Senior
point guard Trev Anderson and senior forward Sam Hauser of the WIAA Division 1
State Champion Stevens Point Area Senior High School (SPASH) boys basketball
team were chosen as co-recipients of the 2016 Wisconsin Mr. Basketball Award.

Anderson
and Hauser became the first teammates in state history to be named Mr.
Basketball in the same season, as the award is given to the top boys basketball
player in the state by the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) each
year.

“I’m
sure we’ve talked about that before, that it’d be so neat to win that,” said
Trev Anderson. “For that dream to become a reality, it was really, really
special, and to share it with a guy I’ve been playing basketball with since
second grade, driving out to Louisville, out to Vegas with him and staying in
hotels, the best of buds.

“And
to walk on that Kohl Center court, get announced as Mr. Basketball, it’s a
dream come true,” he said.

“It’s
cool to win it,” said Sam Hauser. “And to win it with your best friend since,
we’ve known each other since we were born, so that makes it that much better.

“People
remember that, and you can tell your kids that and your grandkids that,” he
said. “It’s just something to cherish.”

Since
they broke into the starting lineup as freshmen for the SPASH boys basketball
team, Anderson and Hauser helped the Panthers finish with a 100-6 record over
the last four seasons.

During
that time, SPASH went 47-1 in Wisconsin Valley Conference (WVC) games, and won
four WVC Titles.

“To have Trev and Sam share the
award is quite an honor for our program and for our players,” said SPASH boys
basketball head coach Scott Anderson, Trev’s father and a former All-State selection
at Auburndale High School. “Those two kids have always put the team first, and
they’ve been good pals for a very long time.”

Last
season, the Panthers beat three-time defending State Champion Germantown 67-51
in the 2015 WIAA Division 1 State Championship Game, and then helped lead SPASH
back to the State Tournament last weekend.

Trev
Anderson, a 6-2 point guard who signed to play basketball at the NCAA Division
1 University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, led the Panthers in scoring (25.4 points
per game), assists (4.4), field-goal percentage (63.4 percent), free-throw
percentage (88 percent) and three-point percentage (51.8 percent).

A four-time Player of the Year in
the WVC, he scored more than 2,000 points in his prep career since he scored
his first varsity basket Nov. 20, 2012, against Green Bay East.

A
6-6 forward, Sam Hauser signed to play basketball at NCAA Division 1 Marquette
University next season, and despite battling shin splints all season, the Top
100 national recruit averaged 18.3 points, 9.1 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 3.2
blocks and shot 55 percent from the field, 42 percent from three-point range
and 84.4 percent from the free-throw line.

He
scored more than 1,600 points in his high school career and shared WVC Player
of the Year honors with Trev Anderson the last two seasons.

“Trev and Sam have had unbelievable
careers,” said coach Anderson. “They’ve done it through hard work and have also
done it with class. They play basketball in an unselfish manner and the thing
they’ve done the best is win.

“The younger kids in the community
come to our games and when they come to our camps and clinics, they really look
up to Trev and Sam,” he said. “We’ve never done so many autographed posters and
basketballs as this year.

“Sam and Trev have been excellent
role models for the young kids in our community,” he said.

Last week it was announced that Trev
Anderson and Sam Hauser won the award, as they became just the third duo to
share the honor, along with Keaton Nankivil of Madison Memorial and Scott
Christopherson of La Crosse Aquinas in 2007 and Diamond Stone of Whitefish Bay
Dominican and Henry Ellenson of Rice Lake last season.

“When Scott came down and told me,
I just took a deep breath, kind of sat back and went ‘wow,’” said SPASH boys
basketball assistant coach Dave Hauser, Sam’s father. “I said to Scott, ‘the
best part about that is, they get to be those guys together, forever.’

“Both
guys are deserving,” he said. “They both had awesome careers.”

They were presented with the award
at the State Tournament last weekend, where Trev Anderson finished with 23
points and five assists and Sam Hauser had 14 points, 11 rebounds, five assists
and six blocks in the top-ranked Panthers’ 75-48 win over fourth-ranked
Sheboygan North in the WIAA Division 1 State Semifinals Friday, March 18.

That sent the team to the State
Championship Game, where Sam Hauser finished with 23 points and eight rebounds
and Trev Anderson had 20 points and four assists in an 89-64 win over
seventh-ranked Muskego that gave SPASH its second consecutive State Title.

After
the win, Sam shared a hug on the court with his father and brother Joey, a
sophomore and fellow starting forward for the Panthers.

“That’s
something I’m sure very few people have gotten to experience,” said Sam Hauser
of winning two State Titles with his brother and his dad. “Playing with my
brother for these last two years, it’s something really special, and I know
he’s got big things ahead and we’ve got to pass it down to him now.

“And
finally getting my dad on the staff last year, it was awesome, because I’ve
always wanted him to coach me in high school and be a part of it,” he said. “And
the bond that we share together, at the house and the gym, it’s just awesome.”

“I
coached my daughter (Nicki) to some Conference Championship teams and that was
an awesome thing, and this with Sam and Joe is awesome,” said Dave Hauser, who
was the SPASH girls basketball head coach before he joined the coaching staff
for the boys basketball team last season. “When you can sit down and think
about what you experienced with your son or your daughter, coaching them, and
the highs and the lows, those are just things that you will never get to put a
price on.

“And
I can’t put a price on this,” he said.

Trev
Anderson said it was a little bittersweet at the end of the State Championship
Game because it meant his high school career was over, and no more playing
basketball for SPASH, in front of the home crowds, or for his father.

“I
know freshman and sophomore year I wanted nothing to do with him,” said Trev
Anderson. “Because he had to set the bar high to get to where we wanted to be
now as seniors, to win State Championships and things of that nature, he had to
jump me from day one, and looking back, I hated it.

“But
looking back, I also wouldn’t be the player I am without it, and I don’t think
we’d be the team without him as our head coach,” he said. “I truly believe he’s
the best coach in the world, he’s just so good at what he does, and it’s just
been an honor.”

“He’s
a competitor, he’s been a great player, and he’s been a real joy,” said coach
Anderson. “(Former University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point men’s basketball head
coach) Jack Bennett described it to me as I was heading into it (coaching a
son), he said, ‘highs are higher, lows are lower, but it’ll be one of the best
experiences of your life.’

“And
it has been,” he said. “I even enjoyed some of those tough things. There were a
lot of neat things and a lot of great experiences with him that we’ll have
forever, and I appreciate that he was able to get through it with me and we
were able to do it together.”