Germantown Warhawks going for third state basketball championship

GERMANTOWN (WITI) -- Steve Showalter sounds like many high school basketball coach at this time of year -- but make no mistake. He's a singular coach, and his Germantown High School basketball teams have been nothing short of remarkable.

"We're a different team, and it's always hard to compare year in and year out, but we have some speed, we have some good athletes, and we have experience with guys back from last year, so we're hoping good things will happen for us," Showalter said.

Showalter's team has won two straight state championships and are looking for a third -- something that's rare in Wisconsin. As for the winning streak, the team has won 56 in a row -- just seven off the state record.

"We try not to think about that too much. I can't afford to think about that. That's for you guys to talk about. It's not really for me to comment on all that stuff," Showalter said.

Understandable -- but the streak is hard to sweep under the bleachers! So how are Showalter's young men dealing with it?

"I think we don't even really think about the win, so we just go out there and play each game like we're 0-56. We just try to go out there and get the job done," Lamonte Beard said.

"It's something I turn into a positive. I'm not settled with where we're at yet. Still got one more year, so I'm hoping to progress that winning streak and hopefully another state championship," Evan Wesenberg said.

Good point by the big fella. In addition to being seven wins shy of tying Whitefish Bay Dominican's state mark for consecutive victories, Germantown can become just the sixth team in history to win three straight crowns.

"That would mean the world to us. That's what we're hoping for. That's our goal. Gotta take one at a time though, but it would definitely be nice to go out with a bang. That's the best feeling, is getting up in Madison and winning a state championship," Jake Showalter said.

Showalter -- a former star under Coach Bo Ryan when the two were at UW-Platteville has been blessed with homegrown talent. Jake is the second son of Steve and Jill Showalter. The smooth shooter is headed to North Dakota State.

Jake's older brother Zak starred for his father on the first Warhawks state championship team. He's red-shirting for Bo Ryan and the 10th ranked Wisconsin Badgers.

"They were on the bench when they were four, five, six years old and just watching the game with bright eyes and now here they are, and one's gone already, and Jake now is a senior. It's tough on me as a dad, but as a coach, I've been very blessed, as a dad I've been blessed, and we've had great kids here, and it's just been a tremendous joy for me," Showalter said.