UW's Ryan sends message; Penney receives it
0:55 AM 1/26/02
Vic Feuerherd Wisconsin State Journal

indentIt was a 32-point difference Wednesday night at Assembly Hall in Champaign, Ill.: Illinois 80, the University of Wisconsin 48.
indentIt was a 34-point difference Wednesday night at the Bryce Jordan Center in State College, Pa.: Indiana 85, Penn State 51.
indentThat's a lot of points to be on the bottom side of for two men's basketball teams that will meet today at the Kohl Center. The fourth-place Badgers (11-9 overall, 4-3 in the Big Ten Conference) play host to the last-place Nittany Lions (5-12, 1-5) at 11:17 a.m.
indent"If I'm in a wagon and that front right wheel comes off, that's an abrupt stop," UW coach Bo Ryan said. "How about when all four come off? There is no easy letdown."
indentBut it isn't necessarily the number of points that is the most important point.
indent"You have to be careful with numbers," Ryan said. "The number doesn't affect me as much as what created them having more than us."
indentIn other words, disregard the spread.
indent"Coaches like to send messages in games like that," Ryan said. "I'll let you figure out if it was me or (Penn State coach Jerry) Dunn or whatever. But there are certain guys you need to make sit and watch, make it hurt a little bit. Whether you lose by 15 or 20 or lose by 30, to me there is so much learning we still have to process."
indentSitting and watching half of that loss at Illinois was junior Kirk Penney, the Badgers' leading scorer. Penney scored just five points, nine below his season average. He didn't have a rebound. He contributed three turnovers to UW's season-high total of 21.
indentPenney was asked if he was the recipient of a message.
indent"Do you think so? An interesting observation," he answered.
indentWere you sent a message?
indent"All the players are challenged at times. None of us is an exception to that."
indentSo you were sent a message?
indent"Quite possibly."
indentWhat was the message?
indent"Coach Ryan is a successful coach and he knows what buttons to push a lot of times. He's just preparing for the next game."
indentYou've had messages sent before, haven't you?
indent"No doubt about it."
indentThe more messages that are sent, is it easier to understand and recognize when a message is sent?
indent"Sometimes it's a lot more obvious than other times. You know as a player when you're not where you want to be."
indentRyan indicated he will learn today if the message was heard.
indent"I'll find out (today), how they bounce back, how they compete," he said.
indentPenney indicated the message was clear.
indent"We're a strong crew with good unity," he said, "and we'll come together."