MADISON, Wis. — Josh Gasser's pragmatic, levelheaded and selfless nature help make him the type of college basketball player every coach wants on his team: A guy who prefers to see big picture, beyond individual accomplishments, to find ways to help the team play better.
Those qualities will be especially important as the University of Wisconsin prepares for life after Jordan Taylor because the Badgers desperately need a point guard next season. Even though Gasser hasn't played the position much in his first two years at Wisconsin, he's ready to accept that challenge should it be presented.
"Personally, I want to play it," Gasser told FOXSportsWisconsin.com last week. "I think I'm a good distributor. But at the same time, I want to be on the floor to help our team."
Given all that Gasser has accomplished in two years with the Badgers, he's earned the right to try.
In two seasons as a shooting guard, Gasser has logged more career minutes (2,184) than any returning player on the team. That includes three projected senior starters in the frontcourt: forward Ryan Evans (1,926 minutes), forward Mike Bruesewitz (1,800) and center Jared Berggren (1,277).
What makes Gasser such a valuable asset to the Badgers and coach Bo Ryan is his versatility and basketball savvy. Two seasons ago, he posted Wisconsin's first triple-double in program history in a game against Northwestern. Last season, he shot 45.2 percent on 3-point attempts -- the third-best mark among Big Ten players.
The 6-foot-3, 190-pound Gasser also was tasked with defending the opposing team's top guard on most nights. He helped to hold Vanderbilt sharpshooter John Jenkins to 3 of 13 shooting and 13 points -- seven below his average -- in the NCAA Tournament's round of 32 despite falling victim to the flu one night earlier. Gasser was chosen to the Big Ten's all-defensive team as well.
Despite his success, Gasser understands it will require an entirely different level of focus to compete as a point guard at the Big Ten level.
"You've got to be really good at coming off ball screens at the 1 position and creating for others," said Gasser, who has started all 70 games in his Wisconsin career. "I think that's something I'm developing. I think I can create for others pretty well. I've just got to continue to work on scoring for myself a little bit off that."
If Gasser does earn the starting point guard role, he could share duties with redshirt freshman George Marshall, who demonstrated quickness and athleticism on the scout team last season.
"I definitely see Josh's role expanding," Marshall said. "I don't think they expect me to come in and just be some type of superhero, so of course Josh's role will expand, along with whoever else is out there helping the team at point guard. He's taken the initiative to be more aggressive."
Gasser and Marshall would be replacing one of the most prolific distributors in NCAA history.
Taylor, a preseason All-American last year as a senior, set an NCAA career record with a 3.01 assists-to-turnovers ratio. He equaled the school record by appearing in 136 career games and tallied 464 assists, which ranks second at Wisconsin.
Taylor was especially valued because he controlled the ball late in shot clock situations with the Badgers' fate resting in his hands.
"He was a huge leader and a huge player for us," Gasser said. "He ran the point pretty much on his own the past two years. This year, who knows? It might be a collective group of guys who will do it, and that might be a good thing for us. But like I did the first two years, I'm just going to try to do whatever I can to help our team."
Gasser already has shown his ability to make good decisions on the floor. He ranks fifth in Wisconsin history with a 1.95 assists-to-turnovers ratio and produced a 2.57 assists-to-turnovers ratio as a freshman.
Badgers assistant coach Lamont Paris said he had no doubt Gasser could thrive as a point guard -- a position Gasser played from third grade through his senior year of high school, when he earned Gatorade Player of the Year honors in Wisconsin at Port Washington High.
"I would look for him to take a little more leadership role," Paris said. "Some of that may happen naturally if he's playing some point guard. But then he's such a reliable shooter. His mechanics are so sound fundamentally that we'd like him to be a little more aggressive and take some more shots. Coming off screens, on the move, catch and shoot. That doesn't mean try to create more shots necessarily, but if you've got a good look just to not ever turn it down."
Though Gasser played the second-most minutes behind Taylor last season, four Wisconsin players took more shots than Gasser, and he was fourth on the team in scoring. In 36 games, he fired up 181 shots, or roughly five per contest on his way to averaging 7.6 points.
The task of scoring more while also distributing more won't be easy. But Gasser could be the man for the job. His ability to recognize the importance of handling not only the ball but also the pressure of running a Big Ten team appears vital to Wisconsin's success.
"I'm excited," Gasser said. "I consider myself a leader out there, especially at the guard position. A point guard or guard should be one of the more vocal ones out there. I think I can be a little more versatile this year."
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