Remember when Sam Hauser scored his team's first 16 points in a state-tournament triumph as the SPASH dynasty was born?
Could the Stevens Point Area High School basketball team that rattled off three straight state championships from 2015-'17 represent the best program the state has seen? If it wasn't, perhaps it was the Panthers' immediate predecessor, Germantown.
The 2015 Division 1 state final at the Kohl Center in Madison marked an interesting torch handoff, when SPASH soundly defeated powerhouse Germantown, which had won the previous three state titles and had established a state-record 69-game winning streak that ended midway through the 2013-14 season. The final: 67-51.
Three members of that SPASH team – Sam Hauser, Joey Hauser and Trevor Anderson – will reunite when the University of Wisconsin and Marquette men's basketball teams meet Saturday at Fiserv Forum, although UW's Anderson is sidelined with a season-ending injury.
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Sam Hauser and Anderson were juniors on the team that knocked off unbeaten Germantown in 2015, with Hauser scoring all 16 of his team's points in the first quarter to help his team take a 16-12 lead. Hauser racked up 25 points and 10 rebounds with five blocks and three steals, and Anderson added his own 25 points on 9 of 13 shooting as the Panthers prevailed.
Hauser made all five of his team's baskets in the first quarter, including four 3-pointers and a pair of free throws.
The same cast led SPASH to an undefeated follow-up season, capped by an 89-64 win over Muskego in the state final. In 2017, with the older Hauser and Anderson graduated, it was Joey Hauser's turn to steer the ship, leading SPASH to an 85-56 win over Arrowhead in the final. Joey was dominant, finishing with 33 points, 21 rebounds and four assists.
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There will be other teams that at least have a case for greatest team in state history. Dominican has five straight WIAA titles and Randolph four, and the old Milwaukee Lincoln teams are stuff of legend, not to mention powerful runs at Madison Memorial, Milwaukee Vincent and Milwaukee King.
But the 2015 battle might serve as one of the more intriguing intersections in state basketball history.