A lot of people had a problem with the officiating during the National Championship game, none more so than Wisconsin’s Head Coach Bo Ryan.
Immediately following the game, Bo was sure to not-so-subtly mention how the refs altered how his team played the game.
“It was just a situation where you just have to be able to handle all the hands and the checking. All the body contact — there was more body contact in this game than in any game we’ve played all year, and I just feel sorry for my guys that all of a sudden, a game was like that. I think they’re struggling with that a little bit. We missed some opportunities. They hit some tough shots. You know, it’s just a shame it had to be played that way.”
Throwing an all out tirade is never the answer, but this passive aggressive way of attacking the refs gets old quick. That was just in the hallway interview, though. In his presser Bo Ryan had this to say:
“All the seniors that I’ve had — hard to say the word. But every player that’s played through the program, okay, we don’t do a rent-a-player. You know what I mean? Try to take a fifth-year guy. That’s okay. If other people do that, that’s okay. I like trying to build from within. It’s just the way I am. And to see these guys grow over the years and to be here last year and lose a tough game, boom, they came back.”
Tell em how you really feel, Bo.
Clearly the man is upset right now and my bet is he’s going to wake up in the morning wishing he hadn’t said these things in these interviews. Complaining about officiating after a National Championship game just makes you look like a sore loser, regardless of if he’s right or not.
And to then go up to the podium and call out young men who are trying to better their lives as merely “rent-a-players” is just a cowardly move. If you want to be the best, you have to beat the best, and Duke was clearly the best team tonight regardless of how many years in college they’ve had.
What do you think, did Bo Ryan make a mockery of the NCAA tonight, or just of himself?
H/T SBN