Reflecting on a record-setting career

March is always a special time for former Port Washington High School and University of Wisconsin-Madison basketball star Josh Gasser, and even more so this year.

While nothing compares to two Final Four appearances and a near national title, Gasser has come to appreciate the NCAA Tournament more now after it was canceled last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Each spring already brings back “a ton of great memories,” Gasser said, and this year is no different.

But a slow last 12 months due to the pandemic — Gasser mostly works from home at a new job and his basketball camp has only handled individuals and small groups since last spring — has allowed him one luxury he hasn’t had in a whirlwind decade.

“It has finally allowed me to personally sit back and reflect and have some time on my own,” he said.

“The college experience just flies by. It’s always a next practice, next workout or next class.”

After graduating with a business marketing degree, Gasser played professional basketball for a year in Germany before injuries forced him to retire. For the next three and a half years, he worked as a business development manager for Learfield IMG College, which partners with UW-Madison, and was an on-air radio personality.

Last year, Gasser was named an account executive with Madison’s AE Business Solutions, an information technology consulting firm. He goes to the office about once a week.

Spending more time at home, Gasser watched some of his games dating back to Port High and reminisced with old friends and teammates. He even showed his wife — he married in 2019 — some of his old tapes.

“I’ve been reflecting on all the cool things myself and my teams have been able to accomplish,” he said.

Gasser, a 6 feet, 4-inch guard, was named the Wisconsin Gatorade Player of the Year as a senior at Port High in 2010. He averaged 23.9 points, 9.6 rebounds and 4.8 assists and left as Port’s all-time leading scorer and rebounder, and he has the Pirates’ all-time top free-throw percentage.

At Wisconsin under Bo Ryan, Gasser instantly made an impact, becoming the first Badger to notch a triple-double with 10 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists in a 78-46 win over Northwestern. He was the first Big

Ten freshman to accomplish the feat since Michigan State’s Magic Johnson in 1977.

Gasser started 144 of 148 games for Wisconsin, missing one year to a torn ACL. He was named to the Big 10 All-Defensive Team three times, scored more than 1,000 points in his career and is the winningest player in school history.

Gasser’s final game was a 68-63 loss to Duke in the national championship in 2015.

All four of Gasser’s fellow starters — Sam Dekker, Frank Kaminsky, Traevon Jackson and Ben Brust — played professionally in the U.S. or Europe. Kaminsky plays for the Phoenix Suns and Dekker plays in Europe.

Their success remains fresh in the minds of Badger fans. Gasser said on Monday he shard his memories and answered questions during a happy hour on Monday for fellow employees at AE Business Solutions.

“People love that stuff, the behind-the-scenes stuff,” he said.

While Gasser loves to pass along his expertise to the next generation and hopes his camps will get going again in summer, his playing days are over.

“I have not played a basketball game at any level since I retired from Germany,” he said.

Gasser has played two games in the last five years, one on the morning of Dekker’s wedding in a small gym in Door County and one at the Kohl Center on the morning he said his own vows.

“I’ve had so many injuries over the years that my body hasn’t allowed me to play where it would be fun,” he said.

But on the day he got married, getting together with some former teammates, high school friends and cousins ­— some of whom never played at the Kohl Center — was a fun way to pass time and give them that experience, Gasser said.

This year’s Badgers, he said, have had a disappointing season. They are a No. 9 seed and face No. 8-seeded North Carolina in their first game and would likely play No. 1-seeded Baylor in the next round.

Gasser said he is familiar with those teams. The Badgers played Baylor in their run to the Final Four in 2014 and North Carolina on their way to the title game in 2015.

“In my opinion, we got the seed we deserved and got a tough draw, but we deserved that tough draw,” he said.

Other Big Ten teams fared better. Michigan and Illinois got No. 1 seeds, and Iowa and Ohio State got No. 2 seeds.

“I don’t think that’s ever happened in the Big Ten,” Gasser said.

“It’s a weird year in college basketball,” he said, noting that blue bloods such as Duke, Kentucky and Arizona aren’t in the tournament, and Kansas, Michigan State, UCLA and Virginia got lower seeds.

“I think a Big Ten team could certainly win it all. It could be a random team too,” he said.

Undefeated Gonzaga, he said, has “as good of a chance as anybody,” but they haven’t faced a quality opponent.

Regardless of a team’s resume, Gasser knows seasons can end quickly in single-elimination formats.

“All it takes is one five-minute stretch,” he said.

Gasser said this year’s tournament  won’t provide the same experience for the players who are essentially locked in their hotel rooms. One of his favorite parts of participating in the tournament was the atmosphere.

“The March Madness experience is so fun. You can just feel the buzz and the tension in the hotel rooms and gyms and the community you’re living in,” he said. “That’s kind of been taken away from these kids.”

But at least the tournament is being held.

“You’ve gotta look at the positive,” Gasser said.

In looking back on his career, Gasser said, he wishes Wisconsin had won it all in 2015, “but this year has allowed me to look at the positives that happened — what we did do.”