Inside Sam Dekker's 'whirlwind' move to coaching college basketball
Catching up with a UW Athletic Hall of Fame inductee on the next chapter of his basketball career.
A trip to visit friends in SEC country led Sam Dekker down the road to a new chapter of his basketball journey.
It all happened very organically, and as the former University of Wisconsin basketball standout stated last week, he “wouldn’t want it any other way.”
Dekker, who helped lead Wisconsin to two consecutive Final Four berths, wouldn’t say he never envisioned becoming a coach. But the former first round NBA Draft pick focused on being a player and didn’t have many thoughts about getting into that profession. He had an outline, however, of certain things coaches did that he loved and didn’t love in case he ever went that route.
That time’s come now as Dekker reunited with former Wisconsin assistant Lamont Paris, who’s leading South Carolina’s men’s basketball team. The Gamecocks announced Dekker’s hire as an assistant on May 15.
“It was a real whirlwind,” Dekker said.
