Milwaukee Post
Issue link: http://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/537114
Bo Ryan is retiring after the upcoming season as men's basketball coach at the University of Wisconsin. It was inevitable, but it's still sad. He's the best coach in the history of the school. The best. You can argue retired football coach Barry Alvarez if you wish, but he never played for a national championship. You can vote for Badger Bob Johnson, but men's hockey just doesn't have enough schools competing in the sport. You can suggest basketball's Bud Foster because he coached the Badgers to a nation- al championship in 1941, but it was different era and similar to a men's hockey title. You might mention from a long list of phenomenal coaches in other sports, but it's just not the equal of excellence in men's basketball. The best-ever career at UW certainly starts with back-to-back appearances in the Final Four and a National Championship game, but the last two years might not be his most impressive achievement. In 14 years as head coach at Wisconsin, he won more than 71 percent of his Big Ten games. Tom Izzo at Michigan State has won just short of 59 percent, and Bob Knight won 70 percent of his conference games at Indiana. Ryan was a more successful Big Ten coach than Izzo and Knight. It isn't even necessary to compare numbers with any other coach because nothing can be as impressive as standing above those two coaching superstars. Ryan just never had a bad season in the Big Ten. He never finished below fourth in the league standings and was above .500 in every season. The only problem with such an impres- sive record is the difficulty it presents for the next coach. Ryan has made it clear that he would like associate head coach Greg Gard to take over after next season. The hope would be that Gard could be the Wisconsin comparison to Izzo, who was top assistant at Michigan State and took over with the retirement of Jud Heathcote. The Izzo comparison will be mentioned often because it's the best case of an assistant taking over a good program and doing very well. Izzo's success would be closer to the exception than the rule. It doesn't usually work out so well for the loyal assistant. It's been stated for years that the best job isn't following the legend, but following the per- son who follows the legend. Athletic Director Alvarez has a year to make his selection for the next coach and only one thing is certain. His choice won't be as successful as Ryan. It says nothing about the talent of the next coach, and it only speaks again to Ryan's incredible UW record. It's impossible to predict what Alvarez will do because he's never hired a men's basketball coach. He did stay in house (Brett Bielema) when stepping down as foot- ball coach and went Badger family again (Paul Chryst) when last year's football coach Gary Anderson skipped town. My list would have Tony Bennett at the top. He's been spectacular at the University of Virginia and was Ryan's assistant many years ago. Second on the list would be Archie Miller, who has done an amazing job at Dayton. Gard would be the third choice and stand above all the other former Ryan assistants. No need to guess now because so many things could happen with an entire year coming of Ryan replacement speculation. All that should be thought about today is that Ryan is more goat than badger. G.O.A.T. as in Greatest Of All Time. July 3, 2015 • Milwaukee County Post • 11 "HOMER" on SPORTS STEVE "The HOMER" TRUE (Steve "The Homer" True, host of "Homer and Thunder Show," heard from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays on 540 ESPN, can be reached at homer@espnmilwau- kee.com) Bo Ryan's accomplishments include amazing Big Ten record Following in the footsteps of greatness MADISON (DNR) — The 2015 Wisconsin spring waterfowl breed- ing population survey indicates quality waterfowl production, despite dry conditions experienced during the survey. For all species, population counts showed no sig- nificant change from estimates compared to last year. This survey information, along with two other primary sources of information regarding yearly waterfowl breeding conditions, is used to determine the fall season structure for Wisconsin. The full survey report can be found by searching the Department of Natural Resources website, www.dnr.wi.gov, for keywords "waterfowl management." With considerable precipitation in May, wetland conditions improved just in time for brood rearing, and Wisconsin is expected to provide good duck production in 2015. "In 2015, spring weather came much earlier than the previous two years, which is normally a good sign for breeding waterfowl," said Kent Van Horn, DNR water- fowl biologist. "A large proportion of ducks harvested in Wisconsin are raised in Wisconsin, although there are differences among species." A relatively mild winter in 2014- 15, combined with below-normal rainfall in March and April, led to dry wetland conditions through- out Wisconsin. Counts indicated drier conditions than in 2014 in all regions. According to Van Horn, considerable rainfall in May fol- lowing the survey has helped Wisconsin remain at average wet- land conditions for the year during the important brood-rearing peri- od. The 2015 total Wisconsin total breeding duck population estimate of 372,840 is similar to 2014, but 16 percent below the long-term (42- year) average. None of the species- specific population estimates for the three top breeding ducks in Wisconsin (mallard, blue-winged teal and wood duck) were signifi- cantly different compared to 2014. "Each duck species population estimate normally varies from year to year so I urge hunters and other conservationists to interpret the information on these migrato- ry bird populations over several years and in the continental con- text," Van Horn said. "For exam- ple, the blue-winged teal breeding population in Wisconsin is lower than historic levels, but continen- tal estimates the last few years have reached all-time highs, and two-thirds of Wisconsin regular duck season blue-winged teal har- vest comes from out of state." Roughly 70 percent of mallard harvest in Wisconsin is supported by locally hatched ducks, and the average mallard population in the last few years has been lower than the previous decade. * * * State turkey hunters registered a total of 40,975 birds during the 2015 spring turkey hunting season, a 2 percent decrease from the spring 2014 season. "We heard from many hunters who were seeing good numbers of birds this spring," said Scott Walter, DNR upland wildlife ecolo- gist. "Weather across the state was excellent for hunting throughout much of the season. Total statewide spring turkey harvest has been between 37,000 and 43,000 turkeys for the past five years. Wisconsin's wild turkey populations have stabi- lized across the state after 30 years of continuous growth and expan- sion. Looking forward, we expect that weather during winter and the critical spring breeding period will cause some annual population fluc- tuations." Zone 1 produced the highest over- all turkey harvest at 11,558 birds, followed by zones 2 and 3, where hunters registered 10,344 and 9,960 turkeys, respectively. The highest hunter success was in zone 2 with a success rate of 23 percent, followed by zone 3 at 19.9 percent, and zone 1 at 18.9 percent. Success rates were between 14.5 percent and 18.2 per- cent for zones 4 through 7. The statewide success rate was 19.7 per- cent, similar to the 19.9 percent suc- cess rate reported last year. "There were some lingering con- cerns about turkey populations in the north following the very severe winter of 2013-2014. The good news is that we saw the highest harvests and success rates in the northern zones of 6 and 7 since 2012," said Krista McGinley, assistant upland wildlife ecologist. The number of permits issued for this year's hunt decreased by 1 percent, from 210,496 to 208,250. A key objective of Wisconsin's Wild Turkey Management Plan is to maximize opportunities for hunters while ensuring that har- vest does not lead to population declines. Biologists in Wisconsin closely monitor harvest and other information to track turkey popula- tions through time, and are always vigilant that harvests be sustain- able. Waterfowl survey shows good production 2015 spring turkey harvest seen as stable SPORTS