MADISON, Wis. – The reaction spoke volumes without Max Klesmit ever saying a word, a sign of what he’s endured in his first season at the University of Wisconsin and the direction he’s headed.
Turning around to watch Oregon guard Quincey Guerrier’s game-tying three-pointer clang off the rhythm, a play Klesmit impacted by contesting the shot, Klesmit clapped his hands together in a prayer of thanks. After a season full of close games (22 decided by five points or less or overtime) and playing in the NIT because of a failure to win enough of them, the Badgers were headed to the Final Four in Las Vegas by winning two of them in comeback fashion.
And as he returned to the handshake line, and a UW Athletics cameraman approached him, Klesmit put his palms toward the sky and delivered a simple shrug. It’s not that he wasn’t thrilled about a hard-fought road victory, but the junior’s demeanor over the last few weeks has exuded confidence in himself and his teammates.
“He’s been terrific,” head coach Greg Gard said. “Obviously the numbers show it, but the timeouts and the huddles, just how he’s been very vocal, very encouraging, very competitive. He’s talked more in the huddles down the stretch than I did because he did not want to lose. From a guy that’s from the state, wearing that uniform means a ton to him.”
Klesmit will wear the uniform for at least 40 more minutes this season when Wisconsin takes on North Texas (29-7) in Tuesday's NIT semifinals at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas (6 p.m./ESPN). UAB and Utah Valley will play in the second semifinal with the winners advancing to Thursday’s championship.
It’s not the title Klesmit or Wisconsin (20-14) had hoped to play for but it's a position they’re in thanks to his resurgence over the second half of the season.
Averaging 7.1 points over his first 21 games, Klesmit has averaged 11.7 points over the last 11 games and had four games with at least 15 points. In three NIT games, Klesmit has been even better with 13.7 points, shooting 57.1 percent (4-for-8 3FG), and is 13-17 from the free throw line.
“I feel a little bit more comfortable in terms of the beginning of the season or the middle of the season,” Klesmit said. “That’s just being on a new team with a little bit of a newer role.”
Gard has said repeatedly since Wisconsin accepted the NIT bid that playing in a tournament a tier down from the NCAAs would give his players more chances to grow and compete, as well as a possible jumping-off point for next season. Klesmit is one of the players who has taken a clear leap forward with his play and his voice.
Klesmit finished with a game-high 18 points at Oregon, scoring 14 in the second half and 10 in the final 9:40 when the Badgers were facing their biggest deficit at eight points. It’s reminiscent of his play against No.5 Purdue at the beginning of the month, scoring 17 points in the second half when those around him were struggling offensively.
“There’s been a lot of games earlier in the year that came down to the wire,” Klesmit said. “Some of them went our way; some of them may have not. I think it just shows the perseverance this group has and the ability to stick together when times may not go your way during the game. Just be one whole group, and that pays dividends in the end.”
In Wisconsin’s Sunday win, Klesmit scored all seven of his points in the final 2 minutes, 9 seconds to help the Badgers rally past Liberty. The junior’s first points were a three-pointer, UW’s first make after 14 misses, to put UW ahead 68-67.
Following a timeout with 48.9 seconds left, Klesmit scored on a left-handed drive on a designed play to put the Badgers ahead, 72-71, with 42.7 seconds remaining. It was the exact play from one UW ran for him against Rutgers that didn’t result in points.
And just like against Oregon, Klesmit hit two free throws with six seconds left to ice the win. Through three NIT games, Wisconsin has shot 55-for-65 (84.6 percent) at the free throw line with Klesmit going 13-for-17.
“I’m not scared to take the big shot at the end,” Klesmit said. “That’s what you work for as a kid. That’s what you dream about. That’s what you play in the driveway imagining yourself doing. You work for that moment. You yearn for that moment. It’s a credit to all the work you put in beforehand that you can trust your instincts at the end where it’s all just natural.”
Wisconsin has struggled in its search to replace the vocal leadership of Brad Davison, the fifth-year senior who left last spring as the school’s program leader in three-point field goals, games played, started, and minutes. Klesmit has emerged as that figurehead for the remainder of this season and beyond.
Considering the importance of the offseason in getting the Badgers back into the NCAA Tournament picture, having an established, upperclassmen leader is a good place to start.
“I think now that he’s got his feet on the ground after having not quite a year here, he’s comfortable because he’s proven himself as a player,” Gard said. “You can’t really take the vocal ownership of a team or in a huddle until you cross that line as a proven player. That has been accomplished in the past. Now he’s doing a phenomenal job. He has an edge to him, like a lot of our guys who have sat in that seat in years past.”
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