Port Washington's Gasser gives verbal commitment to attend Wisconsin
posted by Mark Miller at 9/24/2009
By Mark Miller
Wishoops.net Editor Josh Gasser of Port Washington will be headed to the University of Wisconsin to play collegiate basketball for coach Bo Ryan and the Badgers.
The 6-foot-4 Gasser accepted the Badgers’ scholarship offer Thursday, selecting Wisconsin over Northwestern and Northern Iowa, among others.
“I have committed to Wisconsin,” Gasser said. “I just felt good about it right away. I want to play in front of my family and friends. It was the right fit for me. I want to be a part of a program that wins and Wisconsin does a lot of winning.”
Though both Northwestern and Northern Iowa recruited Gasser for a longer period of time, the combination guard felt a strong connection with the UW program.
“It came down to the relationships I’ve built with the Wisconsin coaches, the style of play and how well I get along with the players in the program,” Gasser said. “I’ve always been excited about the Badgers. The decision was very tough because I like the other schools, too. But I am very happy to be a Badger.”
Gasser becomes the second member of the Badgers’ 2010 recruiting class, joining 6-11 Evan Anderson of Eau Claire North. Wisconsin has one more scholarship to award and is targeting 6-4 guard Vander Blue, the state's top-ranked senior from Madison Memorial. Blue had given Wisconsin a verbal commitment in the spring of 2008 before re-opening his recruitment last May. He has narrowed his choice to Arizona, Florida, Marquette, UCLA and Wisconsin.
Gasser was originally invited to join the Wisconsin program as a walkon. He was later offered a four-for-five deal, meaning he would walkon as a freshman and then be on scholarship the next four years.
Last week, Wisconsin took away the four-for-five provision and offered Gasser a full scholarship, just days after Diamond Taylor, a freshman from Chicago on scholarship, withdrew from school after being charged with burglary.
“The full offer made it more complete,” Gasser said. “It just basically came down to whether I wanted to go to Wisconsin or go to another school. Being a Badger is what I wanted.”
A four-year varsity player who is currently ranked No. 3 among state seniors by Wishoops.net, Gasser shared Player of the Year honors in the North Shore Conference as a junior with Ben Averkamp of Germantown and Jimmy Sherburne of Whitefish Bay. Averkamp is now playing at Loyola University in Chicago while Sherburne is playing at Princeton University.
Gasser averaged 21 points and just over 10 rebounds per game as a junior for a Port Washington squad that went 16-6.
In addition to Gasser, the Pirates return senior Cory Steinmetz and senior Shane Kennedy to their starting rotation along with key reserves Zach Schultz and Sawyer Moseley. Needless to say, expectations are running high in Port Washington for a strong 2009-10 season.
“I’m excited for Josh and his family,” Port Washington coach John Buynan said. “It’s great to have the chance to watch him play in the state for the next four or five years.
“It’s a really good time to be associated with Port Washington basketball. Our expectations are very high for this season. It’s great for our program to have Josh committed to Wisconsin. Our young kids in our community are excited about playing basketball. The atmosphere around school is outstanding.”
Gasser is the ninth player from Wisconsin in the class of 2010 to verbally commit to a NCAA Division I school. He joins Eau Claire North's Anderson (Wisconsin), Sussex Hamilton's Kameron Cerroni (UW-Green Bay), Randolph's Kyle Kelm (UW-Milwaukee), Cuba City's Evan Richard (UW-Milwaukee), Brookfield Academy's Troy Huff (North Dakota), Arrowhead's Ben Mills (Boise State), Catholic Memorial's T.J. Bray (Princeton) and Cedarburg's Chip Rank (Northern Iowa).
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