Madison – Like Josh Gasser, his former Wisconsin teammate, Zak Showalter brings one valuable piece of equipment to every practice and every game.
A mouth guard.
"I get popped in the face plenty of times during games and practice," the redshirt junior guard said. "I'm not afraid of anything on the basketball court and I think that is something coach Ryan really appreciates."
UW coach Bo Ryan does appreciate all that the 6-foot-2 guard brings to the team.
"We need Zak on the floor," he said.
Showalter's diverse contributions have been impossible to ignore through nine games, with UW (6-3) set to host UW-Milwaukee (6-3) at 8 p.