IOWA CITY, Iowa – How does one define delivering a perfect game?
For a pitcher in baseball, it’s recording 27 consecutive outs without walking a batter or having a fielder commit an error. A quarterback in football can achieve a perfect passer rating of 158.3 using a complex mathematical equation.
There’s no such metric for basketball or even a clear definition other than making every attempted shot, which was why University of Wisconsin junior Max Klesmit acknowledged the difficulty of the question when it was presented to him.
“A perfect game to me is making an impact on both ends of the floor,” Klesmit said after a long pause. “I don’t necessarily get caught up if you are shooting and every single shot goes in. You’re doing the little things every single time, you are in your spot defensively, you’re checking your man every single time defensively, and making the extra pass offensively.
“My perfect game may be different than somebody else’s, but it’s buying into the little things.”
It’s hard to walk away from a game where a player goes 2-for-10 from the field and think perfection, but it's what Klesmit’s teammates thought of him and his defense on Ohio State senior Jamison Battle Tuesday night. A 6-foot-7 forward who averaged over 14 points per game and had a three-inch height and 20-pound weight advantage on Klesmit, the UW guard made everything difficult for him by clouding his vision, limiting space for catch-and-shoot attempts, took away his left hand in low-post situations, and be physical with him as he moved and cut.
The bottom line is he made Battle uncomfortable and didn’t allow him a bucket until the final 16 seconds when Klesmit sagged off to prevent a foul call with UW up 11 of an eventual 62-54 victory.
“They say he’s 6-4 but he’s really like, 6-2, but to be able to run a 6-7 player, I give Max all the credit in the world,” guard Chucky Hepburn said. “He’s chasing screens, getting over them really well, really frustrating him. I’m really proud of him for the effort.”
Being a defensive stopper is the role Klesmit has embraced since arriving at Wisconsin after two seasons at Wofford. His offense has been dynamic in spurts (11.4 points on 46.8 percent shooting in Big Ten games), but his prime focus is providing energy through defense, growing the skill through diligent scout work, and making life challenging on UW’s reserves Markus Ilver and Isaac Lindsey.
“He prepares really well, so he understands what’s coming, and what plays are going to be run,” Lindsey said. “If you know what’s about to come at you, you know how to handle it. That really goes a long way for him, his understanding of the game and the ability to get in a guy’s head. If you get a guy to miss early, it’s tough to get your confidence going and get the next one to fall.”
Tuesday’s win over Ohio State had an urgency to it. The Badgers had dropped four straight and were allowing teams to dictate games with their offense. Klesmit saw it happening with him on the floor and watching from the bench.
In Saturday’s loss at Rutgers, Klesmit was late on a block-charge call that led to a three-point play in the game’s opening minute. While that play was competitive, he admitted his second foul was a waste when he didn’t have positioning and slapped at the ball, resulting in him contacting Clifford Omoruyi’s leg, giving the senior a three-point play, and putting Klesmit on the bench for over 13 minutes with two fouls.
Klesmit played over 32 minutes against the Buckeyes and the Badgers responded by holding Ohio State to 41.1 percent shooting and 54 points, their best defensive effort in Big Ten play this season.
“You feel powerless in a way that you can’t be out there with your brothers doing what you can do, knowing what you can do to help,” Klesmit said. “You take that as a lesson learned. It’s tough when you can’t go out there and help.”
“It was almost like we were being selfish to a point where we weren’t doing what we knew we could do because we had done it in previous games. We had real conversations that everything needs to start defensively, and our offense will work itself out.”
Klesmit’s philosophy will be tested when No.20 Wisconsin (17-8, 9-5 Big Ten) faces Iowa (14-11, 6-8) at Carver-Hawkeye Arena tomorrow afternoon, considering the Hawkeyes usually sacrifice their defense for their offense.
Iowa ranks second in the conference in scoring (83.5) and field goal percentage (47.7) and 16th nationally in adjusted offensive efficiency (118.7). The tradeoff is ranking 13th in scoring defense (78.0 ppg) and 12th in field goal defense (45.2).
In a matchup of opposites Wednesday, Maryland’s top-ranked defense held Iowa to 40.6 percent shooting in a 78-66 victory, signaling how a stout defensive performance can be effective against Iowa’s offense. UW hosts Maryland on Tuesday.
“The pace they play with, regardless of a make or miss, they like to really come down at you pretty quickly,” said Klesmit, who guarded Iowa’s Payton Sandfort and held him to 3-for-11 shooting in UW’s 83-72 win on January 2. “They have a senior point guard and surround him with shooters and have mobile bigs. It’s about trying to limit what their guys like to do, try to make them uncomfortable, be physical with them, and contain what they will come at us with.”
However one defines perfection on the basketball court, Klesmit doesn’t feel he has achieved it. In a way, he hopes he never does, as the fourth-year junior’s willingness to chase flawlessness keeps him coming back to work.
“The day I say I play the perfect game is the day I probably won’t be able to improve,” Klesmit said. “There’s always something I’m looking forward to fine-tune my game, whether it’s in the weight room, getting quicker, stronger, and faster, or on the court with schematic stuff. I don’t think I have played the perfect game yet, but I hope I play close to one.”
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