Bo Ryan Comments on Refs in 2015 NCAA Championship Game, 1-and-Done Players

Wisconsin Badgers head coach Bo Ryan wasn't afraid to sound off on what he felt was poor officiating in his team's 68-63 loss to the Duke Blue Devils in the 2015 national championship on Monday night.

CBS Sports' Jon Solomon provided one of Ryan's comments:

For The Win's Nick Schwartz transcribed more of Ryan's quotes:

"

You just have to be able to handle all the hands and the checking. There was more body contact in this game than any game we've played all year, and I just feel sorry for my guys that all of a sudden a game was like that. I think they had a…they're struggling with that a little bit.

"

Yahoo Sports' Charles Robinson highlighted two of the more controversial calls, or non-calls, that went against the Badgers. The first was Justise Winslow possibly stepping out of bounds before dishing the ball to Jahlil Okafor for a Duke bucket. The other was a close out-of-bounds decision in which Winslow looked to have touched the ball last:

ESPN Insider Kevin Pelton questioned whether criticizing the officiating was the way to go for Ryan:

CBS Sports' Doug Gottlieb felt Ryan is far from blameless for the loss:

"

Ask people in the B1G. This is the Bo Ryan they cover. Officiating was bad in spots, but he had a 9 point lead,#Duke on the ropes

— Doug Gottlieb (@GottliebShow) April 7, 2015"

Some would also argue that Wisconsin was the beneficiary of a bad call or two against the Kentucky Wildcats in the national semifinals. The missed shot-clock violation that allowed Nigel Hayes to score two critical points late in the second half stands out the most.

The officiating wasn't the only subject of Ryan's ire. He also condemned the trend of top schools recruiting high school players who are likely to only spend one year in college, per Solomon:

ESPN's Jeff Borzello felt the critique was completely invalid:

On Tuesday, Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski addressed the "rent-a-player" comment during an interview with CBS. CBS This Morning provided his reaction to Bleacher Report:

"

Duke doesn’t rent a player. We have one of the great schools in the world, and when we recruit a young man, we recruit a young man because of three things. One, he has the academic potential to do well at Duke, two, he has the talent to do well, and three, he has great character. All the guys on my team fit that description 100%. In today’s world you have to adapt to what’s happening. Throughout college, there are many kids who don’t go even the full four years because of opportunities, business opportunities that are available, and they’re not just athletes. And so if the opportunity arises for a youngster to leave early from school, whether he’s an athlete or she’s an athlete or not, it’s their opportunity to pursue it. So I think we’re living in the dark ages when we say that it should only be done one way.

"

Krzyzewski later spoke more about Ryan's comments on Mad Dog Sports Radio on Sirius XM:

Of course, nothing could detract from the drama of the final few minutes between the Blue Devils and Badgers. In the pregame hype, the title game looked to be one of the most evenly matched in years, and the event delivered in every respect.