I don't know what's wrong with me. There's food left but I don't want to eat it. I've become everything I've ever hated.
--Homer Simpson
We blamed Brad Soderberg for missed free throws (at Michigan State, Georgia State), last-second miracles (at Illinois) and squandered leads (too numerous to mention). But when Pat Richter canned Soderberg after a first-round NCAA tournament loss this month, he was really accusing him of not being Dick Bennett.
And he isn't. He was Dick Bennett's assistant and will no doubt one day rival him as a coach. Didn't Dean Smith mirror Phog Allen? Doesn't Roy Williams mirror Dean Smith? Doesn't Mike Krzyzewski mirror Bobby Knight? Doesn't Steve Alford?
Brad Soderberg was axed for the simple reason that UW overachieved in the year before he got the job. And it should be noted that a 9-7 Big Ten finish is equal to the best that Dick Bennett ever attained.
Yet my own words betray me. When the Badgers lost excruciating games against the conference's top competition, I blamed it on Soderberg. The Spartans game didn't slip away because Mike Kelley missed a last-minute free throw -- it was Soderberg's fault; the Illini loss had nothing to do with a late traveling call on Roy Boone -- it was Soderberg's fault; and a senior-laden team blowing a 13-point lead to Georgia State had nothing to do with inept shooting -- that was Soderberg's fault, too.
Delusionally, I think we've all considered ourselves above that sort of short-sightedness here. People 'round these parts are hard workers who respect hard work, and we don't demand more than what we're owed. Last year's Final Four trip was a dream ride, the exception, not the rule. If you'll recall, it was also the first time Wisconsin won an NCAA game since the Stu Jackson era. It wasn't repeated, and Brad Soderberg was fired.
In short, we are no longer satisfied with 9-7s and upset wins -- Richter and the rest of us want big names and blue-chip recruits. We desperately want to be on the map. Can you imagine how long Steve Yoder would last in this climate? Stan Van Gundy would have been replaced at his initial press conference. "Ladies and gentleman, I'd like to introduce you to the next, as well as previous, coach of the Badgers: Stan Van ... I'm sorry, your name again?"
In reality, Soderberg usually had the Badgers extremely well-prepared. They did lose some high-profile games in the second half, but some of that can be chalked up to a new coach learning how to make critical in-game decisions.
The likelihood is this: UW will dip in the standings next year, with or without Soderberg. Personally, I think Bo Ryan is going to be a great coach at Wisconsin, and hopefully for a long while. But should he rightfully be there? Meanwhile, Soderberg interviews for jobs at Northern Iowa and other places that have yet to begin firing coaches for reasons as silly as this.
Sports shots columnist Tim Gutowski was born in a hospital in West Allis and his sporting heart never really left. He grew up in a tiny town 30 miles west of the city named Genesee and was in attendance at County Stadium the day the Brewers clinched the 1981 second-half AL East crown. I bet you can't say that.
Though Tim moved away from Wisconsin (to Iowa and eventually the suburbs of Chicago) as a 10-year-old, he eventually found his way back to Milwaukee. He remembers fondly the pre-Web days of listenting to static-filled Brewers games on AM 620 and crying after repeated Bears' victories over the Packers.
