Randy York Q&A with Miles

[Mavric]

Q-1: Bo Ryan has the only Final Four Big Ten team. Why are you a fan?

 

A-1: We had three Big Ten teams in the final eight and two games went right to the bitter end. Wisconsin got it down. Bo Ryan is a guy that’s been a small-college coach. He’s a guy that has always identified with the small-college guys. I watched how Bo built things, and, in fact, when we started to go Division 1 (at North Dakota State), he was one of the programs I studied a great deal. I hired his operations guy (Saul Phillips), who played for Bo at UW-Platteville and then was an assistant at UW-Milwaukee for two years. I hired Saul and he took over for me when I left North Dakota State. I learned a lot from Saul and we got a chance to get to know Bo better and really got some serious attention about how well his team performs. They have a Ph.D in fundamentals. They’re well beyond the rest of us. The way they pass and catch and pivot to get other players open to get really good shots…it’s just amazing to watch them play. They definitely have a shot to win the title. Kentucky’s talent level is incredible, but Bo Ryan understands how to stop teams. He makes it very difficult for you to score on them. And he also understands the fundamentals it takes to be able handle superior length athleticism. They’ve done it that entire time, and he’s going to keep doing it. That’s what makes him special.”

Nine more questions at Huskers.com