As a season-ticket-carrying member of what is derided as the "red sweater crowd," I've enjoyed watching Badger basketball success over the decade under head coach Bo Ryan.

But sometimes I am baffled. Take last night. Rob Schultz of the Cap Times covered the game and quoted Ryan as saying senior point guard Trevon Hughes gave him "a headache." Ryan chastised the senior for his four turnovers: "He's just going to have to keep getting better with the ball. I don't care if he's a senior, he has to keep getting better." Ryan criticized no one else by name.

As a spectator, I thought Hughes was the best player on the floor and played a strong game against a talented opponent (Oakland). He always brings energy and athleticism and appears the Badger most capable of creating a good shot for himself or a teammate as the shot clock runs down, especially critical as the schedule toughens starting Monday in Hawaii. Maybe I misunderstand sports psychology.

I was similarly perplexed when Ryan commented recently in Schultz's blog on the UW recruiting class. Most recent focus has been about recruits UW missed, including Madison's Vander Blue, who instead chose Marquette, but Ryan sounded pleased:

"We're ecstatic. They're basketball players." Ryan said of 6-foot-4 guard Josh Gasser of Port Washington, 6-11 center Evan Anderson from Eau Claire North and 6-8 Duje Dukan of Deerfield, Ill. "They're coming here for the right reasons. I can tell you that. We didn't promise them anything other than they have to work hard."

One wonders what wrong reasons or ill-advised promises he perceives at Ohio State, Illinois and Michigan State, ranked first, sixth and eighth in the nation for their recruits. 

Schultz said UW's class was ranked sixth within the Big Ten conference. Sports Illustrated magazine this week projected Wisconsin to miss the NCAA field of 65 in March, but UW has thrived on such perceived disrespect for years.

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