Sam Dekker will make an excellent assistant coach at South Carolina
It looks like Sam Dekker has traded in his sneakers and jersey for khakis and a polo, taking an assistant coaching job at South Carolina on May 15.
Sam Dekker has his next basketball job and it'll be a little different than before . Dekker, the former Sheboygan Lutheran and Wisconsin star, will be an assistant coach for the University of South Carolina Gamecocks men's basketball team the program announced on X on May 15. We got better today… let’s get to work, coach!
💼🤙 @dekker #Gamecocks 🐔🏀 // #ForeverToThee pic. twitter. com/oDIJARW2we — South Carolina Men's Basketball (@GamecockMBB) May 15, 2026 Dekker has always seemed destined to be a coach, spending time on social media breaking down the intricacies of sports and especially basketball.
It also runs in his family as his father, Todd Dekker, was a longtime coach for Sheboygan Lutheran and was Dekker's coach with the Crusaders. The decision to get into coaching comes after Dekker spent the last two seasons playing professionally in Spain although he didn't see much action this past season due to varying reasons including injuries. Had Dekker not suffered several injuries after being a first round NBA Draft pick of the Houston Rockets, Dekker might have had a career similar to other Wisconsin high school legends such as Tyler Herro or Tyrese Haliburton.
The situation at South Carolina should be ideal, as Gamecocks coach Lamont Paris was an assistant at Wisconsin under Bo Ryan during Dekker's time in Madison. More Dombeck: Boys, girls basketball talent never better in Sheboygan | Dombeck "Development of each players individual abilities is as important now as it ever has been in college basketball," the South Carolina X post said. "Sam's unique experiences and skill set will allow him to have a tremendous impact on our players and program immediately.