Wisconsin Basketball Coach Provides Injury Update on Badgers Starter
The University of Wisconsin basketball team is taking a cautious approach with their senior guard as he works his way back from a lingering injury.
Max Klesmit’s availability moving forward remains day-to-day after missing Saturday’s 71-62 road loss to No. 8 Michigan State.
The 6-foot-4 guard has been dealing with a lower-body injury since leaving a game against Washington on Feb. 26 after playing just five minutes.
While Klesmit attempted to play through it, the issue didn’t improve enough leading up to the matchup against the Spartans.
Head coach Greg Gard confirmed that the decision to sit Klesmit wasn’t a last-minute call, but he did not provide a definitive timeline for his return.
“No, I knew Wednesday. Knew last Wednesday he probably wasn’t going,” Gard said postgame. “So, it’s day to day. We will see how things go with the doctors and medical people. And, they will make the determination for when he will come back.
“They’ll make the call, but it wasn’t something that was last minute. We knew for two or three days, and we were preparing for him not to play.”
Without Klesmit in the lineup, Kamari McGee stepped into the starting role for the Badgers, who dropped to 22-7 on the season and 12-6 in Big Ten play with the loss in East Lansing.
McGee finished the game with three points, three rebounds, and three assists on 1-of-8 shooting from the field and missed all five of his attempts from beyond the arc in 35 minutes.
Klesmit has been dealing with a lower-body injury since before Wisconsin’s season began. In 27 appearances—all starts, Klesmit is averaging 9.7 points, 2.7 assists, and 2.4 rebounds in 28.4 minutes per game.
He’s taken on a much larger role as a ball handler and shot creator, and while his efficiency has dipped—shooting a career-low 35.3% from the field and just 28.8% from deep—he’s still taking care of the ball, posting an impressive 74-to-31 assist-to-turnover ratio. If Klesmit continues to miss time, the Badgers will rely more heavily on McGee and walk-on guard Jack Janicki.
The team is continuing to monitor Klesmit’s status, but no official update has been provided regarding when he may return to the lineup. Wisconsin returns to the court on Mar. 5 for a road matchup against Minnesota.
