college basketball last season, and Sam Dekker, leaving to the NBA. He has the highest winning percentage of all-time among any head coach at. He won seven Big Ten championships and four Big Ten Coach of the Year nods.

I am glad that we are honoring the brilliant career of Ryan at my Dickie V gala on May 13, 2016 in Sarasota, Florida.

Ryan did all of this with only one McDonald’s All-American player. Gard has worked for Ryan for 20 seasons. Gard has been named interim coach, and Alvarez confirmed that while he will consider all possible candidates to replace Ryan, Gard has a chance to prove himself through the Badgers’ 2016 Big Ten schedule. He was the architect of a program that many didn’t believe would compete for the Big Ten title consistently.

“They taught us when someone gives you something good, be appreciative of it and don’t always be looking for the next job”, Jeff Gard said. Not really. After last year’s run to the national championship game, Ryan was ready to step away from the head coaching job and hand the team off to assistant coach Greg Gard. But something came up – Gard’s father, Glen Gard, was diagnosed with cancer in the spring. In 14 plus seasons, Ryan and the Badgers captured 364 victories, by far the most in program history.