LAS VEGAS -- Sam Hauser spent much of his time off the court at the University of Virginia combing through records, reading and calling to interview former athletes at the school. Before Hauser attended UVA, it didn’t have a comprehensive database of initiatives Virginia and other schools took to assist student-athletes.
Hauser built one as part of his degree, working with Dr. Paul C. Harris, a former Virginia professor, to expand the published history of the Black athlete’s experience at UVA. Harris continues to work on a mobile application and other means to help athletes, specifically Black men, with their academic, emotional and career development while in college.
“Wow,” Harris remembered Hauser reporting back to him during the research program. “2020 is really the first time (UVA) had a specific program for that.”
Harris recruited Hauser, now one of the newest Boston Celtics, for the research project after teaching him in a class about counseling student-athletes. He noticed Hauser, although quiet, showcased attention to detail in pursuit of different perspectives. Hauser, as an athlete, connected to Harris’ pursuit of what happens to people who put their whole identity into athletics once the ball goes flat -- Harris’ phrase for when an athlete’s career ends.
Hauser studied youth development and leadership at Virginia. Harris sees him as a confident individual, aware of his purpose, someone who is more than an athlete.
“(Harris) researched a lot about African-American males and programs that help African-American males succeed, so it was a lot of digging into colleges, seeing what they had to offer,” Hauser told BSJ at NBA Summer League. “It was really interesting to see that a lot of universities have things put in place for that, but there's also a lot that don't. So just diving deep into that, learning, because I didn't even know much about the background of that, for me to learn and get a sense of a different perspective in the world.”
Hauser will work on his defense between Boston and Maine, Brad Stevens said earlier this week. It'll be part of becoming the best version of himself, a phrase used often by Stevens and Celtics, which Harris actually used word-for-word to describe Hauser’s approach to life.
“He played alongside many student-athletes of a variety of races and ethnicities," Harris said. "So for him, I think (the research) was just a personal interest of kind of understanding a little bit more of the history of his Black male counterparts that he falls alongside and has for all of his life ... I could see him coaching one day and I'm pretty sure he's expressed some interest in that down the line. So it makes complete sense, because the more you're able to touch base and connect with this research that I'm doing, that he did in this case, I think the better you're going to connect to your players and their families and the things they care about."
Dave and Stephanie Hauser, Sam's parents, rooted his interest in serving others back to his tight-knit community near Green Bay, Wis. They had him on basketball, volleyball and other courts as coaches as his process toward becoming the shooter he flashed as last week at NBA Summer League also began young. Sam mimicked the jump shots he saw watching his father’s team on his nerf hoop as a toddler, telling his mom “me shooty.” Stephanie stood in front of him, puzzled by one of his first sentences.
Dave, Sam’s first coach, worked extensively with him and his younger brother Joey on their jumpers years before Sam grew to 6’8”. The shooting progression they learned established their techniques. Dave, a towering figure himself, quipped that you need to pay for the secret. He stood in the hallway outside of the small Summer League gym before Celtics-76ers, wearing a bright orange UVA shirt, then compromised, noting you’ll see Sam do his routine before games.
“I think it's his ability to catch-and-shoot, and I think it's his ability to move,” said Jason Williford, who coached Hauser at UVA. “We call it catch, square, shoot, where he's moving off of pin-downs and flares … it makes him that much more effective and efficient.”
Hauser scorched in Summer League after going undrafted this summer. He hit 50% of his shots from the field, 46.2% from three and all his free throws to score 9.0 points per game off Boston’s bench. Between the Celtics’ wins over the Magic and 76ers, Hauser knocked down 8-of-12 shots from deep. The ball pops out of his hands at the highest point, above any chance for most opponents to contest. It takes little time to unload. His footwork and movement dazzled the crowd.
Joe Mazzulla, Boston’s summer head coach, pointed out a non-scoring play that didn't receive as much attention by Hauser as one of the most unselfish he had seen in a summer game.
Juhann Begarin grabbed a defensive rebound. Hauser popped out of the paint and led Aaron Nesmith up the right side of the floor in transition. As Orlando tried to set its defense, Hauser burst ahead of Nesmith and pulled the Magic into the paint from the right wing, where Nesmith arrived soon after to catch and shoot a wide open three (seen below at 1:24).
“At times he was too unselfish,” Williford remembered. “We had to beg him to be a little more assertive and 'look for yours a little more' … he's just got a great IQ and feel … we'd screen for him and have him in what we call our circle motion, and he would just fly off screens.”
Hauser had to sit after transferring to UVA from Marquette following the 2018-19 season, where Sam played alongside Joey. Williford watched Sam do whatever the active Cavaliers would need during that redshirt season, whether rebounding for others, setting up drills or playing scout team. Hauser knew his purpose, even without games to look forward to.
Tony Bennett and UVA' coaching staff, in turn, told Hauser to fire away on the scout team from anywhere. They wanted him to get comfortable as an aggressive gunner, while acknowledging ample room for improvement on defense.
The Celtics officially signed Hauser to a two-way contract in Las Vegas after beating the Magic. He had hit 41.7% of his threes with the Cavaliers last season and 43.9% for his college career on 704 tries. Dave pulled in the rest of the family, including Sam’s sister Nicki, a former college volleyball player at Southern Connecticut State, on FaceTime for the signing. Stephenie acknowledged tears spilled on their phones.
Family helped craft Hauser’s elite shooting. It equally inspired his passion to serve and become more immersed in the world around him. His family’s connections led him to volunteer for the Operation Bootstrap emergency assistance organization and with the Salvation Army, while playing high school basketball, golf and football. Joey recalled Sam taking part in last summer's Black Lives Matter protests and other service initiatives while attending UVA. Sam hopes to become active in the Boston community in time.
"There are people out there, whether it be they just got laid off from a job or something, and they're struggling," Joey said of the family's service. "It's just good to kind of put things in perspective, we have a roof over our house ... don't take that stuff for granted. We have a healthy family and we're all doing really well, so those are things that you have to really appreciate and doing stuff like that can make you appreciate who your family is and your house that you have ... the clothes on your back ... it can be eye-opening for you."
Joey, now at Michigan State, also remembered how easy it was to play with Sam, a willing passer who also always stood ready to unload a shot. He dreaded separating when they transferred from Marquette.
Stephenie recalled a high school game where Sam scored two points against a top opponent, undeterred because he impacted the game in other ways and his team won. She also believes he’ll coach one day, which Harris also sensed.
He would talk to Hauser at UVA aside from their research. Hauser vented about the challenges of COVID-19 during the season when the Cavaliers got knocked out of the ACC Tournament following a positive test on the team. Harris sensed Hauser wanted to achieve the self-fulfillment their project aimed to provide other athletes. He saw Hauser working on himself as much as his basketball game, preparing for life beyond his 30s. Being multidimensional in that way, Harris said, can allow athletes to minimize the pressure they place on themselves on the court.
"He brings a certain steadiness I would imagine, to a team," Harris said. "A certain kind of grounding, or almost like an anchoring person that you'd want in the locker room and around the guys ... we've had others, like Malcolm Brogdon was one, who's obviously doing really well in the league now ... I'm impressed, because of how relentlessly they pursue their athletic craft, but it's not to the detriment of these other endeavors. That's super difficult."
Extensions galore in Boston
The Celtics extended Marcus Smart and Robert Williams III this week in deals that will secure two likely starters going forward for Boston, and expand Boston's core of medium-sized salaries crucial to making trades work under the NBA salary cap. Smart and Williams' previous salaries, combined with most of their teammates, provided little matching ability toward potential deals for stars like Bradley Beal. Smart will make $77 million beginning with $17.2 million in the 2022-23 season, with the extension running through 2026.
The moves eliminate the chance to clear significant cap space for next summer, so the team's insistence on flexibility likely meant to make trades. Boston also announced it acquired a $17.1 million trade exception from the Knicks for Evan Fournier to pair with the nearly $10-million Tristan Thompson TPE.
Williams' deal guarantees him $54-million, starting with $12.1-million in 2023. That projects him to rank 21st among NBA centers in salary, just behind Kelly Olynyk that year. This move marks a slight departure for Stevens from Danny Ainge, who typically avoided rookie-scale extensions and took his players to restricted free agency, where Williams would've gone next summer. Ainge only extended Rajon Rondo, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum in the last year of their rookie deals. This extension makes Williams difficult to trade during the 2021-22 season, due to the poison pill provision.
“There’s nowhere else I’d rather play and no other fans I’d rather play in front of," Smart said in the team's announcement of the deal. "I love Boston, and Boston loves me,” said Smart. “We’ve had some great moments and success in my time here, but there’s more to accomplish."
NBA schedule released
The league slowly leaked and released bits and pieces before the full slate of games became available on Friday. The season begins on Oct. 19 with the Nets visiting the Bucks on ring night in Milwaukee, before the Warriors and Lakers play a rematch of last year's western conference play-in tournament game. The latter will mark the debut of Russell Westbrook.
Boston plays seven of its first 10 games on the road, beginning with Kemba Walker and Fournier debuting for the Knicks in New York on Oct. 20. The Celtics' home opener is two days later against the Raptors, who plan to return to Toronto this season after playing home games last year in Tampa. Boston is also part of the league's Christmas Day slate, at 2:30 EST in Milwaukee. Hawks-Knicks, Warriors-Suns, Nets-Lakers and Mavericks-Jazz round out that afternoon.
Big games flood TD Garden early and often. Joel Embiid and the 76ers come on Dec. 1. Steph Curry and the Warriors travel east on Dec. 17, followed by Walker's return to Boston the next day. Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks visit Boston on Dec. 20, then Gordon Hayward potentially makes his return to the Garden on Feb. 2. The Nets cap a four-game homestand for the Celtics on Mar. 6.
Elsewhere, Kyle Lowry returns to Toronto on Feb. 3. The Bucks and Suns meet for the first time since the NBA Finals on Feb. 10 in Phoenix.
Kemba and Fournier introduced
The Knicks held a press conference on Tuesday for former Celtics, Walker and Fournier. Boston traded Walker to Oklahoma City in June, before the Thunder bought him out and allowed him to sign a two-year, $18-million deal with his hometown team. Fournier signed a four-year, $78-million contract in New York, with a fourth-year team option. Stevens said later in the week that the Celtics and Fournier shared their respective numbers early in free agency, then went separate ways.
New York will now fixate on the lingering knee ailment that plagued Walker's final year in Boston. A doctor assessed Walker's dicey status going forward, possible knee cartilage deterioration, which Walker continued to downplay in his introduction.
“I was feeling pretty good (last year)," Walker said. "I just had a little hiccup in the playoffs, which sucked. Obviously, nobody likes to be injured, especially in that moment. But I felt pretty good all year."
Walker remained cordial toward the Celtics, but noted the Knicks believed in him. Kemba pointed toward Tom Thibodeau, the Knicks' head coach notorious for pushing his players extended minutes and emphasizing defense, when asked if New York will hold Walker out of back-to-backs like Boston did last season.
"He's playing," Thibodeau mouthed back, as most of the room in attendance burst into laughter.