The Wisconsin Badgers and Greg Gard cruised to a victory against Rutgers Scarlet Knights on Monday but they might not have their starting guard Max Klesmit the next game.
The senior guard, who averages 10 points per game, went down from a play in the second half against Rutgers.
Klesmit tried to a lay-up in the second half but he landed awkwardly on Scarlet Knights’ guard Jeremiah Williams. He was visibily in pain while holding his ankle.
He was not able to return to the game, finishing with just 3 points in 24 minutes of play.
Coach Greg Gard said Klesmit is currently day-to-day although he is yet to be officially ruled out for their game against the Minnesota Golden Gophers on Friday.
“He’s day-to-day right now,” the coach said. “We’ll see how he continues to respond as we go through the next few days.”
Greg Gard believes someone will step up for Max Klesmit
Klesmit will be a huge loss for the Badgers with his leadership and point production.
However, Gard is not overwhelmly worried claiming his team has a deep bench with someone capable of stepping up.
“We have other people who will step up,” said Gard. “We don’t need to replicate or duplicate Max Klesmit. I just want these guys to be the best versions of themselves and allow that to flow within the team.”
Gard’s statement is not false optimism.
Against Rutgers, John Blackwell and John Tonje carried the team on both ends with Klesmit out of the line-up.
Blackwell scored 21 points while Tonje had 15 points and nine rebounds.
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