Outta the Kohld - NCAA Edition
March 18, 2009 | Men's Basketball
You've got your burning questions about Wisconsin men's basketball, and I've got the answers (or at least I'll find someone who has the answer). These are real questions straight out of my email inbox.
If you don't see your question' submit is here .
From Steve Andersen: Does the team travel with a special customized plane that is more comfortable for 7-footers'
That's a good question because I'm pretty sure all of the NBA teams travel with customized planes. Unfortunately, the Badgers use a standard-sized plane. The team charters most of its flights so each player usually has two seats to themselves to stretch out a bit. There is also a science (or maybe superstition) to who sits where. The exit rows and front row with extra leg room are usually reserved for the big guys and everybody else fills in. I always sit in the second row on the left hand side. Why ' Superstition I guess. It's the same reason Coach Ryan always sits in the very last row of the airplane.
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From Julie Dankshire: Will the Badgers watch the other games out in Boise' Will they be able to go to Marquette's game'
Actually, the team will not be able to go to the early session games Friday in Boise. They will be busy back at the hotel going over the scouting report and preparing for their game that evening. The players will probably watch a portion of the first half of the Xavier vs. Portland State game because they will get to Taco Bell Arena about an hour and a half before tip-off of their game. They be already dressed and taped, so they will sit in the stands and watch a few minutes of the game before Coach Ryan gives them his pregame talk. If Wisconsin wins, they would play the winner of the Xavier/Portland St. game so it can't hurt to scout them a bit. The UW assistant coaches will go over ahead of the team and scout the game in its entirety in case UW is fortunate enough to play in round two.
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From Ryan Snow: How is Keaton Nankivil doing' I know he injured his ankle after his breakout game vs. Purdue but since then he hasn't played much.
This is a bit of a tough question to answer. I think everybody can see Keaton's potential and the coaching staff definitely still has high hopes for him. He only played a total of 46 minutes last season, so in essence this is almost like a freshman season for him. He's working on consistency and learning what it takes to be a defensive presence for the Badgers. Florida State presents an extremely tall and long team Friday night (three starters 6-foot-9 or taller), so don't be surprised if Keaton is on the floor more for that game. Wisconsin could use a solid game from all of the 'bigs' in order to survive and advance.
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From Ron Weiers: Who on the Badgers scout team is mimicking FSU's Toney Douglas ' That guy might be the best player Wisconsin has faced this year.
It's hard to believe Douglas didn't get the Most Valuable Player award in the ACC this year. I know the North Carolina duo is impressive, but Douglas was both the leading scorer and the Defensive Player of the Year in the conference. What more do you want from the guy' Anyway, freshman Jordan Taylor is serving as the scout team Toney Douglas. Taylor has played with both the scout team and the regulars all season during practice, so this doesn't impact his playing time at all. But he's similar in size and has the quickness to replicate some of the things Douglas does. He 's probably having fun in that role, because his job is to shoot just about every time he gets his hands on the ball.
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From Kent McAutrie: Do the Badgers take a bigger travel party to the NCAA tournament than normal'
Wisconsin definitely travels more people for the postseason tournaments. The regular season travel party is pretty bare-bones; just players, coaches and few support staff. However, the NCAA tournament travel party includes the band, cheerleaders, limited family of staff and a few extra support staff personnel.
Another thing fans might find interesting is the way the hotels work during the NCAA tournament. The NCAA designates eight host hotels for the eight teams in each pod. From there, they award the hotels based on seeding and place the teams accordingly.
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From Karen Norton: Why does the team have to leave a day early for the tournament' Don 't they usually just leave the day before a game'
You're exactly right Karen, for most trips (even the Big Ten tournament) the Badgers will leave the afternoon or evening before the game. However, for the Big Dance the NCAA requires teams to be in the host city two days prior to the game. So in this case, Wisconsin will leave Madison on Wednesday afternoon and arrive in Boise in the early evening.
The reason they require the teams there early is to make sure all teams participate in the day-before-game day activities. Some of the administrators and coaches will have meetings the day before the game (Thursday in Wisconsin's case), but the team also has a couple appointments. Coach Ryan and the players all have designated interview times with the media. The players' press conference will be at 7:00 p.m. (CT) on Thursday and Coach Ryan will go at 7:15 p.m. The Big Ten Network will be re-broadcasting those news conferences at 9 p.m. (CT).
Each team also holds an open practice in Taco Bell Arena for fans to attend. The Badgers will hit the floor at 6:40 p.m. (Mountain Time) and practice for about 40 minutes. (Florida State practices at 5:10 MT if anyone is interested in scouting)
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From Brandon Walters: I was bummed that Wisconsin wasn't placed in the Minneapolis pod. But does the team prefer to play in a smaller-sized arena like Taco Bell Arena instead of a huge dome like the Metrodome'
Everybody on the team would have loved to be in Minneapolis too Brandon. With four players on the roster from the Twin Cities area, it would have been great. That's okay, the guys are happy to be playing any where.
In terms of prefences' honestly, it doesn't make much difference to the guys on the team. Playing in a dome presents some different challenges, but both teams have to deal with the same obstacles. Last year, Wisconsin played its first round games in an arena (Qwest Center in Omaha) and then played in one of the largest venues ever in Ford Field. In fact, Wisconsin's game vs. Davidson was the first one played in a dome with the court at the 50-yard line as opposed to the end zone.
This year, the Badgers will go from playing in the biggest to the smallest. Taco Bell Arena in Boise has a capacity of just 12,820, which is the smallest of the eight first-round sites. Cheesy Gordita Crunches for everyone!
