NCAA Basketball: Dean Wade vs. Sam Hauser for better player in 2018-19

The case for Sam Hauser

The argument for Hauser over Wade lies in age, projection, and health.

While it took two years for Wade to reach his current elite status, Hauser managed to do it in only one, even as he was fighting for shots with Andrew Rowsey and Markus Howard. With Rowsey gone and Marquette looking to distribute his 20.5 points and 14.1 shots per game elsewhere, expect Hauser’s numbers to make another leap. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Hauser’s stat line shoot up to 18-8-4 this year. Wade could easily climb to those numbers as well, but Hauser currently has more room to grow.

Hauser should also be fully healthy this year, as the Marquette star battled a preseason hip injury throughout the 2017-18 campaign. He averaged 15.1 points on 51.1 percent shooting from beyond the arc in his first 31 games last year; those numbers fell off to 6.5 points and 23.5 percent over the final 4 games once the pain finally reached a breaking point. If a banged-up Hauser could still average 15 points, imagine what a healthy Hauser can do with a bigger offensive role.

Wade also lags behind Hauser as a shooter. The Kansas State forward has a “Chandler Parsons reputation” as a good three-point shooter with poor free throw accuracy, but Hauser is beyond deadly from both areas. He is the only player to shoot at least 47 percent from three and 83 percent from the line (min. 300 and 90 attempts respectively) over the past two seasons. Those numbers might dip a bit with more attempts as a junior, but he is such a smooth shooter that he should still maintain an excellent shooting line.