The Badgers are getting a big piece back in the starting lineup on Thursday.
The Wisconsin Badgers are expected to be at full strength on Thursday, as guard Max Klesmit was cleared to play for Thursday’s matchup against the Northwestern Wildcats.
“Feeling good. Gonna play,” Klesmit affirmed earlier this week.
It’s been a tough break for the senior guard, who head coach Greg Gard said was dealing with a nagging injury that aggravated against Wisconsin’s win over Washington in late February.
Klesmit has dealt with injuries, specifically lower-body ones, in the past, so he’s gotten a better understanding of how his body responds. But, that didn’t make the process any easier the last few weeks.
“[Been working on] getting healthy, but really just trying to be there for my teammates still,” Klesmit said. “I know it’s been hard. Just more of my mental side the last three games, not being able to be out there and play. But, I got to do whatever’s best for me to get my body in a position to be out there with the guys and playing these games. But I think I’ve put myself in a really good position to make a deep run here in this Big Ten Tournament and this NCAA Tournament.”
Could Klesmit have come back earlier from the injury?
“I don’t know,” the guard acknowledged. “I think I know my body pretty well. Kind of understand what I needed to do to prepare myself for games beforehand, whether that’s getting extra reps in, getting up and down more at practice, getting extra conditioning in the weight room.
“And I just don’t think I was ready at that point in the regular season to kind of come back and so to say, play with fire. Just wanted to make sure I was completely that peace of mind, being able to go out there. A lot of joy. So just had to make sure everything was feeling good.”
With that said, there are no restrictions for the guard going forward, even if Wisconsin goes on a run here during the Big Ten Tournament.
“No [restrictions]. I’m playing all four [games if Wisconsin makes it to the Big Ten Tournament Championship] for sure. Playing all four,” Klesmit said.
Head coach Greg Gard acknowledged that Klesmit only got cleared on Monday, getting out to practice in full this week for the first time.
“He got cleared yesterday,” Gard said Tuesday. “So he practiced yesterday and then today. So he’s had two [practices].”
“He wasn’t cleared for Saturday to be able to play. I wasn’t holding him out or anything like that. As soon as he got cleared, he was going to go and he didn’t get cleared until yesterday. So he practiced yesterday, practice today, says he feels good and go again tomorrow and be ready to go Thursday.”
What does Klesmit’s return mean for the Badgers?
“I’ve had a guy that’s been here for three years and started and [been] a big piece of this team,” Gard said of Klesmit. “It’s an important piece just because of how this group has all come together. So when you pull one of those cogs out, it has an impact.
“And, other guys have been able to grow their games a little bit in his absence. I think [Jack] Janicki’s gotten better, but also it’s important for us going forward to have him back because it’s when we’re whole and we’re healthy, we’re a good team.”
The Badgers haven’t looked like themselves with players being in different roles the last three games, leading to a small late-season slide before the Big Ten Tournament.
Now back to full strength, Wisconsin will look to reset on Thursday when they take on the Northwestern Wildcats, with tip-off set for 1:30 p.m. at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.