By Jacob Heid

STEVENS POINT — Former SPASH basketball standout Sam Hauser came back to his hometown of Stevens Point on July 25-26 to host his first-ever basketball camp. The now Boston Celtic had the two-day camp at his old stomping grounds, Stevens Point Area Senior High. The event welcomed kids and teenagers from fifth to twelfth grade to attend via registration. Hauser loved the opportunity and reiterated that he wanted to do the camp for the community.

“It’s cool. Anything I can do to give back to the school I went to and grew up in this city,” Hauser said. “Overall, I am excited to be back and give back.”

Besides Hauser, some familiar faces helped out throughout the camp. Sam’s brother Joey (Michigan State) and Trevor Anderson (Valparaiso), two SPASH alums, helped out as did former UWSP basketball players Nate Dodge and Drew Fredrickson. The Hauser brothers and Trevor Anderson made many memories in the gym they stepped into this week. Joey Hauser also talked about what it was like being able to help his brother and reunite with friends.

“It was fun for him to set this up for us, it’s really fun to have the group of guys that we have here,” he said. “It’s good for us to get back together and share what we learned and help out some of the kids, whether they’re from the community or not.”

The coaches put together a camp that would help with the fundamentals of basketball, all while having fun. The days were split into two sessions, one working on ball handling and the other working on offensive and defensive skills, killing two birds with one stone.

“It’s just good seeing the kids in the gym, willing to work, just going hard and having fun. That’s all I’m here for.” Hauser (Sam) stated.

Hauser talked highly about how basketball at SPASH helped him grow as a player outside of high school.

“One thing I learned is just you have to show up every day and give it your all in order to get better,” he said. “I think coach Anderson did a good job of instilling that in us throughout high school and through the Point hoops club. You have to put in the work in order to get the results.”

Both Hausers had wise words for the high school kids that attended the camp this past week. They talked about enjoying what you have in the four years you are in high school.

“Have as much fun with basketball as you can. Enjoy your high school basketball experience because it’s truly one of the best times of your life,” Sam explained. “We (Joey) both have some of the best memories from SPASH in our basketball career.”

Joey ended by saying to have fun in the moment and play multiple sports because of the life skills you’ll learn and the friends you will make.

If you want to see more of Sam in the future, he recently signed a three-year contract with a Boston Celtics team that just made the NBA Finals this past season.