Sam Dekker
Sam Dekker came this close to being a National Champion. (If you’re reading this Sam, I’m sorry.) Unforunately, Duke’s three star freshman, alongside a surprising performance from then unknown Grayson Allen, ended up being too much.
But let’s not focus on that. Let’s focus on just how good that memorable Wisconsin team actually was.
Prior to the National Championship game, Wisconsin did the unthinkable. They beat arguably the best team in the field: Kentucky.
If you don’t remember, this Kentucky team featured Karl-Anthony Towns, Willie Cauley-Stein, Devin Booker, Tyler Ulis, Andrew and Aaron Harrison and Trey Lyles. This was the team that was talked about as having the talent to beat some of the lesser NBA teams at the time.
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And you know what? Sam and Wisconsin beat them.
In that great semi-finals game, Dekker, along with Frank Kaminsky, led the way. Dekker dropped 16 points in 34 minutes. He helped to fuel the Wisconsin comeback and took a charge at a pivitol moment.
Check out the highlights below to see just how dominant Sam was in this game.
Our next guy may not have made it as far as the National Championship, but his tournament run carved a name for himself.