PARK RIDGE, Ill. -- Bo Ryan is no stiff. If you didn't see his hambone rendition, then you missed out on his ability to perform on cue.
But his latest improvisation is slowly becoming a cult favorite on YouTube. Prior to Wisconsin's Midnight Madness event on Oct. 12, Ryan -- who has been perceived as serious -- took up a challenge from his children that he couldn't do a Soulja Boy jig.
Well, he could, he did and he's actually becoming a bit infamous for this escapade that made its debut on the big board at the Kohl Center for the Midnight Madness.
"More people know me from that, then know I coach Wisconsin,'' Ryan said on Sunday at the Big Ten media day. "I couldn't believe that the thing had gone through the roof. I'm hearing from people that I haven't seen since I was 10 years old. I never know how many people hit those sights. I was just clowning around in the gym and there was a guy with a camera [from the school], not from CBS. He just took it and then did a couple of ins and outs and it was done.''
Ryan said the dance is changing his image among recruits' mothers. He said they have seen one side of the intense Ryan at a Wisconsin practice, and now they see a father who has children at home and who is willing to let loose.
"I'm fun,'' Ryan said. "The students [at Wisconsin] know that the coach isn't always the guy on the sideline ready to pull what hair he has left. It actually worked out in a way that I never expected. We just did it as a light-hearted moment, and it has gotten bigger than that.''
And now on to more, shall we say, traditional nuggets:
• Wisconsin senior Brian Butch is no longer wearing an elbow brace after suffering a dislocated elbow in a freak fall against Ohio State last February. Butch tried out but didn't make the U.S. Pan Am team in July.
Butch has his shooting rhythm back and seems much more comfortable since I last saw him at the Pan Am trials in Philadelphia in July.
On Sunday, Butch said that it was natural to think about the injury last summer because it was the first time he was on the court in a competitive situation. But now that he has gone through the trials, that anxiety is gone.
Ryan said the key for Butch is that his range of motion is good and his confidence is back. He said the senior forward is still not as consistent shooting the ball, but he is producing some 8 of 10 or 7 of 10 practices from the perimeter.
"He's starting to feel it,'' Ryan said.
• Ryan and Butch were noncommittal on the status of senior guard Michael Flowers, who has taken a medical leave of absence. At one point, it seemed like the senior guard could return any day, but now it seems uncertain that he may return in the immediate future.
One thing is certain: The Badgers won't be the same defensive team as long as Flowers is gone.
"I don't know if there is a guy that can be as good as Mike, but we've got a lot of guys trying really hard,'' Butch said, referring to guards like Jason Bohannon and Trevon Hughes.
• The Badgers are still searching for that one player to take over the game late, the one who can make the big shot that Alando Tucker and Kammron Taylor made a season ago. Butch toed the party line and said that the Badgers run a system that gets shots for players. Still, Ryan is searching for the player that will make those moments happen when the shot clock is winding down.
• Indiana coach Kelvin Sampson was swamped throughout the media day but wasn't barraged with questions about his latest phone call violations. When pressed about the situation, which is still fluid and might involve further sanctions at some point during the season, Sampson said, "I've got nothing to say about that. The more I say, the more is done about it. It's about this team and this year and that's all I'm going to concentrate on.''
• Sampson did say that senior guard A.J. Ratliff would have really helped newcomers Eric Gordon and Jordan Crawford adapt to the college game. Instead, Ratliff sits idle, trying to get academically eligible for a Dec. 15 target date. Meanwhile, Sampson said that the biggest surprise might be junior transfer Jamarcus Ellis, who Sampson said might lead the Hoosiers in assists this season.
"He can pass, and he wants to pass,'' Sampson said.
• Michigan State guard Drew Neitzel may be the most important player to his team in the Big Ten. But Neitzel is convinced that teams won't be able to focus solely on him with the improved perimeter shooting of Raymar Morgan and Travis Walton. "You can't key on me and if you do, then you'll get hurt in other ways,'' Neitzel said.
• The Big Ten is entering another renaissance era for coaches. Just looking around the room, it was quite remarkable to think how successful this crew has been. Seven of the 11 coaches have made at least Elite Eight appearances in their career (Bo Ryan, Wisconsin; Tubby Smith, Minnesota; John Beilein, Michigan; Tom Izzo, Michigan State; Bruce Weber, Illinois; Thad Matta, Ohio State; Kelvin Sampson, Indiana). The additions of Smith and Beilein, who did their best work at Kentucky and West Virginia, respectively, makes this league even tougher to prepare for. Expect Matt Painter (Purdue) to make his run in due time. If there were ever a year at Penn State for Ed DeChellis, then this is it. The rebuilding continues for Bill Carmody (Northwestern) and is just starting for Todd Lickliter (Iowa). By the way, the NU streak will continue this season. Northwestern is the only school from a BCS conference that has never made the NCAA Tournament.
• OK, it's really time for the NCAA membership to get together and change the way it is treating foreign players. Fabian Boeke was ruled ineligible for the season because he played on a team in Germany that had pros on the squad. This rule has been in effect for a few years now and it's simply wrong. The professional influence of agents and the sneaker companies on American youth has professionalized many of them in the same manner the NCAA is trying to categorize these foreign players. The American players are being worked out by agents or runners for agents throughout the summer, which is legal under NCAA rules. Somehow that's OK, but being a foreigner on a club team where someone on the roster is receiving money isn't kosher? Come on. Let's take our head out of the sand for a bit and realize that the NCAA membership can't do anything about agent-related summer workouts and shouldn't do anything about a foreign player who doesn't receive money but just happens to be playing with someone who does.
Andy Katz
