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14 // VARSITY February 20, 2014 BY MIKE LUCAS // UWBADGERS.COM LUCAS AT LARGE F ormer Wisconsin point guard Jordan Taylor had the second- most assists (464) in school history. Credit him with another one for what he had to say last week to his old backcourt mate, Josh Gasser, during a visit to the Kohl Center for a game between the Badgers and Minnesota. Taylor, an undrafted free agent, has spent the last two seasons play- ing professionally in Rome with the hopes of landing an NBA contract. A former Gopher, in fact, Trevor MBakwe, was one of his teammates with Virtus Roma before a hip injury forced Taylor to return to the States for surgery. On his way home to Blooming- ton, Minn., the 24-year-old Taylor stopped in Madison to see friends. During his short time together with Gasser, he reminded him to enjoy the college basketball experience. Don't take it for granted, he told Gasser, it's very special, especially at Wisconsin. "I definitely took it to heart when he said that," Gasser admitted. Nobody may enjoy playing the game more than Gasser, particularly after sitting out last season follow- ing knee surgery. Nobody may enjoy playing defense more than Gasser, unless it's Ohio State's Aaron Craft. And it should come as no surprise that Gasser has always admired the way that Craft plays. "I just love the way that he doesn't care about the amount of points that he scores," Gasser said. "He doesn't care about the stats; he just wants to get wins for his team. He'll dive on the floor and he'll play defense. It's the leadership that you have to respect out of a guy like Craft." Or out of a guy like Gasser. Besides drawing the opponent's top scorer ― from Michigan State's Gary Harris to Michigan's Nik Staus- kas ― Gasser has also contributed some timely shot-making. He had two early 3-point hits that created space in the paint for Frank Kamin- sky against the Wolverines. "When Josh hits those 3s to start the game," said Kaminsky, who fin- ished with his first career double- double (25 points, 11 rebounds) in Wisconsin's 75-62 win in Ann Arbor, "it really opens up the driv- ing lanes because they can't help off of him. They have to respect him (on the perimeter)." One of the more unselfish players to ever put on a UW uniform was Mike Kelley, who helped lead the Badgers to the 2000 Final Four. Kel- ley, who's still the school's career leader in steals (275), has been working as a television analyst for the Big Ten Network. When asked about Gasser, he gushes. "I thought the Michigan game was maybe his best overall de- fensively," said Kelley, the only Badger to be named the Big Ten's Defensive Player of the Year. "As I watched him, and I don't mean this in a narcissistic way, but I felt like I was watching myself dog a player around screens and chase. "I thought Josh did a great job of getting around screens without them slowing up his progress too much. He was fantastic. I just love Josh Gasser. I love what he does and what he brings and every time he shoots, I feel like it's going in. He has been just phenomenal." Gasser held Stauskas to 11 points (4-of-11) and without a 3-pointer for only the third time this season. A week earlier, Gasser hounded Harris into a 3-of-20 shooting game from the field. He was 0-for-7 from beyond the arc and had six points in Michigan State's loss to Wisconsin. Although Gasser was talking spe- cifically about Stauskas, he could have been talking about everybody that he has been assigned to guard when he said, "It's about focus and attention and going as hard as you can every possession otherwise he'll make you pay." The assignment is never the same. The 6-foot-3 Gasser has covered everyone from Indiana's 6-foot Yogi Ferrell to Iowa's 6-9, 220-pound Aaron White, who will likely be on Gasser's dance card Saturday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City. "You want to get their tenden- cies, you want to know what they do," said Gasser, who just turned 22. "But, at the same time, it's a game. You've just got to go out there and play. If you think too much, that's sometimes when you can get your- self in trouble. "So you need to stick to your rules, stick to the way you do things and trust your teammates and the coaches and that's when it all works out well. I've had some crazy matchups this year. But it's fun to guard different guys each game." He's heeding Taylor's advice. Gasser continues growing into his vital role