U's Busch plays with heart and passion

The walk-on worked himself into a key reserve role and, says Tubby Smith, and he gets the most out of his ability

By MYRON P. MEDCALF, mmedcalf@startribune.com

Last update: December 24, 2008 - 1:24 AM

Print this story

Follow Myron on Twitter

More from Gophers

With Louisville storming back in the final two minutes Saturday, a rebound bounced off the rim toward the outstretched arms of Louisville's Samardo Samuels, a highly touted freshman. But Minnesota's Travis Busch, a 6-4 former walk-on, stepped in front of him and grabbed the crucial carom before he was fouled and fell to the court.

Typical Busch, who is frequently found on the floor during a game.

"Everybody makes fun of me for that," Busch said. "They're like counting how many times I'm going to be on the floor during the game. For me, when I'm playing, if I get on the floor, it gets me going. ... That's just how I play. Full speed the whole time."

That scrappiness has helped him break through the depth chart to become one of Minnesota's key reserves this season, averaging 6.1 points and 15.2 minutes. A year ago he was limited to 4.8 minutes a game, in part because of a deep thigh bruise. Busch had one of the best outings of his collegiate career Saturday, scoring 13 points, a career high, in Minnesota's 70-64 upset of Louisville on Saturday in Glendale, Ariz.

The one constant in Busch's game is that he always leaves his heart on the floor. Coach Tubby Smith has taken notice.

"He's always as hard a worker as we have on the team," Smith said after practice Monday, as his team prepared to host Southeastern Louisiana tonight. "He plays with a real passion and aggression that you don't find in a lot of guys. He gets the most out of his ability, and that's what you ask guys to do. He's one of those guys that's going to keep coming at you. He's one of those guys that you hate to play against but you're happy you have him on your team."

Busch often comes off the bench to help spell Ralph Sampson III or Damian Johnson, two of the team's top defenders.

After missing all but four games during his freshman year at Cal Poly because of a foot injury, a homesick Busch decided to transfer to Minnesota, where he didn't have a scholarship offer. He left a Division I program that would have offered him an opportunity for major minutes to pursue his dream of playing for the Gophers that he says he's had since he was 5 years old.

Busch, Minnesota's Mr. Basketball in 2005, said he quickly realized after transferring that his work ethic would be the only way to get him on the floor. But after two games last season, he suffered the thigh injury that kept him out of seven games and affected him for the rest of year.

"It was pretty discouraging," he said. "I got pretty down. But I've got my family around me, and they really held me together and helped me through it."

Busch spent the summer conditioning and preparing to crack an even tougher rotation that features a nationally ranked recruiting class. He said playing with former Minneapolis North and UConn star Khalid El-Amin's team in the Howard Pulley summer league helped.

In preseason practice, he began to assert himself as a defensive stopper against bigger players. An added bonus: He's also shooting 52.4 percent from the floor.

Busch, who earned a scholarship this season, said he's not surprised by his increased playing time -- although he never expected to play power forward -- because he returned to Minnesota with a goal in mind.

"I didn't come home to sit on the bench and not play forever," he said. "So I just had to work as hard as I could to do that. I really didn't expect to be playing the four spot and guarding their big guys, but I'll take it where I can get it."

Recent Gophers stories

Macklin, Parsons each score 20 as Florida beat Mississippi State 69-62 in SEC play - December 24, 2008

Macklin, Parsons each score 20 as Florida beat Mississippi State 69-62 in SEC play - Vernon Macklin and Chandler Parsons each scored 20 points to lead Florida to a 69-62 victory over Mississippi State on Saturday. More