BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer

MADISON, Wis. – After transferring from Green Bay – where he was a 21-game starter and the leading scorer last season as a true freshman – Kamari McGee took only one shot in his four limited playing appearances prior to Saturday's matchup at Marquette.

Getting that first basket in a Badger uniform must have felt like pulling teeth. Take that literally.

"For the last two or three weeks, I've been having a bad toothache," admitted McGee, a sophomore point guard from Racine. "And it has just been affecting everything. I haven't been talking as much as I normally do and I've just been super quiet because I was in so much pain."

Last Friday, he had the tooth pulled. The team practiced in Madison before leaving for Milwaukee and McGee watched the tail-end of it after getting back from the dentist. "My face was all numb," he said. "I could barely talk. My face was super fat, too. Everybody got a good laugh. Me, too."

The following day, McGee had even more to smile about. The Badgers outlasted Marquette, 80-77, in a wildly entertaining overtime game at Fiserv Forum. To his credit, the seldom-used McGee was ready when called upon and had a 3-pointer and a layup in the first half, his first points at Wisconsin.

It wasn't until afterwards when he saw an internet mention on the significance of his triple at 11:57 that it all sunk in. "It actually did mean a lot – seeing that (posted) and realizing, 'Dang, that was my first basket,'" he said. "That made me feel more comfortable… that gave me a lot of confidence.

"After Saturday's game, I feel like I'm getting back into a good groove. It took me a little while but I'm back in good spirits and my energy is back. I just feel good." But he quickly added, "I'm not all about scoring. I know there are a lot of ways that I can affect the game without scoring.

"So, I wasn't worried about scoring. But it did feel good to see the ball go through the hoop."

So much so that he could have done a backflip after the Marquette win. Take that literally.

"I can flip but I haven't flipped in a long time," said the 6-foot, 180-pound McGee. "Growing up, my dad and my uncle taught me how to do flips. That was always my little party trick. It has been awhile. But I definitely could have done a backflip that day. My adrenaline was going. My heart was pumping."

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During Monday's practice, McGee's role on the Wisconsin scout team was to simulate Maryland's Jahmir Young, who had 24 points, including the game-sealing 3-pointer with 14 seconds left in last Friday's 71-66 win over Illinois at the re-energized XFINITY Center in College Park.

"Nice lefty," McGee said. "Me, personally, I always felt lefties were more difficult to guard."

The Badgers will find out first-hand Tuesday night when they open Big Ten play against the unbeaten Terps (8-0) and Young at the Kohl Center. Young, like McGee, is a transfer. He spent his first three seasons at Charlotte where he was a two-time All-Conference USA first-team selection.

After starting 85 games and averaging 16.7 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3 assists, the 6-1 Young declared for the NBA draft but pulled his name before the June deadline. His homecoming has been well-received given that he starred at DeMatha High School, two miles from the Maryland campus.

Young and Michigan's Hunter Dickinson were DeMatha teammates. First-year Maryland coach Kevin Willard, who had a string of Big Dance teams at Seton Hall, has complemented the Terps returning core (Donta Scott, Hakim Hart, Julian Reese) with Young and transfer Don Carey from Georgetown.

"If we can cut the head off the snake," McGee said, "I feel like we'll be in good shape."

Acting out Young's on-court tendencies has been something that McGee has taken seriously.

"When the scout team has good days, I'm really happy because it means we're testing them," he said. "We have to make sure they're on point – and we're on point – so we're ready when Coach calls our number to get into the game. I definitely take pride in making them work on the scout team."

In the process, he has often gone one-on-one with Chucky Hepburn, one of the marquee point guards in the Big Ten. "He's got so many tricks in the game you never know what he's going to come with," McGee said. "I feel like he's made me a better defender than I was coming in.

"And when he's guarding me, it's making me a smarter, better offensive player."

McGee averaged 17 points his final year at Racine St. Catherine's where he teamed up with Tyrese Hunter, now the leading scorer at Texas (after transferring from Iowa State). "My best friend, forever, for life," McGee said. "They're playing well. He's playing well. And he's shooting it well."

McGee and Hunter were catalysts and co-authors of a 43-game winning streak at St. Catherine's in which they won 39 of those games by double-digits. As juniors, they went 25-0 but COVID ended their season prematurely. As seniors, they won the WIAA Division 3 State championship and finished 29-1.

In the finals, St. Catherine's defeated Lake Country Lutheran (whose star, Luke Haertle is redshirting with the Badgers as a walk-on freshman). Hunter was nursing an injury and limited offensively so McGee took charge by scoring 22 of his game-high 26 points in the second half.

A year ago, McGee also had a strong finish at Green Bay. He averaged 17.6 points over his final five games of the season. Twice, he scored over 20 in that span. Looking back, he has no regrets in transferring to the UW even though his playing time has dwindled. He has gone from 29 minutes to 6.

"I wanted to be in a program where I could play at a higher level and just compete and I feel like I made the right move," McGee said. "I'm pretty patient. The way my mind works, I know everybody has their moment, everybody has their time. So maybe it's not my time yet.

"If that's the case, so be it. I'm still going to support my guys … I know my time will come."

Asked about the adjustments that he has been forced to make with the Badgers in transitioning from a mid-major and the Horizon League, he said, "It's more so to the speed of the game and intensity of the game. At the higher level, it's a little bit faster, a little more physical."

At one point during Monday's practice, McGee was scrimmaging with the starters and was guilty of a turnover when he forced a pass inside to Steven Crowl. The idea was good. But they weren't on the same page. Wisconsin coach Greg Gard summarily reminded McGee about the keys. Take that literally.

"He said, 'As a point guard, when you have the ball in your hands, you basically have the keys to the program in your hands,'" McGee related of their short conversation. "He was basically saying, 'Take care of the ball.' You have to make sure you're being smart and responsible with those keys."

McGee didn't need any clarification. He's a quick study – a 4.0 student in high school. As such, he understands what is being asked of him on this team. "It's to come in and give those good minutes, give that spark off the bench, give the energy that we need when anybody needs a break," he said.

"When I'm out of the game, I have to make sure we're still talkative (on the bench). This is my second year (of D-1 basketball), so I know the ropes a little bit. Me and Max (Klesmit, the Wofford transfer) stick together a lot. Being the two transfers, we talk on that leadership role."

Everybody is a leader in their own way, McGee stressed. In this context, he was delighted to get an extended opportunity to lead by example at Marquette. Which he did by making two of three shots, grabbing a couple of rebounds and logging 9 minutes and 55 seconds overall, a season high.

"I've always been a high confidence person," he said. "But early in the season I was kind of struggling with it. But it's going back up. When it's all the way back up… Oh, I can be a dangerous person." Until then, he will cut his teeth as a role player on the scout team. Minus one tooth. Literally.