Bo Ryan to retire: 5 potential replacements not named Greg Gard

After Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan announced on Monday he would coach the Badgers for one more season and then retire, the widespread expectation is that UW will tab Ryan's long-time assistant Greg Gard as his replacement.

I don't think anyone's going to be upset from jump street about that. I mean, if you're looking for the easiest way to keep continuity of the Bo Ryan style, get the guy who's been on his staff for two decades.

With that said, the step-up from assistant coach to head coach is something that provides no guarantee for success. This post is not designed to cast aspersions on Gard as Wisconsin's answer to Bill Guthridge; rather, it's positioned just to see what's out there.

Tony Bennett, Virginia head coach

There are reports that say coming back to Wisconsin would be one of the few ways that the man who brought Virginia back to prominence would leave Charlottesville. Before that, Bennett took Washington State to the Sweet 16. If you can win in Pullman, Was., you can win almost everywhere.

Obviously, his name has ties to the modern era of Badger basketball (as the son of Dick Bennett and an assistant to Ryan), and there would be a lot of people who would be thrilled to see him step in to replace a legend.

Data courtesy Sports-Reference.com

Shaka Smart, Texas head coach

Any list of potential Wisconsin replacements will always come with the most famous living basketball coach to be born in Madison. Anyone who brings VCU to a Final Four is a coach that's worth looking into.

That said, this is an admittedly unlikely selection as his style is a strong variant from the way Wisconsin made its bones as a college basketball team. Also, truth be told, he just got to Texas and the level of expectation is to be better than Rick Barnes right now. Bo Ryan's going to be leaving a fanbase that's fresh off of two Final Fours and nearly getting themselves a title.

Data courtesy Sports-Reference.com

Saul Phillips, Ohio head coach

If we're talking Bo Ryan's coaching tree, Saul Phillips is one branch worh considering that you might not know about. The former UW-Milwaukee assistant went to Wisconsin and served in a more administrative capacity. After leaving, Phillips had success as head coach of North Dakota State, ending his tenure with the Bison in the Round of 32 after upsetting Oklahoma and a 134-84 career record. He inherited a young Ohio team last year and only went 10-20, but he's definitely a name to watch as he attempts to deal with all that MACtion.

Data courtesy Sports-Reference.com

Linc Darner, UW-Green Bay head coach

If you want to talk about how to find yourself another Bo Ryan, there are two paths you can take. Darner is the coach with lower-level success that suddenly finds himself coaching in the state of Wisconsin. He took Florida Southern to the Division II national championship and comes to Green Bay with a career .712 winning percentage. It remains to be seen how well he does in Division I, and Keifer Sykes making an exit is going to make his job that much more difficult.

But remember, Ryan was 30-27 at UW-Milwaukee. A mediocre season isn't going to be the doomswitch for future success.

And his name is Linc Darner. He probably fights crime in the offseason.

Data courtesy Wikipedia

Pat Miller, UW-Whitewater head coach

Going after the WIAC legend of the last generation didn't turn out too shabby for the Badgers when they last needed a coach. Miller seems like the sort that's going to be the most remembered of this generation with two Division III national titles, four conference titles, eight tournament appearances and a career winning percentage of .784.

Miller briefly played for Ryan in Platteville if we're looking for some kind of leagcy connection, but with him it's not necessary. He's a strong coach at a lower level and deserves the call-up, be it Madison or someplace else.

Data courtesy UWWSports.com