S
DAVID STLUKA
am Dekker is a gym rat, a coach���s kid,
a 6-foot-7, 220-pound forward out of
Sheboygan, Wis.
���My dad has meant everything to what
I���ve become today,������ he said.
Zak Showalter is a gym rat, a coach���s kid, a 6-2,
195-pound guard out of Germantown, Wis.
���I���m the basketball player my dad made,������ he said.
Dekker and Showalter led their high school
teams to state championships as seniors. Both are
now transitioning to life as freshmen in the Wisconsin basketball program.
Dekker and Showalter are roommates in a campus residence hall, a short walk from the Kohl
Center.
But that���s something they rarely do ��� walk ���
when they���re on the court.
���The energy levels are very high for both of
them,������ said UW assistant Lamont Paris.
That extends to shooting free throws.
During a recent practice, Showalter stood on
48 �� VARSITY
D EC E M B E R 6, 2012
the lane line while Dekker shot.
Looking over their shoulder was head coach Bo
Ryan.
Standing next to Showalter was Josh Gasser,
who has been lost for the year with a knee injury.
Retrieving the basketball under the basket was
80-year-old Otto Puls, the team scorekeeper.
You can safely assume that Dekker and Showalter were keeping score on their own.
���We���re pretty competitive,������ Dekker said. ���We
support each other big-time.������
But he added, ���We also want to be successful
(individually).������
Dekker made his free throws and advanced to
the next station.
Gasser handed Showalter his crutches and
swished a free throw off his good leg.
Dekker was still on Showalter���s radar, though.
���I chased him all around the gym,������ he lamented.
���He was always one shot ahead of me.������
Confirming the obvious, he said, ���We���re defi-
