Below the Rim March 23, 2006 Steven R. Lagman Some of you won’t like what I have to say about this year’s Badgers. You might think my commentary is illogical, unfair or unbalanced. You might think that I myself am unbalanced. From time to time my friends tease me because I tend to see more silver linings than clouds. Sometimes they call me Mr. Cup-Half-Full. I don’t deny the annoying habit of finding positive spins when others see adversity or downright failure. Bad news for those of you clinging to despair: It will take more than a bunch of missed free throws, a bad bout of arc-itis and a pair of first-round tourney exits to change my optimistic ways. Yeah, I guess you could say I liked the 2005-2006 season. My reasons: 1) Wisconsin finished 19-12 overall. In basketball circles, this is known as a winning record. It wasn’t long ago that 19 wins were often spread out over two seasons of Wisconsin basketball. 2) Despite numerous pre-season projections of a second-division finish, UW finished tied for fourth in the Big 10. That’s over achievement, especially for a team that was among the twenty youngest in Division I. As a point of reference, once-highly-touted Michigan State finished sixth. (It would be unsportsmanlike to include the definition of under achievement at this time.) 3) First-team all conference selection Alando Tucker routinely dazzled us and befuddled defenders in the paint. He is coming back next year. 4) Freshman Joe Krabbenhoft quickly established himself as an impact player, while single handedly driving up suture and bandage manufacturer stock prices. Krabbenhoft was not a starter, but often he was an ender, that is, he was on the floor in the closing minutes of tough games. 5) Walk-on freshman Kevin Gullikson came out of nowhere to become a key contributor when his team needed him most. 6) The Badgers won the Paradise Jam on a warm island surrounded by turquoise water. 7) The loss to Arizona was one of just a few losses where the outcome was clear before the closing minutes of the game. In most of the others, the Badgers had themselves in position to win late. 8) As a program, Wisconsin has finally gained the respect of the national media. This is probably the least valuable positive attribute of all, but it felt good that nobody ever talked about UW as a bubble team and most so-called experts picked the Badgers to advance to the second round of the NCAA tournament. They spoke of that choice as a foregone conclusion. 9) Over the past six seasons, we Badgers fans have been treated to more success than most of us could have ever imagined possible. Ask yourself this question: If you could pick a different Big Ten program to support, which one would it be? Still rolling your eyes? Fine, but know that they could become permanently stuck in that position. Besides, you force me to put the wide-angle lens on my perspectoscope. Missions and their successes are not always defined by the span of a single season. Remember, speaking of shooting woes, in the wake of the infamous loss to Southwest Missouri State was a magical journey to the Final Four. It could be that this season, in that same spirit of delayed gratification, was nothing more than a requisite period of learning and development, an investment whose dividend will not be revealed for some months or years. Last week, with 27 seconds left in the season, down 94-75, the television camera zoomed in on Bo Ryan. I would not have been surprised to see him seated with his head in his hands, but he was still pacing the sidelines as usual. His expression was not one of frustration or disgust, but instead, of acceptance. He then flashed that trademark wide smile. As the father of teenagers not much younger than our Badgers, I can say with credibility that growth often lacks elegance. I’d like to think that Ryan’s smile, or the fact that he could smile, was to remind us of that. Lastly, I met a nice lady a few days after the Big Ten tournament. I asked her how she was doing. "Well, I guess I am not ever going to get any better," she replied forlornly. I asked her what she meant. She explained that the surgeon had been in earlier to break the news that her cancer was inoperable. Like I was saying, 19-12 was a pretty good year. _______________ The opinions expressed in Below the Rim are those of the author, henceforth known as Mr. Cup-Mostly-Full. These views are donated to the Badger Boosters in exchange for the opportunity to be a part of an organization whose constituents have a lot more fun than people who are not Badger Boosters.