The Wisconsin men’s basketball team is practicing for their Big Ten matchup with Ohio State on the Kohl Center floor. As it usually goes, it’s the starters vs. the scout team as they run sets over and over again until head coach Greg Gard is satisfied.

One Badger player lines from behind the arc and hits three consecutive three-pointers on three consecutive possessions. Perfect form, perfect stroke and the ball hits nothing but net.

Gard still does not look pleased, however, because his starters were on defense, unable to stop the perimeter onslaught.

The player on fire from downtown was Jordan Smith, the former walk-on and only senior on this youthful Wisconsin team.

But despite the sharpshooter’s smooth stroke and senior status, he had not seen meaningful minutes in his college basketball career entering his final season on the team.

That all changed Jan. 21 when the team took a trip to Penn State, and Smith saw the court in the middle of the second half. And while it may have been a big deal for some, for Smith, it was just another day on the job.

“There are some emotions,” Smith said. “You’re obviously happy that you get an opportunity, but at the same time, it’s just like any other day. You are going in, trying to help the team in whatever way you can.”

In his final year as a Badger, Smith is enjoying the moment and leaving everything out on the court, but he is also using his leadership role to better the young players on this rebuilding UW squad.

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Smith started at Orono High School in Minnesota, where he ended his career as the leading scorer in school history after scoring 2,518 points — which was also good for the 12th highest mark in Minnesota boys high school history. He also finished as one of the top three-point shooters in Minnesota preps history, making 47 percent of his shots from behind the arc.

But despite Smith’s productive high school career and marksmanship from outside, he never found his niche in a Wisconsin program that has had plenty of talented guards over the past five years, from Jordan Taylor to Josh Gasser.

Smith never got discouraged, though. He remained confident in his abilities, and when he entered the game against Penn State he was not phased.

“I think it’s been in the works for a while,” Smith said. “Working with the first team, trying to get reps, trying to get a feel for everything. I think I could feel that it was coming eventually.”

But for Smith, it is about more than just seeing the court. As the lone senior on the team he tries to do everything he can to help the guys who are seeing the floor more regularly.

He is using his experiences over the past five years to teach his teammates everything he has learned, lessons both on or off the court.

“I can take what I’ve learned form everybody in the past and hopefully teach these young guys that they have an accelerated role and that hasn’t happened in the past year,” Smith said. “I think that having someone who has been through all that is really beneficial.

“Sometimes people come in and they don’t realize all of the resources they have around them, whether it’s the academic resources that we have that I didn’t take advantage of when I was younger or any other facilities we have here.”

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And Smith’s teammates appreciate his leadership. Redshirt junior guard Zak Showalter said he anticipates taking on Smith’s role of being the old, wise man of the bunch next season, and what he has learned from Smith has been valuable.

Showalter said Smith has stepped comfortably into his role as captain this season, and he and the rest of the scout team have made the team better as the year has gone on.

“They’re playing at the top of their game, and that’s what made us better as a unit,” Showalter said. “They’re practicing so hard, that when it comes to the game, there is no change of speed. They’re making us better and it’s showing.”

In the end, while Smith may continue to hit shot after shot in practice against those on his team seeing the floor more, he understands his role on this team.

He’s a leader first, dead-eye three-point shooter second, and for the redshirt senior, that role isn’t too difficult to take on.

“I’m at least two years older than all these guys, so it’s pretty easy [to be a leader],” Smith said. “They respect things when I say them because they know I’ve been around. I’ve gone through the program and seen the ups and downs.”