MBB: Every team needs a guy you'd hate if he were on the other side of the court

Can Max Klesmit be that guy for the Badgers this season?

MINNEAPOLIS — In every team sport you need a guy that just pisses off the other team. The “pest” in hockey, the “reliever who throws 99 mph up and in” in baseball, the “gets stuck in challenge” maker in soccer, the “Draymond Green” type in basketba…wait, not him. You don’t need a guy on your team that will punch teammates in the jaw.

In basketball, a more reasonable archetype of player is the “Brad Davison type.” Opposing fans say he’s “dirty” while home fans say he just plays “tough, hard-nosed” basketball. My personal feelings on Davison aside (I think he’s mostly dirty, but isn’t doing it on purpose if that makes sense?) the Badgers have had great success rostering a player like that over the years.

Josh Gasser comes to mind. He was a talented player that any coach in the Big Ten would’ve loved to have on their team, but they hated playing against him because he was always diving on the floor for loose balls and playing defense like his life depended on it and just making life miserable for whoever he was playing against.

Other teams have also found this type of player will lead to winning: Marshall Henderson at Ole Miss, basically any player at Duke since Coach K was hired, Patrick Beverley at Arkansas, and the list goes on and on.

Well, much to the joy of Big Ten fans conference-wide, Davison has no more eligibility left and will not be suiting up in Cardinal and White this season. Who will fill his role? Who has the, shall we say, spirited style of play that will get under a Minnesota or an Iowa’s skin?

(Photo courtesy of Wisconsin Athletics; @BadgerMBB)

Enter Max Klesmit.