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The Student News Site of University of Wisconsin-Madison

The Badger Herald

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Offensive, defensive versatility allowing Wisconsin basketball’s Dekker to reach full potential in junior season

Offensive%2C+defensive+versatility+allowing+Wisconsin+basketballs+Dekker+to+reach+full+potential+in+junior+season
Hayley Cleghorn

In the past two seasons, the Wisconsin men’s basketball team could not afford to have now-junior forward Sam Dekker take a night off on offense.

While Wisconsin would rather Dekker not take a backseat scoring-wise, this season, he is finding other ways to contribute and help the fifth-ranked Badgers win.

Coming to Wisconsin, Dekker was, for the most part, an isolation scorer, and as a result his effectiveness on the court was limited.

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This season, in Wisconsin’s most recent home game against Minnesota last Saturday, Dekker struggled offensively, scoring only five points on 1 of 8 shooting in 36 minutes. It was his first time scoring in single digits in his past 11 games.

But this time, perhaps unlike past seasons, Dekker’s effectiveness over the course of the game against Minnesota wasn’t held in check and the Badgers won, defeating the Gophers while staying in control for the majority of the game.

Now in his third year with the team, Dekker has taken a big leap toward becoming the all-around player head coach Bo Ryan and the entire program desire at Wisconsin.

And that, perhaps, has been the biggest step the junior has taken this season.

“I’ve had to focus on the little things,” Dekker said. “Those things like moving without the ball kind of propel my game in a way that raises the other aspects of it as well.”

Movement off the ball has been a large factor in Dekker’s increase in offensive efficiency in his third season as a Badger. That movement does not just open up easy opportunities for Dekker to score, it also opens up opportunities for the entire team.

“Getting an offensive rebound off your movement, or seeing guys trap Frank [Kaminsky] and being able to cut off of that, it opens an alley for me,” Dekker said. “When you have teammates that are unselfish enough to get you the ball in those situations, it makes our team better and it makes the game come easier to us.”

Dekker has also shown better decision-making over the course of the 2014-15 season.

Earlier in the year there were times when Dekker took ill-advised shots early in the shot clock that disrupted the flow of Wisconsin’s offense.

Jason Chan/The Badger Herald

Those mistakes never went unpunished, as he was usually sent to the bench shortly after. His time on the bench appears to have taught him his lesson.

Dekker began using his strength more to attack the basket, and as a result, his shots have been smarter and more efficient.

“He knows his strengths and knows he didn’t need to settle for jump shots as much as he was,” redshirt senior guard Josh Gasser said. “That’s just the point [Ryan] was trying to make. He has such a great skill-set and great size that he can affect the game in a lot of ways, so he wants to be able to prove that.”

Dekker’s increased motion and decision-making on offense have not only shown results for the team on the court, but also personal results in the box score, as Dekker is shooting 52 percent from the field so far this season – his highest mark in his three years.

Dekker has proven to be a very versatile player on the offensive end. Through 28 games this season, Dekker is averaging 13.1 points. He scored in double figures in all but two of his last 19 games, and both of his 20-point performances this season have come in the last five games.

However, as is the case with most Ryan-coached players, Dekker’s improvements started with his work on the defensive end of the floor.

Jason Chan/The Badger Herald

But versatility on offense requires Dekker to be the same on the other side of the ball. Being a lengthy, athletic wing player, Dekker holds the responsibility to guard multiple positions and be active on every defensive possession.

Dekker’s improvement in discipline on defense required more than just physical stature. It’s required the proper mentality.

“To play defense on every possession and be accountable on every possession, that’s been a habit he has had to build,” associate head coach Greg Gard said. “He’s gotten better with his stance, his footwork has gotten better, his strength is better and his stamina is better. All those physical things have gotten better.

“But mentally he’s been able to discipline himself a little more to lock in and focus for that specific possession,” Gard said.

Coming into the season, the hype surrounding Dekker involved his scoring and his offensive versatility. But now, 28 games into the season, it is more than clear that Dekker’s ability to do the little things on the court are what is helping him make the biggest strides.

It is those little things that are helping Dekker grow as a player as he works to reach his full potential.

“He’s been more active, more involved, in better position defensively and more active on the glass,” Gard said. “The other parts of his game have improved, and with all those things combined, he’s trying to make himself a more complete player.”

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