UNIVERSITY VILLAGE — Howard Moore just finished a 6-25 season, yet the men's basketball head coach at University of Illinois at Chicago is all smiles.
That's because his alma mater, Wisconsin, where Moore played and served as an assistant for five seasons under Bo Ryan, is headed to the Final Four.
"It's good to feel good about someone else's success, especially when you're close to someone," Moore said. "It's definitely helped ease my woes from our tough season."
Ryan, who became the Badgers' head coach in 2002, advanced to his first national semifinals after Wisconsin upset No. 1 seed Arizona in March 29's West Regional final. That date also would have been the 90th birthday of Ryan's father and hero, Butch, who was attended countless Final Fours with the Wisconsin coach.
Butch Ryan died in August, and after Wisconsin's win over Arizona, Bo Ryan dedicated the victory to his dad during an emotional postgame interview. Moore then sent a tweet that included "Butch Ryan is smiling down from heaven!"
"You put what's in your heart, and I just put it out there," Moore said. "I think a lot of people felt the same way."
For the last 10-plus years, Moore has traveled to Final Fours and always hung out with the Ryans. During last year's Final Four in Atlanta, he watched the Michigan-Syracuse game in a hotel room with Bo and Butch, and the latter spent a good time frantically looking for his wallet.
"Butch was just distraught," Moore said. "We were all helping him, and [Bo] reached into his dad's sport coat pocket, found the wallet, threw it on the ground and said, 'There's your wallet Dad.' Butch went from 'Oh my God, I can't believe I lost my wallet' to 'Hey Howard, do you remember when I used to coach this team?'
"It's not going to be the same without him there."
The second-seeded Badgers (30-7) will face No. 8 seed Kentucky (28-10) at 7:49 p.m. Saturday (TBS) at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The winner will battle either Florida or Connecticut in Monday's national championship game.
A Big Ten team hasn't won the NCAA tournament since Michigan State in 2000, coincidentally Wisconsin's last time in the Final Four.
From 2005-10, the Badgers made the NCAA tournament in all five of Moore's seasons as an assistant, and he helped coach them to a school-record 31 victories in 2007-08.
After a stellar career at Taft High School, Moore played in 47 games for the Badgers before graduating from Wisconsin in 1995. He said he'll be going to this year's Final Four with several ex-Badger teammates, including former NBA star Michael Finley and current Tennessee assistant coach Tracy Webster.
Moore is in his fourth season at UIC after growing up a few blocks from the school. The Flames won only six of their 31 games last season, at one point losing 17 straight games.
And although he's focused on turning around the Flames, Moore made sure to appreciate the Badgers' accomplishment.
"I just think it's interesting when you get caught up in your own stuff, your own season, your own adversity, it goes to show you it's a brotherhood to see people you care about have success," Moore said. "The greatest thing about this run is Coach Ryan sustaining who he is as a coach. ... The best thing as a young coach to learn is to stay true to who you are, and it all works out in the end if you stay focused on your own principles."
BADGERS!!! So happy for Coach Ryan and the fellas! Butch Ryan is smiling down from heaven! So proud! #OnWisconsin
— Howard Moore (@Howard_Moore) March 30, 2014
