Varsity is the free Official Digital Magazine of Wisconsin Athletics, covering Badgers football, basketball, hockey and more each week.
Issue link: http://catalog.e-digitaleditions.com/i/242551
LUCAS AT LARGE BY MIKE LUCAS // UWBADGERS.COM soon after the family was forced to move after a tornado destroyed their home, so Dearring played his final two years at Minnetonka. "I was on the road at an AAU tournament," Dearring said, "and I remember getting the call. When they told me the tornado tore the roof off our house, I thought they were joking. My mom and brother were at home. They were fine, thank God. But it was a scary situation." Asked about the impact of attending three high schools in four years, he said, "It was tough because you had to get to know different people and I'm a quiet person as it is. But I adjusted. "Plus when you're in a sport like basketball it's easier to make friends because you get to know the guys who are on the team. They welcomed me in, so it wasn't too bad." Even as a freshman redshirt, a scout team player in practice, Dearring has felt welcomed in his new surroundings at Wisconsin. "Even though you're not playing," he said, "you're getting the experience because you're playing against guys who are doing things so well against other teams." Dearring has had a taste of defending a variety of UW playmakers. "When you're guarding Sam (Dekker), he's always looking to attack, so you have to be ready," he said. "Ben (Brust) keeps you honest with his jump shot and he's always moving. Josh (Gasser) is smart and he's tough, too." Beyond the schooling that he gets daily from the starters, Dearring will work overtime. You will Continued from Page 14 16 // VARSITY January 16, 2014 usually find him in the practice gym before and after many practices. "I try to get some shots up and stay on my game," he said, "because hopefully it will pay off in the long run." Dearring will shoot on his own for about an hour with an emphasis on speeding up his release. "I feel once you get past an hour you start losing some of your intensity," he said. "It's something my dad has taught me. If you work hard in small quantities, you will get more done." Because Dearring was trained by three very successful high school coaches ― Ken Novak (Hopkins), Dave Thorson (DeLaSalle) and Tom Dasovich (Minnetonka), who had Mike Bruesewitz at Sibley ― Gard believes Dearring has a solid foundation upon which he can build as a collegian. "I think he can be a lights-out shooter," Gard said. "And the one thing that I saw in Canada (during the August exhibition tour) that sometimes gets hidden is that he can be a really good defensive player. He's long and he's a better athlete than he looks when you watch him run and do some things. "But I saw him lock in on the wing a couple of times on the ball in Canada and he really swallowed people up. With his long arms, he covers a lot of space. He just needs experience, he just needs confidence, and he just needs to get stronger." A hat trick worthy of a redshirt.