ZAK SHOWALTER »» MEN'S BASKETBALL BADGERING...
A native of Germantown, Wis., Zak Showalter ended his prep career by leading Germantown to a perfect 28-0 record and winning the WIAA Division I state title. Showalter, who played under his father at Germantown, averaged 22 points and five assists en route to earning AP first team All-State honors. Now the Badger newcomer looks to make a name for himself on the same floor he ended his high school playing career on.
Your dad, Steve, played for Bo Ryan at UW-Platteville. Did he influence your decision to come to Wisconsin?
"Even though my father played for Coach Ryan at UW-Platteville, my decision was mine alone. He let me do what I wanted to. I could have gone anywhere else if I wanted to, but obviously I wanted to come here. He told me Coach (Ryan) is going to get tough some days. He just said he's (Ryan) a tough coach ― he'll get on you ― just don't let it get to you. You've just got to take what he says, and use that advice to get better every day, and it's helped so far."
Your dad also coached you, how was that relationship?
"The practice before our state semifinal game against Madison Memorial, he yelled at me, and I complained back. He made us run, 30 minutes straight ― up and down, up and down. We were dying. Then he just ended it, yelled at me a little bit more, got on the bus and we went home. That's how it went some days. But it got us ready."
How are you finding the adjustment to college, both on and off the court? "Everything's obviously a lot tougher. In high school, it was tough playing for my dad, but the competition is just on a different level here, and in the classroom. It's a lot more difficult. It's an adjustment ― you've just got to figure it out. I'm figuring it out a little bit now, but at the beginning it was an eye-opener."
How long have you been known for your big dunks?
"I think my first time dunking was in the seventh grade. After a game I was just feeling good, so I grabbed a ball, ran and dunked it on the other hoop after the teams shook hands and everything. It caught me a little by surprise. I played volleyball for two years, so that helped a lot. I didn't really dunk in a game until my junior year of high school. I had 10 dunks my junior year ― just one foot, two hands ― nothing really special. But my senior year, I probably had 50-60 dunks, just on people, some pretty cool ones. That's when it got fun."
30 » VARSITY NOVEMBER 22, 2012
