Few players shined through the NCAA Tournament like Sam Dekker, who was named the West Regional Most Outstanding Player, as he averaged 19.2 points on 57.1 percent (44-for-77) shooting. Still, Dekker had been a scoring threat for Wisconsin all season long, ranking fourth in the Big Ten in field goal percentage (52.5) and first in 2-point percentage (63.9). The 6-foot-9 forward also placed second in the conference and 10th in the entire NCAA in offensive win shares (5.1).
Sam Dekker
- 13.9 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 52.5 FG%, 33.1 3P%
- Second Team All-Big Ten (2014-15)
Combine Measurements
Body Fat Percentage: 7.5
Hand Length (Inches): 8.5
Hand Width (Inches): 9.25
Height (Without Shoes): 6'7.75
Height (With Shoes): 6'9
Standing Reach: 8'10
Weight: 218.6
Wingspan: 6'11.5
ESPN's Chad Ford: With Sam Dekker, there are a lot more appealing things about Dekker (in comparison to Devin Booker). He’s got great size for a position — much better than Booker does. He’s a great athlete — a much better athlete than Booker is. He has more experience. He’s stronger and he’s more versatile than Booker.
The question is: Do you think he’s going to be able to knock down 3-point shots? He was very streaky at Wisconsin. Sometimes he looked like he was a shooter, and other times he didn’t. He had a pretty strong workout, and I think that’s really the interesting thing.
His narrative is: With Bo Ryan as your coach, who was incredibly critical of Dekker and had a quick hook for Dekker, that messes with a shooter’s confidence. So every time Dekker was shooting the ball, he was thinking too much about it. In a more open system with a coach that gives him more leeway, he’ll be more confident and better. That’s up to every coach and team to decide: “Am I going to buy that? Is that true? Is this guy saying that he can’t be coached?”