MADISON, Wis. – Wisconsin men's basketball game-changers Michael Finley and Bo Ryan are up for consideration to be enshrined among the best in basketball, as each was announced on Wednesday to a list of eligible candidates for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2023.

The winningest coach in UW history with a record of 364-130 (.737), Ryan led the Badgers to seven Big Ten championships. Ryan guided the Badgers to 14 consecutive NCAA tournament appearances, seven Sweet 16s, three Elite Eights, two Final Fours and the 2015 national championship game. Ryan received four Big Ten Coach of the Year honors.

The 34th NCAA coach to reach the 700-win plateau, Ryan also coached at UW-Milwaukee (1999-2000) and UW-Platteville (1984-1999), where his team won four NCAA Division III Championships (1991, 1995, 1998, 1999). Ryan is a member of seven Halls of Fame, including his 2017 induction into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame.

The first Badger to score 2,000 points, Finley's collegiate career (1991-95) coincided with the rebirth of Wisconsin men's basketball. Finley led the Badgers to the 1994 NCAA Tournament, UW's first appearance in 47 years. A two-time All-Big Ten selection and a three-time honorable mention All-American, Finley was inducted into the UW Athletic Hall of Fame in 2004.

In 1995, Finley was a first-round NBA draft pick by the Phoenix Suns. A two-time NBA All-Star over his 15-year NBA Career, Finley helped the San Antonio Spurs win an NBA championship in 2007. He finished his NBA career with 17,306 points (15.7 per game) and ranks top 20 in NBA history in career 3-pointers made.

Finalists for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2023 will be announced on Friday, February 17 at 4:30 p.m. CT in Salt Lake City, Utah, during the NBA All-Star Weekend. The entire Class of 2023, including those selected by the direct-elect committees, will be unveiled during the NCAA Final Four in Houston, Texas, on Saturday, April 1, in a nationally televised broadcast at 10 a.m. CT.

BO RYAN
Bo Ryan spent 32 seasons as a collegiate head coach before retiring in December of 2015. He finished his career 26th on the NCAA's all-time wins list with a record of 747-233 (.762), including a mark of 364-130 (.737) in 14-plus seasons at Wisconsin. Author of the most wins in UW annals and the best winning percentage in Big Ten history, Ryan led the Badgers to seven Big Ten titles, back-to-back Final Fours in 2014 and 2015 and an appearance in the national championship game.

A native of Chester, Pennsylvania, Ryan was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year four times (2002, 2003, 2013, 2015) while coaching at Wisconsin. Prior to his time in Madison, he coached at UW-Milwaukee (1999-2000) and UW-Platteville (1984-1999), where his team won four NCAA Division III Championships (1991, 1995, 1998, 1999). Ryan led Wisconsin to four Big Ten regular season championships (2002, 2003, 2008, 2015), three Big Ten Tournament championships (2004, 2008, 2015), and the NCAA Final Four twice (2014, 2015). Ryan is a recipient of the Clair Bee Coach of the Year Award (2007), NABC Outstanding Service Award (2009) and Coaches vs. Cancer Champion Award (2013).

It was during his 15-year tenure at UW-Platteville that Ryan firmly established himself as one of the nation's top coaches. Ryan guided the Division III program to a phenomenal 353-76 (.822) overall record. In his final 12 seasons, the Pioneers won four national championships (1991, '95, '98, '99), were the winningest NCAA men's basketball team of the 1990s (all divisions) with a 266-26 (.908) record, won eight WIAC titles, compiled a 30-5 NCAA Division III tournament mark, and never won fewer than 23 games.

Before coming to Wisconsin, Ryan coached for two seasons at UW-Milwaukee. There, he coached the Panthers to their first back-to-back winning seasons in eight years. UWM also experienced a 161-percent home attendance increase in his first season.

Ryan's coaching career began in the fall of 1972 at Brookhaven High School in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, where he was hired as a history teacher and head basketball coach. After just one year at Brookhaven, Ryan began his collegiate coaching career in 1973 at Dominican College of Racine (Wisconsin) as an assistant under Bill Cofield.

In 1974, Ryan moved back to the Philadelphia area to serve as the head basketball coach at Sun Valley High School. Ryan would move back to the collegiate coaching ranks for good in March of 1976 when Cofield again hired him as an assistant, this time at Wisconsin. Ryan spent eight seasons (1976-84) working under Cofield and Steve Yoder before taking over at UW-Platteville in the spring of 1984.

MICHAEL FINLEY
One of the true legends of Wisconsin basketball, Michael Finley was the first Badger in program history to score 2,000 points, and his collegiate career (1991-95) coincided with the rebirth of Wisconsin men's basketball. He helped lead the Badgers to the 1994 NCAA Tournament, Wisconsin's first appearance in 47 years.

The Maywood, Illinois native was a two-time All-Big Ten selection and a three-time Associated Press honorable mention All-American, rising to 12th on the Big Ten's all-time scoring list by the end of his career. The only Badger to score 500 points in three different seasons and average better than 20 points per game in three different years, Finley was inducted into the UW Athletic Hall of Fame in 2004.

A first-round NBA draft pick by the Phoenix Suns in 1995, Finley was named to the NBA's All-Rookie Team in 1996. He earned All-Star selections in 2000 and 2001 as a member of the Dallas Mavericks. That was during a stretch of five-straight seasons where Finley averaged at least 20.0 points per game.

Finley helped the San Antonio Spurs win an NBA championship in 2007, starting all 20 playoff games and averaging 11.3 points per game during the championship run. During his 15-year NBA career, Finley played for the Phoenix Suns, Dallas Mavericks, San Antonio Spurs and Boston Celtics, making the playoffs 10 times. He finished his NBA career with 17,306 points (15.7 per game) and ranks among the top 20 in NBA history in career 3-pointers made.

Finley recently had his No. 24 Wisconsin jersey raised into the rafters of the Kohl Center, becoming the third UW men's basketball jersey to hang alongside Ab Nicholas' No. 8 and Frank Kaminsky's No. 44.