Four takeaways from Badgers basketball practice Thursday: Fifth season an easy call for Klesmit, Gilmore

MADISON – Reporters were able to attend Wisconsin men’s basketball practice for the fourth time this fall.

All 18 players participated in practice Thursday.

With UW’s Nov. 6 opener against Arkansas State less than two weeks away, some observations/comments from Thursday’s session:

Max Klesmit, Carter Gilmore talk about having two seasons of eligibility remaining

Guard Max Klesmit, forward Carter Gilmore and center Steven Crowl decided early this year to take advantage of their COVID option and return to UW for the 2024-25 season.

Klesmit and Gilmore met separately with reporters Thursday and both had the same message:

Taking advantage of the ability to play a fifth season at UW was a no-brainer.

“That was in my head probably my freshman year,” said Gilmore, a graduate of Arrowhead High School. “This is my dream to come here, play here.

“And I’ve got my best friends as my teammates, so there’s nowhere else I see myself playing.”

Klesmit, a graduate of Neenah High School, spent his first two seasons at Wofford before transferring to UW.

“I wanted to be here, closer to home,” Klesmit said. “This was the spot for me. Just having that extra year and not thinking about it and just focus on hoops is really what (was) behind.

“Obviously, I love it here. No other place I'd rather be.”

More: 5 intriguing games on the Wisconsin men's basketball 2023-24 schedule

Klesmit started 33 of 50 games at Wofford. He averaged a combined 12.3 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game for the Terriers.

Klesmit started all 33 games he played in last season for UW and averaged 8.4 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. He scored in double figures in seven of the last 12 games.

Klesmit had one of the more impressive plays during early five-on-five work Thursday.

He got the ball out at the three-point-line, on the right wing. Klesmit faked a pass to the right corner, then used a shot-fake to get past Kamari McGee and into the lane. He drew a help defender and then dumped the ball off to Crowl for a lay-in.

Gilmore has played in a total of 66 games at UW. He proved to be an above-average defender last season and often backed up Crowl at center.

However, he averaged just 1.7 points per game and shot just 14 percent (6 of 43) from three-point range and 36.6 percent overall (45 of 123).

Gilmore weighs 233 pounds, an increase of 18 pounds from the end of last season, and has looked more confident on offense so far in practice.

“You’ve got to train your mind,” said Gilmore, who now uses mediation as an off-the-court tool. “Last year I wasn’t as confident. I struggled with doubt.”

Yes, we're talking about practice. But a healthy Tyler Wahl is scoring inside again.

Tyler Wahl acknowledged recently that after suffering an ankle injury on Jan. 3 against Minnesota he wasn’t fully recovered until after the season.

Wahl showed Thursday what he can do near the basket when he has a sound foundation.

The fifth-year senior was able to use a combination of footwork and fakes to slither between double-teams for several baskets.

Will the Badgers be a better free-throw shooting team this season?

UW shot just 69.1 percent from the free-throw line last season. Early indications are that could be a strength of the team in 2023-24.

UW closed practice Thursday with a team-wide free-throw shooting contest.

The final results: 31 of 34 overall.

Only Gilmore, Chris Hodges and Jack Janicki missed an attempt.

Freshman guard John Blackwell impresses

Guard John Blackwell didn’t receive much notoriety when he signed with UW and then arrived on campus.

But the 6-foot-4, 194-pound freshman from Michigan continues to impress with his intensity and versatility.

Blackwell shot the ball well Thursday but his defensive work against AJ Storr on one possession was more noteworthy.

Storr, who has been outstanding so far in practice, had the ball on the left wing and looked to get to the basket against Blackwell.

Blackwell, a physical and fearless defender, never backed down and Storr could not get in position for a decent shot.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Fifth season at Wisconsin easy call for Max Klesmit, Carter Gilmore