LOS ANGELES – Max Klesmit couldn’t wait to add one more steal to his afternoon’s work

Standing courtside at the Galen Center following No.24 Wisconsin’s 84-69 victory over USC, not far from the basket where he hit a three-pointer that crippled the Trojans’ comeback hopes, senior Kamari McGee spoke passionately and honestly about the work he put in during the offseason, overhauling a mindset change that has made him one of the Badgers’ integral pieces.

McGee barely finished answering the question when Klesmit interjected, unprompted, slung his arm around McGee’s shoulder and preached.

“We came in together, transferred in together, and the growth that this dude has shown makes me happy,” Klesmit said. “He’s really grown as a leader for this team. It makes me really happy that this young man has become a grown man, it’s awesome. It’s what you dream of as a teammate and as a friend.”

Klesmit’s sentiment rings true throughout the program, as No.18 Wisconsin (15-3, 5-2 Big Ten) has seen McGee develop into one of the best reserves in the conference.

Entering tonight’s game against UCLA (12-6, 3-4) at Pawley Pavilion, McGee is doing everything for the Badgers. He has elevated his scoring from last season (2.1 to 7.3) and has the best assist-to-turnover ratio on the roster (3.27, 36 assists to 11 turnovers). More eye-popping is his shooting numbers.

The Badgers are 18 games into the season and McGee is still shooting at 54.0 percent from the field, including 56.4 percent from 3-point range (22-39). That latter number ranks third nationally. Those shots aren’t throwaway makes either.

After USC cut Wisconsin’s 15-point lead down to three in the second half, McGee delivered a fast-break layup. After Wesley Yates’s jumper tried to stall the momentum, McGee answered with a corner three-pointer, pushing the run to 13-5 and effectively ending the Trojans’ comeback changes.

“I feel like every time I shoot the ball it’s going on,” said McGee, who finished with 10 points against USC, improving UW’s record to 6-0 when he reaches double figures. “Even when it looks a little off, it still finds its way in there. I just keep trusting that. Honestly, I just hold my follow-through each game. That’s what I tell myself going into each game … It feels good every time it comes off my hand.”

It’s a mindset that wasn’t routinely present in past years. McGee believed his offseason workouts put him on par with every point guard in the country, but his mental work was off. He couldn’t put his finger on as to why, only that his eligibility clock was running out.

“I was putting all the work in as any other point guard in the league, in the conference, in college basketball,” McGee said. “It was just a mindset thing. The strong-minded guys make it far.”

“In all my workouts, at the end of each workout, I made sure I was shooting a lot of jump shots until my arms were hurting, until I made sure I built that confidence in me. These guys, my teammates, and my coaches, they keep instilling that confidence, and I feel like a good shooter because of the reps and all the stuff I’ve been getting done.”

Not only has the perimeter shooting been there, McGee is doing things he hasn’t done since he was a freshman at Green Bay, scoring off the dribble and shooting step-back jumpers. It’s always been in his arsenal, but the only difference is that he hasn’t felt the need to do it with Wisconsin since he’s surrounded by more scorers than he was three years ago.

The shooters are still there for the badgers, only now he knows he’s one of them.

“He’s continued to work on his game, work on his craft,” head coach Greg Gard said. “You never are too old to get better and he’s continued to get better as a senior. He’s taken really good shots, too. I think he understands the speed of the game, how he needs to play, all those things, and we’re the benefit of his upper trajectory.”