Badgers' Gasser ditches knee brace, ready to be best version of self
ROSEMONT, Ill. -- Josh Gasser spent much of last season caught between two versions of himself, like some bizarre Twilight Zone episode in which he wanted pieces of each but couldn't fully have them.
There was the Gasser before his torn ACL occurred (confident and fearless) and the Gasser after his torn ACL (smart and cautious). Each player brought different value to the court for Wisconsin, yet all facets never melded entirely together. Gasser couldn't be the same player he was before the Oct. 27, 2012 injury took a season from him because he missed nearly a year's worth of court time. And when he returned, he was forced to wear a bulky brace over his left knee.
"Pretty much every time I ran up the court, I always had to pull and tug on it just making sure it was there and stable," Gasser said during the Big Ten media day last week.
Statistics will demonstrate that Gasser returned to a level that either matched or surpassed his pre-ACL injury output. His 2011-12 numbers: 7.6 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.9 assists in 34.1 minutes per game. His 2013-14 numbers: 8.8 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists in 33.4 minutes per game. He also earned Big Ten all-defensive team honors in each season.
But Gasser understands there is more to the story there. Without critical offseason opportunities to simply play full-court, Gasser lost some of the self-assurance that made him such a reliable shooter and driver. He still shot well last season -- just not as well as he did before the injury. Gasser's field goal accuracy decreased from 46.4 percent to 43.3 percent, and his 3-point shooting dropped from 45.2 percent to 43.1 percent.
What bothered Gasser most, however, was that some of the fearlessness he had before the injury had disappeared.
"Just not having that much reps, not having the confidence to drive to the hoop and know what was going to happen," Gasser said. "In practice I just didn't want to drive to the hoop really because I know that's how the injury happened two years ago in transition. I just wanted to get myself as healthy as I could for games. I guess that kind of held me back a little bit just knowing that I didn't get the reps necessary."
This season, Gasser believes life on the court will be different because he has shed the knee brace for good. And he said he felt as good as he ever had -- a great sign as he prepares for the final season of his college basketball career.
Gasser spent countless hours working with Badgers team trainer Henry Perez-Guerra, so it was only fitting that Gasser give the knee brace to him one last time, he said.
"I went into Henry's office and I threw it at him and I walked out," Gasser said. "That's pretty much it. Haven't seen it since."
Gasser's value to the team this season as it attempts to reach a second consecutive Final Four will be much the same as it was a year ago. But with improved driving ability and shooting consistency, it will only create more headaches for opponents that have to deal with Wisconsin returning seven of its top eight rotation players.
Gasser has spent the entire offseason without his knee brace and is ready to finally blend the best versions of himself together.
"It took me a few times to drive to the hoop and just realize that I don't need the brace," Gasser said. "It was nice to have for stability that first year, but now it's just knowing that my knee's healthy, that my body feels great. That's pretty much it.
"The more you play, the more confident you get. Once you do things one or two times, you drive to the hoop, you shoot a jumper with a guy under you, you kind of get over the hump."
Izzo applauds Bo: Michigan State coach Tom Izzo offered plenty of praise for Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan and the Badgers' program during the Big Ten media day. UW was a unanimous pick to win the Big Ten, and the difference between the Badgers and the rest of the league this season is evident.
"There's no question that Wisconsin is the class," Izzo said. "But Wisconsin gets picked second or third when he's got nobody back, so I think that tells you a lot about Bo and what he's done. But he does have a very, very good team and a lot of guys back and stability. And he's got guards and he's got bigs, so he's got a little bit of everything.
"He's got a great wing, a great point guard and a great center. And when you have that, a lot of good things can happen."
Kentucky tape: Gasser said he had "no interest" in watching game tape of Wisconsin's one-point Final Four loss to Kentucky in April.
Wildcats guard Aaron Harrison hit the game-winning 3-pointer over Gasser with 5.7 seconds remaining to send Kentucky on to the championship game with a 74-73 victory.
"There's so many plays in that game that you would love to have back, but it's something that it's done with," Gasser said. "It's over. You spend all offseason trying to get over moments like that. Such a big game and stuff. You finally get over that. You don't want to kind of relive it. It's one of those games I don't want to ever watch."
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