By Buddy Martin
SouthernPigskin.com

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Steve Spurrier was surprised, but not shocked at the decision of Wisconsin head basketball coach Bo Ryan to suddenly retire earlier this week.

Maybe the steam and passion had subsided. So the coach abruptlyresigned in mid-season, bringing a brilliant career to a sudden halt and shocking those around him.

One of his players suggested that his coach chas been yelling and screaming for a long time 4 and that takes a toll on your health.d

No, it was not Steve Spurrier this time. It was Wisconsins legendary basketball coach, Bo Ryan, whose Wisconsin Badgers had qualified for the NCAA Tournament 14 straight seasons, losing last year to Duke in the finals after a remarkable 36-win season.

When I reached him Wednesday morning and informed him about Ryans decision Tuesday night after a win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Spurrier was surprised, but not shocked at the decision of the Badgers Head Ball Coach, who will turn 60 on Sunday.

When its time, its time, he said.

“It was probably similar to my situation 4 he almost resigned the year before,d said Spurrier, who turned in his resignation Oct. 13 after his South Carolina Gamecocks last their fourth game of the season in Baton Rouge. And like Spurrier, Ryan had told his athletic director a year ago he might resign.

There was one mitigating factor for Ryan. According to wire reports, part of the reason he came back for another season was to give assistant coach Greg Gard time to be with his father, Glen, who was diagnosed with cancer and died this fall.

Oddly enough, another motivation for Ryan was to put his chief assistant in position to succeed him.

cWe care a lot about our assistant coaches,d said Spurrier, who by resigning at South Carolina also put his two sons coaching futures in jeopardy. So far assistant coaches Steve Spurrier Jr. and Scottie Spurrier dont have a job.

Some have criticized Spurrier, calling him a cquitter,d but the former HBC has said over and over again that one of the reasons was that he felt an interim could do a better job than him. And that by resigning after six games, South Carolina could get a head start on a coaching search while taking a look at interim Shawn Elliott.

Much like Bo Ryan.

“This was a decision months in the making,” Ryan told the media. “I brought this up to Barry [Alvarez] back in April. He advised me to take some time to think it over, and I appreciated that. But in recent weeks, I have come to the conclusion that now is the right time for me to retire and for Greg Gard to have the opportunity to coach the team for the remainder of the season.”

Both of them have been coaching a long time 4 30 years in college for both Ryan and Spurrier 4 and with age comes the realization that the end is near.

cIt naturally creeps into the back of your mind, 8Im about at the end,d said Spurrier. cAnd all a sudden the teams not doing as well. And you realize somebody else could do just as well. And its time to get out because you dont have the same fire and passion that you used to have.d

Like Spurrier did in SEC football while at Florida, Ryan has somewhat dominated Big Ten basketball. Wisconsin won seven Big Ten titles under Ryan, and his .717 winning percentage (172-68) is tops in Big Ten history.

So why didnt Ryan and Spurrier just quit the year before?

“He probably felt like ‘well, I can do one more year,’ and then he got into the year and realized that wasnt what he wanted to do. And maybe the team was going the wrong direction. Thats how it was for me. It sort of hits you all of a sudden.d

Ryan and Spurrier have similar emotional coaching styles. Spurrier has often said he coaches cmore like a basketball coachd who gets in the faces of his players and uses his bench to motivate.

Some of his players suggested that Ryan was getting a little long in the tooth for such a draining style of coaching.

“We’ve got to remember he’s an old guy,d Nigel Hayes of Wisconsin said of his coach. “He’s been yelling and screaming for a long time. That takes a toll on your health.d

Spurrier sort of chuckled at that comment.

cYeah, and I quit yelling and screaming,d said Spurrier, cand I had to get out.d

On that count perhaps they differ.