By Mark Miller, WBCA Mr. Basketball Co-Chair
Winning is important to Wisconsin Lutheran senior forward Zavier Zens.
In fact, individual accolades take a back seat for Zens, who earned unanimous support earlier in the week from a committee of the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association and today is named the winner of the prestigious Mr. Basketball award as the top senior boys' basketball player in the state.
Even though team comes first for Zens, a 6-foot-7 forward headed to Northern Iowa to play college basketball, he admits winning this particular award is something very special.
"It's been a goal for a long time," Zens said of being named Mr. Basketball. "But it starts with winning, and winning is very important to me."
That sentiment shines through when examining the team success Wisconsin Lutheran has achieved during Zens' four year of varsity basketball at the Woodland Conference school.
The Vikings went 23-5 and lost to Pewaukee in a sectional final during the 2023-24 campaign as Zens appeared in 18 games but played a limited role for the varsity squad during his freshman season.
He became one of Wisconsin Lutheran's key performers as a sophomore as he averaged 9.8 points per game and helped the Vikings to a 30-0 record and the WIAA Division 2 state championship while playing alongside current Charlotte Hornets star Kon Knueppel, a first cousin who won the Mr. Basketball award in 2024.
And last season, Zens emerged as the go-to player for coach Ryan Walz and the Vikings as he averaged 22.2 points and 6.1 rebounds for a squad that went 28-2 and captured the Division 1 state title.
This season, Zens again is the marquee player for another stellar squad at Wisconsin Lutheran. He is averaging 23.6 points and 5.4 rebounds while leading the Vikings to a 28-0 record heading into this weekend's WIAA State Tournament.
So, in his four seasons, Zens has been on the winning side of 109 contests while tasting defeat just seven times.
"It's crazy to look back at it all," Zens said. "I've been very blessed the last four years to have such great teammates and coaches. I can't believe it's coming to an end."
Speaking of teammates, Zens credits Knueppel with teaching him the finer points of becoming an elite basketball player. Observing Knueppel and being his teammate for his first two seasons definitely helped advance Zens' mental approach to the game.
"He showed me the intensity required to work hard every day," Zens said of Knueppel. "He worked super hard in practice and his attention to detail really rubbed off on me."
Zens leads Wisconsin Lutheran in scoring, assists (4.5 apg) and shooting percentage (61 percent) while ranking second in rebounding, steals and blocked shots. Becoming a supreme passer is an area of growth for Zens this winter and shows how he continues to round out his entire game.
"Zavier's desire to grow and to learn and to get better as a basketball player sets him apart," Walz said. "He has a way of locking in and competing at a very high level as an ultra-competitive player. He practices hard every day, and that rubs off on our other players."
One of the highlights of Zens' season to date was hitting the game-winning three-point basket in a 57-54 victory over North Crawley, Texas, in the championship game of the Beach Ball Classic in Mrytle Beach, South Carolina over the Christmas break. Zens finished that game with 26 points and three assists. He made nine field goals and missed just three while also swishing all four of his foul shots. North Crawley went on to finish its season with a 35-3 record and won the 6A Division 1 state title in Texas.
"We opened the season against Pike out of Indiana and Zavier was outstanding in that game against a really good team," Walz said. "Then he hits the big shot and played exceptionally well against North Crawley. And he had 31 points in our sectional final win over Racine Case. He is a worker on and off the court. He keeps a pretty low profile around school, but he's always wanting to get into the gym to get up shots and work on his game outside of practice time. He's a basketball serious, premier kid in our program and at our school."
The finalists for Mr. Basketball were Zens, Yusef Gray, Jr. of West Allis Central, Amare Hereford of Beloit Memorial, Andrew Jensen of Kaukauna, and Josh Manchester of Mount Horeb.
For a complete list of past Mr. Basketball award winners, please click here.
Travis Wilson serves as the Bound Wisconsin Manager. Wilson was selected as part of the Sports 40 Under 40 list by Coach & AD Magazine and the National High School Athletic Coaches Association for 2019. The Wisconsin Football Coaches Association (WFCA) named Travis the 2015 recipient of the Dave McClain Distinguished Service Award. He currently serves on the WFCA Executive Board and is a member of the Executive Board of the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association. A graduate of Richland Center High School and Mount Mercy College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Travis was a three-sport athlete in high school (football, baseball, basketball), inducted to the Richland Center High School Hall of Fame in 2023, and currently resides in Reedsburg. You can follow him on Twitter at @travisBound or reach him at [email protected].
