Posting Up - Scoreboard - Top 25 - Features - Notables - Team of the Week - Live Audio

Features

An in-depth look at Division III

Posted March 27, 1999

By Mark Simon
D3hoops.com

After his team won its fourth national championship this decade, Wisconsin-Platteville coach Bo Ryan took a break from the midst of a celebratory hug to see his 75-year old father Butch standing by the foul line, holding up a sign.

It said "BRING ON DUKE!"

Mike Krzyzewski shouldn’t have to worry too much about how the Blue Devils matches up with the Pioneers, but he may have to cede to Ryan when it comes to talking about the best coaches in college basketball.

The 353-76 record (an amazing 266-27 in the 1990s), an .823 winning percentage speaks for itself. So do the back-to-back crowns and the four national coach-of-the-year awards that came along with his championship rings.

He’s also the author of four coaching booklets and five instructional videos. He is a nationally renowned expert on the swing offense, and was the only Division III coach to give a seminar at this week’s National Association of Basketball Coaches convention.

"I know that I’m very fortunate be on bench when these things happen," said Ryan. "Sometimes coaches get way too much credit for success, and too much blame for the failures. I’m fortunate to have the hardest working young men I’ve been around. It is a testament to them and work ethic."

The Pioneers never gave up.

Not when they trailed by three points late in the first overtime of the national championship game against Hampden-Sydney. Junior center Mike Jones, who had made only two 3-pointers all season, stepped back and nailed one with 16 seconds remaining to tie the game. The Pioneers would win 76-75 in double-overtime on Colin Gassner’s game-winning backdoor layup with 20 seconds remaining.

Our sponsors and your support keep this site operating

"He knew that might be the best look we would get," said Ryan, laughing at the remembrance of Jones’ basket. "You wouldn’t want to play HORSE against him."

You probably wouldn’t want to shoot against anyone on the team. Seven players reached double digits in 3-pointers, led by Merrill Brunson, who shot an astounding 77-for-147 from long range, not to mention 89% from the foul line. Brunson averaged 18.8 points per game and received top honors ahead of potential NBA draft picks Andy Panko and Devean George. Brunson was named the Final Four MVP after scoring 45 points in two games. He’ll play baseball this spring, though he wasn’t able to top his debut last season, when he hit a home run on the second pitch he saw, just days after winning the national championship.

"(Illinois coach) Lon Kruger said you know have a good team when your best player is your hardest worker," Ryan said. "No one works harder than this young man at every facet of his game."

There were other key contributors -- like seniors Dan Wargolet, Blake Knutson, Moose Murphy and Aaron Olson. All learned and grew through the well-tested Platteville system.

"The seniors refused not to try to get back," Ryan said, "because they knew if we could get to Salem, we would have a chance."

The key to what has become a dynasty hasn’t so much been the shooting accuracy, the tight defense or the dominating depth. Its much simpler than that. Ryan’s fundamental beliefs go back to his days as a point guard at Chester (Pa.) High and Wilkes University.

"We’re crisp with our passes," said Ryan. "That’s the way we play. When I was a point guard, my job was to take care of the ball. That meant maybe one turnover, possibly two. If you can pass and catch the ball, you can compete. I have a booklet called Passing and Catching. It talks about receivers and hand targets, and how the receiver should always be ready to do something with the basketball. If we kept moving the ball and getting a lot of good looks that way, we beat them. If we didn’t, we struggled with them."

Listen to him carefully, because what he says makes sense. If there’s anything that’s true about basketball about Wisconsin-Platteville, it’s that Bo knows.

Photo courtesy UW-Platteville Sports Information

– A View from the Top
– Rebimbas Back in the Final Four
– Thundering Herd
– Jim Moore's
Weekly Release
– Emory's Lewis Satterwhite Skips Game for Interview
– Whitman's Will Washington Mixes Medicine and Basketball
– Gallaudet Women March Toward March

D3sports.com Network
D3sports.com
D3football.com
D3baseball.com
D3soccer.com
D3boards.com
D3jobs.com
News
Top 25 poll
Milestones
NCAA Stats M | W
Notables
Playoffs
Photo galleries
Press releases
Regional rankings
Scoreboard
Season previews
Standings
Strength of sched. M W
Columns
Around the Nation
Daily Dose
Hoopsville
Awards
All-Decade M | W
All-Americans
All-Region
Team of the Week
Interactive
About us
Advertise here
D3hoops on Facebook
Feedback
Message board
Open dates
Site FAQ
SID login
Weekly nominations

Contact Us
About us
Feedback
Privacy Policy
Send Game Scores
Send Press Releases
Team of Week Nominations
User Survey