4-Star PF Joey Hauser Announces Commitment to Marquette over Wisconsin

Joey Hauser, one of the top post players in the 2018 recruiting class, announced Sunday he's planning to play college basketball at Marquette.

The forward made his decision on his Twitter account:

His brother, Sam, also plays for Marquette, although head coach Steve Wojciechowski has clearly made Joey a priority lately, per Mark Miller of WisSports.net:

Hauser is graded as a 4-star prospect and the No. 18 overall player in the 2018 class, according to the Scout.com rankings. He's also listed as the seventh-best power forward among the group and the top player at the position from the state of Wisconsin.

The 6'8", 210-pound power forward, who rose to prominence at Stevens Point Area High School, possesses a well-rounded skill set. He's capable of creating offense in the paint or stepping outside the arc to knock down jumpers in the stretch 4 role.

He's also an efficient rebounder, using his length to clean up the glass against more physically imposing opponents, and PrepScouting discussed his distribution ability:

Interest in Hauser steadily increased over the past couple of years, and he told Scott A. Williams of the Stevens Point Journal seeing coaches from programs like Duke, North Carolina and Kentucky made for quite the recruiting experience.

"It's exciting to see all the coaches there and you get a little nervous, and you kind of get a little pumped up, but you just have to play your game," Hauser said. "They're not looking for you to score 30 points. They know you can play. They want to see if you're a good teammate and in control out there."

He must still add a considerable amount of strength to his frame, though not as much as if he were a traditional post player compared to the modern all-around power forwards. Otherwise, all the tools are there for him to become a collegiate star and potentially a high NBA draft pick.

All told, Hauser is far from a finished product, but his incremental improvement has made him a top prospect and a key addition for Wojciechowski and the Golden Eagles. He should make an instant impact early in his freshman season.

The intriguing part will be seeing how his role changes during the course of the year. It wouldn't be a surprise to see him start the campaign as a pass-first player for Marquette before developing into a more impactful scoring asset when NCAA tournament time rolls around.