Darron Cummings / AP

Wisconsin forward Alando Tucker, right, has put the basketball program on equal footing with the football program, writes Mike DeCourcy of Sporting News.

Tucker could have entered the NBA draft after the 2005-06 season, when he averaged 19.0 points and 5.7 rebounds. "A lot of people say they want to test the waters," Tucker says, "but I knew 100 percent that I wanted to come back."

Tucker's patience and intelligence are at least as obvious on the court. In a game as seemingly inconsequential as the Badgers' road trip to Northwestern, where any team even thinking about the Final Four should enter with a grin and leave with a win, Wisconsin wrestled with Northwestern's tricky zone and Tucker was accompanied by two defenders on nearly every catch. But when the Wildcats tired, and when Tucker sensed their fatigue, he took command. He scored 15 of the team's 32 second half points.

"Right now, in my mind, he's the best leader we've had," Ryan says. "It's not phony. There's not a phony bone in him."

He will not settle
Tucker read all the preseason college basketball yearbooks and what they said about him.

Second team All-American? One of the 10 best players among more than 4,300 in Division I? Nobody ever has been disrespected in quite the same manner. Tucker called his brother, Antonio, whom he considers a mentor, and made a promise: "By early January or February, I'll show the world that I am one of the top players."

Tucker understood something about that pursuit that eludes many with comparable talent: The surest way to be established as a great player is to win big games. "With team success comes the individual accolades," he says. "Always. Anyone can lose and put up numbers. But how many guys can lead their teams to victories?"

Indeed, how many guys can turn a football school into a basketball school? Greg Oden couldn't do that if he stayed four years at Ohio State. Kevin Durant won't be able to do it at Texas. Even Joakim Noah won't get that done, and he has won a national championship at Florida. How about Tucker, performing like the leading contender for player of the year and pushing the Badgers toward their second Final Four of the decade?

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How to go from good to great
Wisconsin won 21 of its first 22 games and forward Alando Tucker is an All-American, but coach Bo Ryan still is early in the process of building the Badgers into championship contenders. Some key issues he'll address during the Big Ten season:

Does the frontcourt rotation need an overhaul?
Although 6-11 Brian Butch and 6-10 Jason Chappell start, neither is averaging 21 minutes. Butch has had sparkling moments in Big Ten play but has reached double figures just twice against conference opponents. The Badgers could use the guy who slapped around Pitt with 27 points and 11 rebounds.

Are the Badgers too small?
Ryan frequently switches his inside combination to 6-7 Marcus Landry and 6-7 Joe Krabbenhoft because that makes the team better on defense. If 6-11 Greg Stiemsma delivered more games like his 12-point effort against Illinois, Ryan would use him more.

Is Kammron Taylor a point guard?
Creative point guard play is not essential in Ryan's swing offense, and Taylor makes big shots and does not turn over the ball. But he is averaging only 2.0 assists per game, and the Badgers know he still can become a more commanding leader.

Are the players too glued to the system?
Tucker has shown he can break outside the swing and manufacture his own offense when it's time to beat the shot clock. He's the only Wisconsin player with that kind of game, though. If he's not available at a given moment, the Badgers could be in trouble.

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Mark J. Terrill / AP

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