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PrintWisconsin coach Bo Ryan was saddened to learn that coaching legend Pete Newell died Monday.
Newell, 93, who coached at San Francisco, Michigan State and California, won a national title in 1959 with the Bears. He also coached the United States to a gold medal at the 1960 Summer Olympics.
Ryan said he last talked to Newell a few years ago at a Final Four. ``Oh, man, what a great guy,'' said the UW coach.
Besides his excellent work teaching the game to centers like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Walton and Shaquille O'Neal, Newell also was the author of some of the tenacious man-to-man defensive concepts used by former Indiana coach Bob Knight, who had a close relationship with Newell. Ryan also teaches many of those same concepts.
Ryan's teams have earned the respect of the older coaching greats like Newell and former UCLA coach John Wooden. ``There are certain teams those older guys will watch play. They won't watch other teams,'' Ryan said.
At a lunch with Wooden a few years ago, Ryan was deeply touched when the legendary coach told him, ``I can watch Wisconsin play.''
That meant a great deal to Ryan, whose teams are well-known for their strict adherence to fundamentals. ``We try to respect the game. Let's put it that way,'' he said.
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