Even before he turned the University of Wisconsin men's basketball program into a Big Ten powerhouse, William "Bo" Ryan had made a name for himself in this state as a highly successful, street-smart coach.

First at UW-Platteville and then at UW-Milwaukee, Ryan displayed a magnificent understanding of the dedication, resources and personnel required to build a championship program.

In his three decades in Wisconsin, the Pennsylvania native has ingrained into the basketball parlance here terms such as "The Swing" (his style of offense, which stresses players' roles as interchangeable parts) and "The Hill" (conditioning on a hand-picked incline that becomes a proving ground for players).

Elements of Ryan's personality and coaching style are revealed throughout his recently released autobiography, "Bo Ryan: Another Hill to Climb," which was co-authored by Capital Times columnist Mike Lucas.

Following is the second offering in a two-part excerpt of the book, detailing Ryan's decision to take an assistant coaching job at Wisconsin in 1976, his subsequent hiring by UW-Platteville, and his recollection of the Badgers' memorable 2007-08 season.

Read last week's excerpt, which chronicled Ryan's youth in the Philadelphia suburb of Chester.

People thought I was crazy.

That was the consensus in the Philly area.

I said Wisconsin, and they said it all.

"Bo, you're going where?"

"Bo, did you say WES-con-sin?"

"Bo, you are definitely crazy."

It was not like Wisconsin basketball had much of a national profile, if any at all in those days. Especially on the East Coast, though the Philadelphia 76ers did take the Badgers' Al Henry in the first round of the 1970 NBA draft. Still, Wisconsin was off most radar screens.

Even my friends wondered if I was doing the right thing because they had heard some of the same things I was hearing: "There's no way that you can win at Wisconsin." That's what people wanted you to think.

I never thought that way.

On March 17, 1976 -- St. Patrick's Day -- I signed my contract at Wisconsin.

I was going to make $16,000, an upgrade from the $11,800 I was making at Sun Valley High School in Pennsylvania. I thought I had it made, too, until I saw the price of housing in Madison. But having been in the Army, I didn't have to put a penny down. We bought the yellow house on the corner of Tokay and Segoe on what was then Madison's far west side. It cost $42,000.

To this day, I still have a souvenir from my first summer in Wisconsin as a Badger assistant coach -- four capped teeth. In honor of Bob Uecker, they're all in the front row.

Along with the coaches from the various other sports, I was in Monroe for a two-day Badger outing that included golf and plenty of good cheer. The Kublys, the founders of the Swiss Colony company (think: cheese products) and huge Wisconsin fans, had a basketball gym in their home and naturally that's where I ended up.

It started off harmlessly enough -- a full-court, five-on-five pickup game. But it definitely ratcheted up competitively and when I went up and blocked a shot on a guy who was driving to the basket, he swung out his arm and knocked me down. My head bounced off the floor.