Hauser brothers announce transfer decision, pick different schools
Portage County Gazette
By John Kemmeter
After deciding to transfer from the Marquette University men’s basketball team earlier this spring, former Stevens Point Area Senior High School (SPASH) standouts Sam and Joey Hauser announced Tuesday, May 28, where they are headed.
A 6-8 junior guard/forward for Marquette last season, Sam will play for the reigning NCAA Division 1 National Champion University of Virginia men’s basketball team.
Joey, a 6-9 redshirt freshman forward for Marquette last season, will transfer to NCAA Division 1 Michigan State University, which also reached the Final Four last season.
“I’d like to thank Coach Bennett and his staff for this unbelievable opportunity,” Sam wrote on Twitter May 28. “Excited to announce that I have committed to the University of Virginia!
“Again, thank you to Marquette University for helping me represent them in a positive way the past 3 years,” he wrote. “I can’t wait to finish my college career in Charlottesville!”
“Proud to announce that I have committed to Michigan State University!” Joey wrote on Twitter May 28. “Thank you to Coach Izzo and his staff for this opportunity.
“Once again, thank you to Marquette University for allowing me to represent them this past season,” he wrote. “I can’t wait to take this next step in my college career!”
The Hauser brothers announced April 15 that they would be leaving the Marquette men’s basketball program and transfer from the school at the end of the semester.
Sam won back-to-back WIAA Division 1 State Titles as a junior and senior at SPASH, as Joey started alongside his brother as a freshman and sophomore on those teams, before Joey led the Panthers to their third consecutive State Title as a junior in 2016-17.
Joey missed all but one game of his senior year at SPASH and decided to graduate early and spent the second semester at Marquette while he redshirted, and then joined Sam in the starting lineup last season as a redshirt freshman.
Sam averaged 8.8 points and 5.0 rebounds per game for Marquette as a freshman in 2016-17, then averaged 14.1 points and 5.7 rebounds per game and shot 48.7 percent on three-pointers as a sophomore in 2017-18.
Last season, Sam was a Second Team All-BIG EAST selection after he finished second on Marquette with 14.8 points per game and led the team with 7.1 rebounds, while he led the conference in free-throw percentage (91.9 percent).
Joey was named to the BIG EAST All-Freshman Team last season after he led the conference in three-point percentage (44.3 percent), and was third on Marquette in scoring (9.8 points per game), and second in rebounds (5.3 per game) and assists (2.5 per game).
Marquette started the season 23-4 and was ranked ninth in the nation in the Coaches Poll and 10th in the Associated Press (AP) Top 25 Feb. 23, before the Golden Eagles lost six of their last seven games, which was capped with an 83-64 defeat to 12th-seeded Murray State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Both Hauser brothers will have to sit out next season per NCAA transfer rules, and after announcing they were leaving Marquette, took visits to Virginia, Michigan State and the University of Wisconsin, where their close friend and former SPASH teammate Trevor Anderson was a redshirt sophomore for the Badgers last season.
The brothers were expected to transfer to the same school, but Sam ultimately chose Virginia, which won 85-77 in overtime over Texas Tech in the National Championship Game April 8 to finish 35-3.
Virginia offered Sam a scholarship when he was a junior at SPASH, while Virginia head coach Tony Bennett grew up in Stevens Point when his dad was the head coach of the men’s basketball team at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (UWSP) from 1976 to 1985, and Virginia assistant coach Brad Soderberg is a former Pacelli High School and UWSP standout.
Joey decided to transfer to Michigan State, which also offered him a scholarship when he was at SPASH, and finished 32-7 last season after it lost to Texas Tech in the Final Four.
“We’re very excited to add Joey Hauser to our roster and welcome him to the Spartan family,” Michigan State men’s basketball head coach Tom Izzo said in a statement May 28. “Joey is a kid we recruited out of high school and we were very familiar with him and he knew us.
“We believe in him as a person and really love what he brings to the table as a player,” he said. “He’s a hard-working player who is versatile, has a high basketball IQ and is a winner. We think he’ll be a great addition for our program.”