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A secret hobby

MADISON - Bo Ryan isn't one to shy away from any sort of window to crack a joke or parlay an old story. If you set him up in the correct manner he's going to swing away.
During his weekly Monday press conference, the 11th-year Wisconsin head coach was asked if he would ever consider going on the program 'Dancing With the Stars.' Of course, as anybody that has followed Wisconsin basketball and Bo Ryan throughout the years, that was the stage he needed to entertain.
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"I do a lot of dancing when nobody else is around," Ryan said. "It certainly wouldn't be on national TV right now. I'd have to polish up a lot of moves."
So count Ryan out. He won't be taking part in that program any time soon. He will, however, continue to tell phenomenal stories.
That will never change.
During one of the many final fours that have taken place during Ryan's coaching tenure, Ryan, his dad and some other people in his entourage were hanging out in the lobby of a certain venue. Ryan's dad, described by Ryan as being one of the more likeable people out there simply because he's always entertaining with jokes and stories, ran into MC Hammer, the early 90's one-hit wonder rapper.
"He goes up to MC Hammer and throws the gauntlet down," Ryan said. "He challenges him to a dance contest right there, or to go to some club. He said, 'I'll go wherever you want to go. I think I've got better moves than you."
Apparently the bodyguard of Mr. Hammer wasn't digging what the elder Ryan was selling, so he approached him and tried to separate Ryan's dad from MC Hammer.
"We kind of discouraged the bodyguard from doing that," Ryan said. "He's okay, he's harmless. MC Hammer took a liking to him, but he never did dance against my dad.
"He probably knew better."
Though Ryan has enjoyed some sort of cult status for his rendition of 'Soulja Bo' a number of years back, and though he showed off his hambone skills prior to UW's tilt at Illinois in 2007, Ryan asserts he has no intention of following his fathers footsteps in that regard.
At least not during this juncture of his life.
"I've got a day job," Ryan joked. "I'm going to stick to that right now."
Freshmen debut:
Traevon Jackson and Frank Kaminsky won't be redshirting during their true freshman season. Both played in Wisconsin's season opening 85-31 win over Kennesaw State. Jackson played 13 minutes and scored three points.
Kaminsky, meanwhile, logged 10 minutes and scored five points.
"He can shoot," Ryan said. "He can pass. Don't let that sleepy look that he has fool you. I saw him riding his moped a couple of weeks ago and I was going to honk to wake him up. It looked like he was sleeping. He said it's something about his eye. It's half closed a lot of the time.
"I don't know exactly what it is but it certainly doesn't keep him from finding people that are open, from hitting shots and from rebounding. He's a delightful young man that comes into the Nicholas-Johnson pavilion every day ready to compete.
"He doesn't just come to play. He comes to compete."
All in all it was a solid debut for the true freshmen.
"They mixed it up," Ryan said. "They got in there and did some things that helped the team defensively and offensively. They seemed to feel a little better after the few minutes they did get in the first half and then what they did get in the second half."
Guards George Marshall and Jordan Smith, along with forward Jarrod Uthoff, did not play in the season opener.
Quotable:
Bo Ryan on recently signed recruit Sam Dekker
"He's a player. He loves the game and he'll fit in very nicely. But he's got to take care of his high school right now. We never go overboard with things like that, other than the initial statement. He's a Badger and he'll be a good one."
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