Alando Tucker (Matthew Kutz/Badger Nation)
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Expectations were flying high after the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team built a 14-2 record in January. But the team went 5-10 after two top reserves were ruled academically ineligible, thus spiriting away the depth the young Badgers had thrived on. UW still had a chance to win the Big Ten in the season’s closing weeks, though, led by Alando Tucker, one of the league’s top players.
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Wisconsin’s Kammron Taylor celebrates after making the game-winning shot in the Badgers’ 54-51 win against UNC Wilmington Dec. 12. Taylor finished the season second on the team in scoring (14.2 points per game) and he was named honorable-mention All-Big Ten. (AP Photo/Andy Manis)
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Wisconsin basketball players celebrate after beating Old Dominion 84-81 to win the Paradise Jam Tournament Nov. 21. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton) |
Alando Tucker, right, and Kammron Taylor embrace while celebrating their victory over Old Dominion. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton) |
Wisconsin’s Alando Tucker, left, shakes hands with head coach Bo Ryan. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton) |
Wisconsin point guard Kammron Taylor shoots as UNC Wilmington’s Todd Hendley fouls him during the final minute of play. Taylor made the basket and the free-throw shot. (Matthew Kutz/Badger Nation)
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Wisconsin’s Alando Tucker holds his nose after being hit in the face in the first half of the Badgers’ 91-88 loss at Wake Forest Nov. 29. Tucker, who went on to score 27 points in the game, would wear a face shield for the next 13 games. Tucker was a consensus first-team All-Big Ten choice in 2005-06 after leading the league in scoring (20.0 points per game) in conference-only games. He led UW with 19.0 points per game in all contests. (Matthew Kutz/Badger Nation)
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Wake Forest’s Justin Gray (1) tries to grab a rebound against Greg Stiemsma (34) in the second half. Gray scored 37 points as the Deacons handed UW its first loss of the season. (AP Photo/Lynn Hey) |
Wisconsin’s Marcus Landry (1) backs up into Wake Forest’s Shamaine Dukes in the second half. Landry averaged 6.0 points and 3.1 rebounds in 16 games as a freshman. (Matthew Kutz/Badger Nation)
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Wisconsin’s Alando Tucker, right, keeps a loose ball away from Louisiana Tech’s Paul Millsap during the second half of the Badgers’ 78-52 win Dec. 28. (AP Photo/Andy Manis)
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Joe Krabbenhoft is blocked by Louisiana Tech’s Paul Millsap. Krabbenhoft was named to the Big Ten’s All-Freshman team at year’s end. (Matthew Kutz/Badger Nation)
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Wisconsin’s Kammron Taylor, left, looks to pass around Marquette’s Jerel McNeal. (Matthew Kutz/Badger Nation)
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Greg Stiemsma blocks a shot versus Marquette. (Neil Ament/Badger Nation)
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Greg Stiemsma blocks another shot. Despite playing in just 16 of 31 games, Stiemsma tied for the team lead in blocked shots in 2005-06 with 24. (Neil Ament/Badger Nation) |
Greg Stiemsma is fouled by a pair of UW-Green Bay players. (Matthew Kutz/Badger Nation) |
Wisconsin’s Greg Stiemsma (34) steals a pass away from Pepperdine’s Jarrad Henry during the second half of the Dec. 3 contest. (AP Photo/Andy Manis)
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UW-Milwaukee head coach Rob Jeter reacts to a call. Jeter, the Badgers’ assistant head coach before taking the helm for the Panthers, made a return trip to the Kohl Center Dec. 15 with his new team. (Matthew Kutz/Badger Nation)
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Wisconsin’s Alando Tucker, right, shoots over Pittsburgh’s Sam Young during the first half. The Badgers lost the Dec. 31 game, 73-64, only their second loss before New Year’s. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic) |
Wisconsin’s Alando Tucker reacts after making a 3-point basket during the second half of the Badgers’ 66-52 win over Iowa Jan. 5. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
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Wisconsin’s Marcus Landry blocks a shot by Michigan State’s Shannon Brown during the first half of UW’s 82-63 win Jan. 8. (AP Photo/Andy Manis)
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Wisconsin’s Kammron Taylor talks with his teammates during the second half. (AP Photo/Andy Manis)
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Wisconsin forward Alando Tucker (42) reacts after teammate Joe Krabbenhoft (45) made a free throw against Minnesota during the second half of 64-62 Badger road win. (AP Photo/Ann Heisenfelt) |
Wisconsin’s Ray Nixon celebrates a 3-point basket against Northwestern during the first half of UW’s 68-52 win Jan. 14. (AP Photo/Andy Manis)
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Wisconsin visited Columbus, Ohio Jan. 18 with a 14-2 record, but the Badgers had to play that game, and the rest of the season, without top reserve forwards Greg Stiemsma and Marcus Landry, who were ruled academically ineligible. The Badgers would lose five of their next six games, beginning with a 77-67 defeat at Ohio State, to fall to 15-7. Here, OSU’s Terence Dials (34), the Big Ten’s Player of the Year, dunks the ball in the first half. (AP Photo/Terry Gilliam) |
North Dakota State teammates celebrate at center court after beating then-15th-ranked Wisconsin. The Bison were a provisional Division I team last season. (AP Photo/Andy Manis)
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Ray Nixon celebrates a basket during UW’s 72-43 romp over Penn State in Madison Jan. 25. (Matthew Kutz/Badger Nation)
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Wisconsin’s Greg Stiemsma, left, and Marcus Landry sit on the bench during the Penn State game, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2006, in Madison, Wis. (AP Photo/Andy Manis)
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Wisconsin’s Alando Tucker looks for a call while wrestling for the ball with Illinois’s James Augustine (back) and Brian Randle. UW lost the Jan. 31 game 66-51. (Matthew Kutz/Badger Nation)
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Kammron Taylor shoots around Ohio State’s Je’Kel Foster. (Matthew Kutz/Badger Nation)
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Coach Bo Ryan and Alando Tucker celebrate after the Badgers’ 78-73 victory over the Buckeyes. (Matthew Kutz/Badger Nation)
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Wisconsin’s Ray Nixon blocks a shot by Indiana’s Robert Vaden during the first half of the Badgers’ win over the Hoosiers in Madison. (AP Photo/Andy Manis)
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Tim Doyle, left, fouls Wisconsin’s Kammron Taylor during the second half of Northwestern’s 61-52 win in Evanston, Ill. (AP Photo/Brian Kersey) |
Alando Tucker lays one in. (Neil Ament/Badger Nation)
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Wisconsin senior Ray Nixon, right, celebrates with Joe Krabbenhoft after Wisconsin beat Minnesota 80-74 Feb. 26. (AP Photo/Andy Manis)
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Senior Ray Nixon walks off the court during the closing seconds of his final home game. Nixon started all 31 games, averaged 6.2 points per contest, and was second on the team in 3-pointers made (46) and attempted (127). (AJ Maclean/Badger Nation)
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Alando Tucker, right, shoots against Michigan State’s Paul Davis, left, and Maurice Ager (13) during the second half. The Spartans won 74-65, the first of four straight losses to end Wisconsin’s season. (AP Photo/Al Goldis) |
Kammron Taylor, top, and Michigan State’s Shannon Brown dive for a loose ball during the first half. Wisconsin would finish 9-7 in Big Ten play, for a share of fourth place. (AP Photo/Al Goldis) |
Indiana forward Marco Killingsworth (5), left, battles Alando Tucker (42) for control of the basketball in the second half of the Hoosiers’ Big Ten Tournament win. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings) |
Wisconsin assistant coach Greg Gard and players (left to right) Kammron Taylor, Joe Krabbenhoft, Jason Chappell, Tanner Bronson and Morris Cain sit and watch toward the end of the Badgers’ loss. (Neil Ament/Badger Nation)
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Alando Tucker, 42, catches an elbow from Marco Killingsworth. (Neil Ament/Badger Nation) |
Mike Davis sits on the scorer’s table. (Neil Ament/Badger Nation) |
Wisconsin forward Brian Butch gets his hand on the ball as Arizona guard Mustafa Shakur (15) goes up for a shot during the second half of a first-round NCAA Tournament game in Philadelphia. Arizona won the game 94-75. Shakur had 17 points and nine assists. (AP Photo/Rusty Kennedy) |
Wisconsin’s, from left, Brain Butch, Kammron Taylor and Alando Tucker look on from the bench. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson) |
Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan reacts to a call in the first half of the Wake Forest game Nov. 29. (Matthew Kutz/Badger Nation) |
Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan disputes a call during the second half of the Badgers’ 71-55 win over Pepperdine. (AP Photo/Andy Manis) |
Bo Ryan argues with an official during game against UW-Green Bay, Dec. 7 (Matthew Kutz/Badger Nation) |
Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan gestures to a player. Ryan won his 100th game at Wisconsin with the Badgers’ 77-63 victory over Marquette Dec. 10. (Matthew Kutz/Badger Nation)
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Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan argues a call during the first half of the Michigan State game in Madison Jan. 8. (AP Photo/Andy Manis)
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Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan disputes a call during the second half against Northwestern Jan. 14. (AP Photo/Andy Manis) |
Bo Ryan reacts during the first half of UW’s 85-76 loss at Michigan Jan. 28. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson) |
Bo Ryan disputes a call during the first half of UW’s 72-54 win over Indiana Feb. 8. (AJ Maclean/Badger Nation)
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Bo Ryan, left, and Kevin Gullikson, middle, react to a play on the court during the Feb. 23 game at Northwestern. (Neil Ament/Badger Nation) |
Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan reacts to a call during the first half against Minnesota. (AP Photo/Andy Manis)
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Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan watches his team in the first half of its loss versus Indiana in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy) |
Bo Ryan, during the Big Ten tournament game. (Neil Ament/Badger Nation)
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