S2N?

[MU82]

Sam-McDermott comparisons:

Not bad. I see it. Still, by the time he was a soph, McDermott was unquestionably The Man at Creighton and won his first of 3 straight MVC POY awards (national POY as senior). Sam might never be The Man at Marquette. But sure, their games are similar. I'd take it!

Sam-JFB comparison:

C'mon. Yes, Pondexter beat him on that one play, but Jimmy was a damn good defender as a junior and an elite defender as a senior. Even a pretty darn good defender as a soph, when he'd sub in for Burke as an undersized center.

<<That Eastern Illinois game, and to a lesser extent NIU, had awful upset written all over it, but Sam single-handedly willed us to OT.  Buzz's teams when I was at MU would have surely lost that kind of game (UW-GB), but with Sam (and certainly Markus too) you know you're not gonna suffer those bad losses.>>

Well, I remember Jimmy hitting several buzzer-beaters for Buzzard, so I'm not sure what you're thinking here. Vander did, too. Throw in Jae, DJO, Wes - hell, even Junior! - and Buzz had some pretty good clutch players.

We can only dream that Sam will be as good as Jimmy.

[brewcity77]

I made the Sam/McDermott comparisons before Sam started his freshman year. Put Sam on a team that needed the kind of usage McDermott had at Creighton and I think Hauser would already be in the All-American discussions.

Sam currently has a higher Offensive Rating, eFG%, 3PFG%, FT%, Assist Rate, Block Percentage, Steal Percentage, and lower turnover rate than McDermott had as a sophomore when he was named First Team All-American. McDermott was a better rebounder and had a better 2PFG% with a rough usage increase of 50%. Marquette also played a tougher non-con schedule than McDermott did that year.

So is it unthinkable that Sam could increase his scoring from 15.2 to 22.9 ppg on a team where he was the unquestioned go-to guy? He would likely be better at every statistical category except maybe rebounds, though I'm not sure he wouldn't increase his rebounding significantly if he were on a team where he was the backup center and spent the entire season at the 4/5 in a mid-major league.

[avid1010]

No matter what Sam does...he will never be a Jimmy Butler...physically impossible. 

[Newsdreams]

I believe Sam will make the NBA. He is not our main offensive weapon and he ends up being a top scorer, he is guarding 4’s, 5’s, getting rebounds, what is not to like from an NBA perspective. Novak? He is light years better, Novak never was down low getting rebounds, Sam check, Novak mixing it up with a 5 ? Nope, Sam check. Yes Sam has does get in foul trouble sometimes but he is asked to do a lot on D when defending below the rim. I do think he stays with his brother they could have a chance at a final 4 by Sam’s senior year.

[Jockey]

Totally agree with everyone pointing out that Hauser's shooting ability vs Dekker's athletic, off the dribble ability probably reduce the value of the comp.  Probably a little lazy on my part in the mold that pftcommenter usually makes fun of, to be honest :/  For what little its worth, I just pulled the height/weights off the first google search results that came up and they had Hauser at 6'8" and Dekker at 6'7". 

I'd definitely rather start from having Hauser's range and having to develop the explosiveness for today's NBA, so that's a major plus for (our) Sam.

Dekker is 6' 7 3/4" - 6'9" in shoes.

We'll see where Hauser is in a couple years - my guess is probably 6'7 1/2" in shoes.

There is no way that Hauser is taller than Dekker, but we won't have the real numbers on SH until the pre-draft camp in a couple years.

[jaybird]

Wisconsin Sams:  Okey, Decker, Hauser.  Okey was probably the highest rated out of HS, Hauser the lowest but may have the longest and best career.  So much for ratings.  Every time I watch Hauser kill it I get a warm fuzzy feeling knowing that Badger fans are burping bile.  Bo put Sam on hold, letting Wojo get him.  Then we get Joey, then perhaps Herro de-committing from UW.  We are trending up, UW down, and so much of that perhaps to one player.  Merry Christmas!

[wadesworld]

Wisconsin Sams:  Okey, Decker, Hauser.  Okey was probably the highest rated out of HS, Hauser the lowest but may have the longest and best career.  So much for ratings.  Every time I watch Hauser kill it I get a warm fuzzy feeling knowing that Badger fans are burping bile.  Bo put Sam on hold, letting Wojo get him.  Then we get Joey, then perhaps Herro de-committing from UW.  We are trending up, UW down, and so much of that perhaps to one player.  Merry Christmas!

And the treatment of Herro after decommitting could wind up affecting the recruitments of in state kids like Jalen Johnson and Nobal Days for Becky, too. The gift that keeps on giving.

[MU82]

Is it common knowledge that if F%cky wanted Sam, he would have gone there?

[jaybird]

Don't know the deal other than Badger boards that Bo was warm on Sam, had one schollie to fill and needed a PG (Trice??), asked Sam to wait and Wojo swooped in.  All I know is that Sam, Joey, and Tyler would look really good in Cardinal and White and they all look great in blue. 

[Otule's Glass Eye]

First player I thought of when comparing Sam Hauser to another player was Gordon Hayward at Butler. Hayward is around the same size as Hauser at 6’8 and 225 but like Sam he was a skinny kid who bulked up and took off. He and Sam have very similar sophomore year stats and like Hayward he can absolutely take over a game. Hayward was/is more athletic than Sam but Sam is a better shooter from outside and free throws. I think Hayward and Sam are more similar than Dekker and Sam.

[Mr. Sand-Knit]

Pat Garrity
Brian Cardinal

[skianth16]

I believe Sam will make the NBA. He is not our main offensive weapon and he ends up being a top scorer, he is guarding 4’s, 5’s, getting rebounds, what is not to like from an NBA perspective. Novak? He is light years better, Novak never was down low getting rebounds, Sam check, Novak mixing it up with a 5 ? Nope, Sam check. Yes Sam has does get in foul trouble sometimes but he is asked to do a lot on D when defending below the rim. I do think he stays with his brother they could have a chance at a final 4 by Sam’s senior year.

I like the optimism, but this just isn't a realistic view of what's actually happening on the floor. Sam is a stud, but he's certainly not "light years" ahead of Novak, who was a solid role player on the final four team. Sam is a good player on a mediocre team and will need to continue his hot streak in conference play to keep this conversation going.

Your final four comment is a nice idea, but come on, we're hoping and praying for a tourney birth this year. Maybe next year we can hope to crack the top 25 a few times. In 2 years, we should be competitive, but the Dukes, UNCs, and Kentucks of the world are still going to be well ahead of us talent wise. Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves here.

[Goose]

Sam is a nice college player and has upside to be a very nice college player. At this point, there is a lot of work to do before he is ready for next level. I think a tad early to talking about him playing in the NBA. I just hope he turns into a very, very nice college player.

[GGGG]

Is it common knowledge that if F%cky wanted Sam, he would have gone there?

Rumors are that the Hausers were big UW fans.  That doesn't mean that Sam wouldn't have chosen Marquette anyway, but telling him to wait certainly made it easier.

[We R Final Four]

All I know is that Sam, Joey, and Tyler would look really good in Cardinal and White and they all look great in blue.

They would have looked absolutely terrible in red and white and I’m thrilled I never have to see it!

[MU82]

Thanks everybody for the info on Sam and F%cky. I didn't know the background.

So ... what's more likely:

S2N or M2N?

[PGsHeroes32]

I like the optimism, but this just isn't a realistic view of what's actually happening on the floor. Sam is a stud, but he's certainly not "light years" ahead of Novak, who was a solid role player on the final four team. Sam is a good player on a mediocre team and will need to continue his hot streak in conference play to keep this conversation going.

Your final four comment is a nice idea, but come on, we're hoping and praying for a tourney birth this year. Maybe next year we can hope to crack the top 25 a few times. In 2 years, we should be competitive, but the Dukes, UNCs, and Kentucks of the world are still going to be well ahead of us talent wise. Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves here.

In 2 years that team absolutely better have final 4 potential.

Markus and Sam as Seniors?

Morrow and Froling as well.

Joey as a Soph

Theo, Greg and Jamal as Juniors.

Bailey as a 22 year old Soph?

We lose Rowsey this year and Heldt next year.

Assuming the core stays, this team better be have potential to get hot for 4 games in March.

Heck, I think next year they should have the potential.

[Newsdreams]

I like the optimism, but this just isn't a realistic view of what's actually happening on the floor. Sam is a stud, but he's certainly not "light years" ahead of Novak, who was a solid role player on the final four team. Sam is a good player on a mediocre team and will need to continue his hot streak in conference play to keep this conversation going.

Your final four comment is a nice idea, but come on, we're hoping and praying for a tourney birth this year. Maybe next year we can hope to crack the top 25 a few times. In 2 years, we should be competitive, but the Dukes, UNCs, and Kentucks of the world are still going to be well ahead of us talent wise. Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves here.

On Novak he was a one dimensional player, excellent as a 3 pt shooter but not much more. Sam is a much more complete player and I can see him making more progress. Final 4 is potential with al the quality players we’ll have if our core stays. It is the team Wojo has been building piece by piece. I think we will be top 15 fringe top 10 within 2 years

[real chili 83]

Novak rebounded a lot his Sr. Year when Crean asked him to.

[4everwarriors]

Who, hey?

[Jay Bee]

McDermott was a high usage guy from day one.

Sam hasn't been yet. Where does his usage go? 13.6% last year.. 19.5% this year.. nice jump, not unexpected.. but I'm not sure I see him getting past 24% at MU...

[Jay Bee]

FWIW... Games this season with over 25% usage for Sam: Zero.

M2N has been over 25% in each of the last 5 games.

[MU82]

In 2 years that team absolutely better have final 4 potential.

Or else what?

What will you do if they don't have "final 4 potential," whatever that means?

[PGsHeroes32]

Or else what?

What will you do if they don't have "final 4 potential," whatever that means?

Did I say would do anything??

unnatural carnal knowledgeing idiot

[MU82]

Did I say would do anything??

unnatural carnal knowledgeing idiot

Name-calling. Lovely.

You said the team "better have final 4 potential." It sounded like an ultimatum to me. I guess I read it wrong.

Happy New Year.