Sam Hauser played varsity basketball all four seasons at Stevens Point Area High School (Stevens Point, WI) before moving on to Marquette University, where he played in 97 of 101 games in three seasons. Following his junior season with the Golden Eagles, a season in which he averaged 14.9 points and 7.2 rebounds per game on his way to earning All Big East Second-Team honors, Hauser made the decision to transfer.

Transferring brought the 6’8”, 225-pound Hauser to Charlottesville and the University of Virginia, but because of Division 1 transfer rules he was forced to redshirt this past season. Sitting on the sidelines is not something the Wisconsin native was used to on the high school or college levels, so it was an adjustment.

“I haven’t had a year when I haven’t been able to play the game, so this is definitely a different experience, in a lot of ways,” Hauser said. “I’ve got aspirations to be a coach one day, so I kind of see it as me trying to be a little bit of a player/coach sometimes, to help out when needed. Just getting a different angle of things and kind of getting a feel for it from a different perspective is pretty good.”

Hauser provided his view from the sidelines of this year’s Cavalier squad, discussed what we can expect to see from him next season, and more in an interview with The Sabre.com during Virginia basketball’s March 9 media opportunity. He is the latest subject of our “Checking In” series, which also includes conversations with true freshmen Kadin Shedrick (click here) and Justin McKoy (click here).

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