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STATE OF THE PROGRAM: MEN'S BASKETBALL TITLE T he stars had to align for Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan to assemble his "dream'' team. Or, more accurately, the "scout team'' that Ryan could only dream about. The stars? Devin Harris and Michael Finley. Both of the ex-Badgers have starred in the NBA. Harris and Finley were in Madison recently and instead of just attending practice, they took part in practice as members of the scout team that normally simulates the opponent for the starters. "They really made our practice tough, they held us back, they didn't quite understand what I wanted,'' Ryan kidded. "No, it was a good practice. "We have good practices when there aren't NBA guys on the court,'' he playfully added, "but it was kind of neat to have the two of them out there. "They interacted pretty well with the players and they made some observations to me about certain guys and certain things. "What was really neat was that we did some old school passing drills. Devin is used to them; he's done all of them. I was more curious to see how Michael was going to react. "And he was right in there, learning the four corners, learning the pivot passing, learning the full-court passing — along with all the old school drills and ball-handling drills. "They did everything that our guys did and it made for an interesting practice.'' You can tell that Ryan loves connecting with players — past or present. Even though Finley never played for him — Ryan was winning national championships at UW-Platteville while Finley was starring for the Badgers — he has respect for Finley's role in school history. "I was extremely proud of that group when they made the NCAA tournament,'' Ryan said. That group — led by Finley, Tracy Webster and Rashard Griffith — bridged the gap between 1947 and 1994 by helping guide the Badgers back into the Big Dance. Ryan was also extremely proud of another "group'' — the group that won a Big Ten cham- 34 » VARSITY NOVEMBER 10, 2011 pionship in 2002. That was Ryan's first group of players at Wisconsin and it included Harris. Fact is, Ryan is proud of every group that he has coached at Platteville, Milwaukee or Madi- son. "Sometimes the players get away (from the program) for awhile and then they reconnect,'' he said. "Some guys just stay in touch more than others. "I enjoying finding out how they're doing — their obstacles and success — and how their families have grown. These are all young men going out in the world trying to find themselves.'' All are welcome back on campus. All are wel- come back at practice. Joe Theisen, a member of Ryan's first Platte- ville team, officiates many UW scrimmages. Charlie Wills, a member of Ryan's first Badger team, still scrimmages when he can. Most of the former players still hold on to the "old school'' values that Ryan taught. Ryan referenced the "old school'' drills that Harris and Finley executed during practice. Old school? What is old school in the context of the Badgers?