Varsity is the free Official Digital Magazine of Wisconsin Athletics, covering Badgers football, basketball, hockey and more each week.
Issue link: http://catalog.e-digitaleditions.com/i/138069
DAVID STLUKA within our locker room; (outside) people shouldn't influence how you play and think, otherwise you're going to play much differently. "I had to step back and ignore all the comments and realize that I'm here for the team. I think that I handled that pretty well. There were some areas where I wish I wouldn't have said something, or done something, maybe on Twitter, but I had a good freshman year. I learned a lot." How can he put that education to good use, how can he get better? "Just by being a leader," said Dekker, "by being in the gym as much as possible, by being an influence on the others around me. I'm just trying to grow physically and mentally in every aspect of my game." Dekker is looking forward to meeting Wisconsin's new strength coach, Erik Helland, who has 25 years of NBA experience with the Chicago Bulls. "He has won championships," he said, "and he has worked with the best players in the world, what more could you ask for as a basketball player?" The 6-foot-7, 220-pound Dekker knows how physical the Big Ten is, especially in the paint. Thus, he said, "You always want to get bigger, faster and stronger. I want to stay consistent with my approach in the weight room and get more explosive so I can be a tougher matchup for other teams." Although Dekker led the Badgers in field goal percentage (.478) and 3-point shooting percentage (.391, 50-of-128), he said, "I can definitely see myself being a better shooter next year and more of a matchup problem in terms of attacking the hoop or setting up my teammates for buckets." What about his defense? "I think with my athleticism and work ethic I can get there," he said of playing at a much higher level defensively. "I was nowhere near where I wanted to be with that aspect of my game last year, so a hard working summer is going to get me closer to that." There will be pick-up games a couple of days each week. There will be practices with the coaches a couple of hours each week. There will be lifting and a lot of shots launched in the gym with teammates, or alone. And there will be an eight-day trip to Canada in August and five exhibition games. Looking to the future, and sizing up what's next in his inner circle, Dekker said, "We're always competing with each other to get better." That would resonate with Gordon and Kerdiles. "If you come in and you think you have all the answers and you think you're good enough, it's not going to work," Dekker said. "You have to remember there's always going to be somebody better than you." 25