South Carolina MBB hires former college basketball star as assistant coach
Lamont Paris has turned to one of his former players to fill out South Carolina’s assistant coaching staff.
On Friday, Paris announced he’d hired 32-year-old Sam Dekker as an assistant coach. The two have a long relationship dating back to their time at Wisconsin, where Paris was an assistant coach and Dekker (2012-15) was the Badgers’ star forward, helping lead Wisconsin to back-to-back Final Fours.
Dekker, who was drafted 18th overall in 2015 by the NBA’s Houston Rockets, recently wrapped up an 11-year pro playing career that included 201 NBA games and more-recent stints in leagues in Turkey, London and Spain.
“I’m so grateful to Coach Paris for trusting me with this role, and I take it very seriously,” Dekker said in a release. “The decision to transition from player to coach is not one I took lightly, but joining Coach Paris and this program was a dream opportunity.”
As for why Paris, coming off a disastrous 13-19 season, decided to fill out his staff with a first-time coach, he said it comes down to what Dekker can do for player development.
“Development of each player’s individual abilities is as important now as it has ever been in college basketball,” Paris said in the release. “Sam’s unique experiences and skill set will allow him to have a tremendous impact on our players and program immediately.”
A former Wisconsin Mr. Basketball who averaged over 35 points as a senior, Dekker stayed in-state to play for Hall of Famer Bo Ryan at UW. In his final season with the Badgers, Dekker had a knack for showing up in the biggest moments. In the Badgers’ Elite Eight win over Arizona, he scored a career-high 27 points, hitting all five of his triples in the second half. Less than a week later, he scored 16 points in Wisconsin’s upset of undefeated Kentucky in the national semis.
Dekker is the third hire Paris had made this offseason.
After the departure of assistants Eddie Shannon and Will Bailey, Paris hired veteran Bob Donewald Jr. in early April then waited a month before filling out his staff with Dekker. In between those two assistant coaching hires, though, South Carolina hired Charlotte Hornets’ executive David Duquette as a consultant who will have a large role in the Gamecocks’ front office.
This story was originally published May 15, 2026 at 10:41 AM.
