BTN.com staff, April 10, 2015

https://twitter.com/dekker/status/586553025067495428

After Wisconsin's strong run through the NCAA Tournament that fell one win short of a national title, junior forward Sam Dekker announced today that he will forgo his final season of eligibility and enter the 2015 NBA Draft.

In a letter posted on Twitter via the Badgers' basketball account, @BadgerMBB, Dekker said, "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."

"After lots of thoughts and prayers, I've decided that it is in my best interest to enter the NBA Draft at this time. 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."

The NBA Draft is June 25 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

Dekker appeared in 113 games with 81 starts in his career, finishing 15th in school history with 1,363 points. Combined with his 569 career rebounds, Dekker became just the eighth Badger to tally 1,000 points and 500 rebounds in his first three seasons.

Dekker averaged 13.9 points and 5.5 rebounds per game in 2014-15, helping lead the Badgers to a school-record 36 wins, Big Ten regular season and tournament championships and the 2015 National Championship Game. A second-team All-Big Ten selection and finalist for the Julius Erving Award, Dekker reached double-figure scoring in 27 of the final 31 games of the season, including 23 and 27 points in back-to-back NCAA tournament wins over North Carolina and Arizona.

The 2015 West Regional Most Outstanding Player, Dekker tallied 19.2 points and 5.5 rebounds per game while shooting a team-high 57.1 percent from the field and 41.7 percent from 3-point range during the NCAA tournament.