MADISON, Wis. — Zak Showalter was so adamant about playing college basketball for the University of Wisconsin that he turned down nearly 20 scholarship offers from other programs to walk on for the Badgers.
Turns out, a scholarship offer from Wisconsin landed in his lap anyway.
Showalter, a 6-foot-2, 180-pound guard from Germantown, Wis., confirmed the offer Tuesday on his Twitter account: "Been working for this all my life! Hard work really does pay off. Thanking God for this opportunity to play for the #Badgers for FREE!"
The Badgers found themselves with an additional scholarship after forward Jarrod Uthoff decided to transfer from the program. Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan reportedly offered that scholarship to Showalter on Tuesday. Uthoff announced last week he was transferring to Iowa.
Showalter led Germantown High School to a WIAA Division I state title in March, capping a 28-0 season. He averaged 22.4 points, 5.5 assists and 4.0 rebounds per game for Germantown and is the school’s all-time leading scorer. He also played for his father, Steve Showalter, who played for Ryan at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville from 1985-89.
Zak Showalter and Sam Dekker, the state player of the year from Sheboygan Lutheran Area High School, are the only scholarship players in the class of 2012 for the Badgers.
Showalter’s scholarship offers out of high school came from UW-Green Bay, UW-Milwaukee, Dayton and Missouri State, among others.
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