It may not be felt immediately, however, this past weekend could go down as a key one in the long-term future of the Marquette Golden Eagles men’s basketball program.
On Sunday, head coach Steve Wojciechowski confirmed the Twitter announcement made by Stevens Point Area Senior High junior Sam Hauser, verbally committing to attend Marquette as the first member of the Class of 2016.
The 6-foot-6, 180-pound Hauser was a WBCA First-Team All-State selection after leading the Panthers to the WIAA Division 1 state title. He averaged 17.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 3.3 assists this past winter.
On Saturday, also via Twitter, guard Andrew Rowsey announced his intentions to transfer into the Golden Eagles program after two years at UNC-Asheville.
Rowsey is coming off a sophomore season where he averaged 19.2 points en route to Second-Team All-Big South honors. Known as a shooter, Rowsey connected on 39% of his total shots, including 38% from beyond the arc and 92% at the free throw line.
His average actually dropped after pouring in 20.3 points a contest during a rookie season that ended with Rowsey being named the conference’s freshman of the year.
At the same time, a report from Chicago Hoops says junior forward Steve Taylor, Jr. will transfer to Toledo for the remainder of his collegiate career. Taylor had averages of 5.9 points and 5.0 rebounds last season, but saw his playing time dip when fellow big man Luke Fischer became eligible midway through.