played for Ryan at UW-Platteville.
Last season, Steve Showalter coached Germantown to 28-0 record.
���My dad has had a tremendous influence on me,������
Zak Showalter said. ���He has worked on every aspect of my game. Everything I am is a reflection of
what he���s instilled in me.
���But we kind of had a rule. After practice every
day, once we got in the car, he turned into a dad
and not a coach. At home, mom wouldn���t let us talk
about basketball.
���We���d watch film. But at dinner, we had to talk
about other stuff in life. It helped to separate the
two (worlds). Especially when we���d butt heads
some days, we���d leave it in the gym.������
Dekker grew up the same way. Todd Dekker
coached at Sheboygan Lutheran.
���There wasn���t a time when he forced me or pressured me to do anything,������ Sam Dekker said. ���He���d
come home from work and he���d say, ���I���m open for
the night. We can go to the gym if you want.���
���We���ll be on the phone now and he���ll ask, ���Can I
be a coach? Or can I be a dad?��� I usually ask him to
be a coach. It���s good to hear a dad���s side of things.
But you���ve also got to hear it from wiser eyes.������
Wise beyond their years, Dekker and Showalter
will get their first taste of the Wisconsin-Marquette
rivalry late Saturday afternoon in Milwaukee.
Showalter remembered watching his dad play
for Marathon Oil in an exhibition game against
the Golden Eagles and Dwyane Wade. Dekker has
been around friends who were Marquette fans.
Beyond that, their earliest recollection of the
series was when Gasser was a freshman and he
forced a key turnover on Dwight Buycks and the
Badgers held on for a 69-64 win at the Bradley
Center in 2010.
���That���s when it hit me, ���Hey, I���m going to be in
this situation in a few years,��������� Dekker said. ���That
was the first big game I watched and I was thinking, ���That���s going to be me out there pretty soon.���������
Their time has arrived.
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