During his 13 seasons in charge of Wisconsin's basketball program, Bo Ryan has guided the Badgers to new heights. His teams have reached the NCAA tournament every season, he has five Big Ten titles, a school-record 321 victories and most recently helped UW reach its first Final Four in 14 seasons.
Of course, great players are needed to achieve great success. And Ryan certainly has had his fair share of talent. So, who are the best players in the Ryan era? Who would make the "All-Bo Starting 5" from his past 13 teams? FOXSportsWisconsin.com seeks an answer to the question this week and will reveal a new "Starting 5" member each day.
The criteria to make the list include overall impact on Bo-coached teams, statistics and team success. There are a mix of both backcourt and frontcourt players to provide different positions on the court. In other words, there are not five point guards or five forwards on the team.
Here's a look at Player 3 of 5:
Forward: Alando Tucker
Why he's on the squad:
Tucker scored more total points over his career (2002-07) than any player in Wisconsin history, finishing with 2,217 -- 70 points ahead of Michael Finley's previous record. He also ranks first in made field goals (798), seventh in career scoring average (16.5 points per game), first in made free throws (520) and attempts (817), first in offensive rebounds (314) and first in minutes played (4,247).
During his freshman season, Tucker started 27 of 32 games and averaged 12.0 points and 5.9 rebounds. In 2003-04, he sustained a foot injury and played in just four games but was granted an extra year of eligibility from the NCAA. He returned in 2004-05 to lead Wisconsin in scoring (15.2 points) and was second in rebounds (6.1).
Tucker, in fact, led the Badgers in scoring for three consecutive seasons. In 2005-06, he averaged 19.0 points per game. And during his final season in 2006-07, he averaged 19.9 points, which is the highest single-season scoring average for any player during the Bo Ryan era. Tucker also tallied 5.4 rebounds and 2.0 assists. For his efforts, Tucker was named the Big Ten Player of the Year and a first-team All-American.
Post-Wisconsin basketball career:
Tucker was taken No. 29 overall in the first round of the 2007 NBA Draft by the Phoenix Suns. He appeared in six games for the Suns that season and spent much of the year with the Albuquerque Thunderbirds of the NBA D-League. In late 2009, Tucker was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves but was waived by the organization in March 2010. Tucker played in 51 career NBA games with one start and averaged 4.1 points in 8.4 minutes per game.
Since his time in the NBA, Tucker has played internationally in Puerto Rico, Russia, Spain, Slovakia and Bulgaria. He played for Lukoil Academic in Bulgaria last season and led the team in scoring (16.3 points) and rebounds (6.3).
Who would be Tucker's backup?
Marcus Landry has a slightly bigger frame Tucker, but we'll put him on the roster here. Landry finished his career with 1,114 career points and was eighth in program history with 186 career offensive rebounds. His 99 blocked shots also rank sixth. He became the 18th UW player with at least 1,000 points and 500 rebounds and appeared in 105 straight games, starting the final 75 games of his career.
Landry's production at Wisconsin took a significant step up during his junior and senior seasons. He averaged 6.0 points as a freshman and 5.9 points as a sophomore but reached 10.8 points in his junior campaign and led the team in scoring as a senior with 12.7 points. His teams finished 100-36 in four seasons.
