One of the beautiful things about Wisconsin's program -- aside from the back-to-back 30-win seasons -- is the usual lack of drama during the course of a year.

Head coach Bo Ryan doesn't waste time in the offseason looking for another job. His players don't agonize over whether to leave early for the NBA and rarely show up on the police blotter. His recruits don't get waylaid by poor grades or test scores.

That means Wisconsin's offseasons are about as exciting to track as grazing cows. But it also means that the Badgers staff -- and their fans -- can start to figure out how things might work in the winter without worrying about whether someone might go astray.

Wisconsin lost three of its top seven players from its 31-5 team, including starters Michael Flowers and Brian Butch. While the Badgers have a few new guards who could bolster the backcourt from the get-go -- point guard Jordan Taylor and scorer Robert Wilson -- there are more question marks upfront.

Not only do the Badgers have to replace Butch, they need to find someone to take Greg Stiemsma's role as the towheaded eraser in the middle. Sophomore Keaton Nankivil, a powerful rebounder, and freshman Jared Berggren, a borderline Top 100 recruit, have resumes that suggest they'll help.

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