Wisconsin junior forward Sam Dekker left practice early on Friday afternoon with a lower-leg injury, according to various media reports. The team has listed him as day-to-day.
From Jim Polzin of the Wisconsin State-Journal, in attendance at Friday’s practice:Dekker was being guarded by senior forward Duje Dukan during a 4-on-4 drill when the injury occurred as Dekker was driving to the basket.
Dekker fell to the ground, got up and hopped on his right foot all the way to the tunnel leading to the training room on the opposite end of the Kohl Center. He didn’t return to the court for the final hour of practice.
Jeff Goodman of ESPN later reported Dekker had suffered an ankle injury, and the timetable for a return is likely 1-2 weeks.
Dekker, who now stands 6-foot-9 after growing two inches this summer along with packing on muscle, was a second-team all-Big Ten selection as a sophomore, averaging 12.4 points and 6.1 boards per game, shooting just under a 50 percent clip. He, along with All-American candidate, Frank Kaminsky, are a big reason why the Badgers will be a preseason top 5 team, as Bo Ryan looks for a return trip to the Final Four this March.
Wisconsin opens the season on Nov. 14 at home against Northern Kentucky. From there games in the Kohl Center get progressively more difficult. The Badgers later host Green Bay, ranked the No. 7 best mid-major team by College Basketball Talk, followed by Boise State, projected to finish second in the Mountain West preseason poll. Wisconsin rounds out the month of November with the star-studded Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas.
Dekker was named to the preseason all-Big Ten first team last week.