Bo knows best

He's the one that grits his teeth during a bad call and dawdles through his game-winning press conferences.

He has the smile of a grandfather, which is why Wisconsin gave him a rocking chair, among other things when he stepped down in 2001.

But Dick Bennett isn't the reason the Badgers are successful.

The salt-and-pepper haired man led Wisconsin to a Final Four 2000 - the school's first since winning it all in 1941 - but he did it on a defense that wouldn't break. Playing with a roster that could probably play in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, Bennett turned the NCAA tourney into a high school state tournament.

He was nationally crucified for it, and with potential recruits watching the ''Don't Lose It" philosophy, his fate was vacuum sealed.

The one difference between Bo Ryan and Bennett is that Ryan can get the recruits that put the ball in the basket. During Bennett's Final Four season, only Mike Vershaw averaged in double figures.

Bennett only brought in kids that could get their butt so low to play defense, the entire coaching staff could use their backs as an ironing board. On offense, he disallowed shots before the shot clock was whittled down to a spec before either lulling opposing defenses to sleep with an easy layup or foul.

In Ryan's five-plus years at UW, there have been seven double digit scorers. Devin Harris became a lottery pick and now Alando Tucker appears primed to do the same after an impressive 28-point shredding of Marquette in the annual Dairy Dual.

It may not be enlightening to hear, but kids nowdays don't want to go to a school where they have to ice their knees following practice because they just did 45 minutes of foot fire. Kids nowdays want to score, see their name in the marquee and set records.

Coming from Division III Wisconsin-Stevens Point and Division I Wisconsin-Green Bay, Bennett considered UW more like a graduated nonscholarship program. He didn't bother going after the big recruits, knowing he would most likely have to let all the top talent in the state funnel to Marquette or out-of-state.

When Ryan convinced Brian Butch to stay home, that was a bigger moment than the Final Four. Since he said no to Roy Williams, Tom Izzo and other top coaches, that gave UW instant credibility and let him build even more.

The Badgers were helped by Bennett's unlikely run to the Final Four, but UW's future has been laid several years after that offensively-challenged team took the floor by a coach who won Big Ten coach of the year honors in his first two years.

That was why Bennett left. There wasn't anything left for him to do. He maxxed out his defensive wizardry, knowing that it would be tougher and tougher to sign kids to only play man-to-man defense.

Bennett may have brought wins back, but Bo is the reason UW will be a success years after his slicked hair leaves campus.