The Wisconsin men’s basketball team will be without its top two scorers from the 2014-15 season that saw it advance to the Final Four for the second-straight year.
With senior forward and Player of the Year Frank Kaminsky already gone, junior forward Sam Dekker announced Friday that he will forgo his senior season at Wisconsin and enter the NBA Draft.
“After lots of thoughts and prayers, I’ve decided that it is in my best interest to enter the NBA Draft at this time,” Dekker said in a statement. “It is difficult to leave Madison and the only state I’ve called home, but I’m excited for the next chapter of my life.”
Dekker, from Sheboygan, Wisconsin, played his best basketball of the season in the NCAA tournament. The 6-foot-9 forward averaged 19.2 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, shooting a team-best 57.1 percent from the field and 41.7 percent from three during six NCAA tournament games.
In the Sweet 16 against North Carolina and the Elite Eight against Arizona, Dekker scored 23 and 27 points respectively to lead Wisconsin back to the Final Four en route to being named the 2015 West Regional Most Outstanding Player.
Over the course of the season, Dekker was second on the team, averaging 13.9 points per game, adding 5.5 rebounds. Dekker was a second-team all-Big Ten selection for the 2014-15 season.
Dekker injured his ankle before the season and fought with the injury for the first part of the season, but scored in double-figures in 27 of his final 31 games to close out the season.
“These past three years have been the best, most memorable years of my life,” Dekker said. “Growing up in the state and being able to wear Wisconsin across my chest has been a dream come true.
“I truly can’t say thank you enough to my teammates, coaches, training staff and the fans, for everything they’ve done,” Dekker said. “I am so grateful for the opportunities Coach Ryan and UW-Madison have given me. I couldn’t have asked for anything more from my experience.”
In his three-year career as a Badger, Dekker appeared in 113 games with 831 starts. He finishes 15th in school history with 1,363 points and added 569 rebounds in three seasons. Dekker is just the eighth Wisconsin player to eclipse the 1,000-point, 500-rebound mark in his first three seasons in Madison.
Dekker took to Twitter to officially announce his decision and thank Badger Nation.
https://twitter.com/dekker/status/586553025067495428
The official Twitter account of Wisconsin basketball sent its well-wishes to Dekker following the announcement.
Please RT this to help us say thank you to Sam @Dekker.#OnceABadgerAlwaysABadger pic.twitter.com/wENaaNUCUS
— Wisconsin Basketball (@BadgerMBB) April 10, 2015
Both Dekker and Kaminsky are expected to be mid-first round picks in the NBA Draft which will take place on June 25th at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
