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Sam Dekker’s meteoric rise to high school basketball greatness reach a pinnacle this week when the 6-foot-8 senior from Sheboygan Lutheran earned the coveted WBCA Mr. Basketball award in voting done by a committee of WBCA Hall of Fame coaches.  The award this year is sponsored by Eastbay and Adidas.

Dekker averaged a state-best 32.1 points per game as a senior and moved into the Top 5 on the state’s all-time leading scorers list in the process with more than 2,500 career points.

A four-year varsity performer for his father and coach, Todd, at Sheboygan Lutheran, Sam Dekker is ranked among the top 30 recruits nationally by several scouting sites.

Dekker joins famous Wisconsin prep alumni such as Joe Wolf of Kohler, Tony Bennett of Green Bay Preble, Devin Harris of Wauwatosa East and Wesley Matthews of Madison Memorial, among many others, as Mr. Basketball winners in the state.

“It’s an incredible feeling,” Dekker said. “The names on the Mr. Basketball list … those guys are still revered in our state. To be on the same list as those guys is something I’ll always cherish.”

Dekker shot 61 percent from the field, 34 percent from three-point range and 74 percent from the foul line while leading a young Sheboygan Lutheran squad to the first undisputed Central Lakeshore Conference championship in school history and a berth in the WIAA Division 5 State Tournament.

He scored 30 or more points 15 times, including a career-high 58 in a victory over league-rival Random Lake.

“I’m so proud of Sam,” said Todd Dekker, who has served as the head coach at Sheboygan Lutheran the past 17 seasons. “I know how hard he’s worked. As a coach, to have one of your players win this award, that’s very special. I’m very excited for him.”

Todd Dekker thinks his son, who will play college basketball for coach Bo Ryan at the University of Wisconsin, has improved his ability to get the basket.

“I like how he’s taking the ball to the hole a lot stronger now,” Todd Dekker said. “He’s take it to the defense and finishing plays. He likes facing the basket, but we wanted to get him inside more and he’s done that.

“His footwork is so good for a 6-8 kid. He can get through defenses. I think that will help him at the next level.”

Sam Dekker learned the game from his father and older brother, John, who was a standout player at Sheboygan Lutheran before enjoying a solid career at Lawrence University in Appleton.

As a freshman, the 6-2 Dekker picked up second-team all-league honors in the CLC. His rise to the elite level began on the travel-team circuit in the spring of 2010 while competing with the very talented Wisconsin Playground Warriors program.

He attended a basketball camp at Wisconsin in June of that year and was offered a scholarship by Ryan. He accepted the offer in less than 24 hours.

“This has been a dream season,” Dekker said. “I wanted to work hard, but I wanted the team awards before anything else. If the individual awards came as a result of team success, that would be great. That’s kind of the way it has worked out.”