Bo knows pinball? Yes, and video games, too

INDIANAPOLIS - From Nigel Hayes' obsession with stenographers to Frank Kaminsky's interest in video games, Wisconsin has become media darlings this NCAA tournament.

On the court, Wisconsin junior forward Sam Dekker has ascended from among the Big Ten's best players to one of the nation's basketball stars. At courtside, NFL MVP and Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has cheered alongside actress girlfriend Olivia Munn. Basically, there's a full-scale Badger party descending up the nation.

Coach Bo Ryan doesn't have the same cache among non-Wisconsin fans and even less among the Badgers' rivals. Ryan usually displays a stern demeanor. He rattles officials during games and often answers reporters' questions with snark. People rarely see Ryan's charitable side, the man whose facade cracks when he talks of his late father or the guy who buys drinks for his co-workers in a hotel restaurant.

Even fewer people see him smile. laugh or even joke.

'Believe it or not, I know how I'm perceived by some people,” Ryan said Thursday at a joint news conference at Lucas Oil Stadium with Kentucky Coach John Calipari. 'I'm actually a pretty funny guy.”

Calipari immediately broke in.

'No you're not. You're mean,” Calipari said, smiling.

Ryan then acknowledged that he's 'a serious guy” but understands the Final Four experience for his players is priceless.

'You may as well enjoy it with the personalities that are there,” Ryan said. 'You can either try to stifle certain things or you can feed the certain things, you can enjoy certain things.

'But the fun that our guys have is all about their relationships and the things that they're interested in, the things they're competitive about. They have more fun with the bragging rights of video games, which is why I did the thing I did the other day.”

What was the 'thing” Ryan did the other day? It was so uncharacteristic that Ryan needed to validate it two days later. Tuesday, when talking about his players' interest in video games, Ryan told the world about his pinball dominance growing up in Chester, Pa.

Ryan said he was the top pinball player in Pennsylvania while growing up in the 1960s. He made sure to pass that point along to his players, who have video game tournaments for 'Super Smash Brothers Brawl” and 'FIFA.” Ryan jokingly referenced himself as the inspiration behind the The Who's 'Pinball Wizard.”

'These guys talk about video games? I could freeze flippers better than anybody!” Ryan said. 'I could hit that clown's nose or the spinner - whatever, and it was - I could take a dime and play for two hours. Now, what's that tell you? You think The Who had somebody in mind when they did that song?”

That's a side Ryan rarely shares with those outside of Wisconsin's inner circle. To opposing fans in Iowa or Minnesota, Ryan's reputation straddles the line between rampaging whiner and successful ogre. But that's a universal image among rivals, especially one as prominent as Ryan. In his 14 years as coach, Wisconsin boasts a 172-68 (71.7 percent) league record. That's the best winning percentage in Big Ten history.

Ryan's coaching career includes stops at Wisconsin-Platteville, Wisconsin-Milwaukee and now Wisconsin-Madison. He has accumulated a 739-227 mark in 31 years. He won four national titles in Platteville, where his teams posted two undefeated seasons. This year, Wisconsin (35-3) won both the Big Ten regular-season and tournament titles. The Badgers led the nation in fewest fouls (12.4), turnovers (7.4) and opponent free-throw attempts (11.6).

'Believe me, when they get on the practice court, they're looking at film, they're playing in the games, they understand what competition is all about,” Ryan said.

A coach never achieves that kind of success in today's world without knowing the pulse of his players. With back-to-back Final Fours, there are no tilts in Bo Ryan's world, only free games.

l Comments: (319) 339-3169; scott.dochterman@thegazette.com