Rockets take Wisconsin's Sam Dekker with 18th pick in draft

The Houston Rockets selected Wisconsin forward Sam Dekker with the 18th overall pick in the NBA draft on Thursday night.

The 6-foot-9 Dekker averaged 12.1 points and 5 rebounds in a three-year career at Wisconsin where the team reached the NCAA Final Four twice, including the title game this season.

"He's skilled for his size," Houston assistant coach Chris Finch said. "He's actually pretty quick with a good first step and aggressive at attacking the rim. His shot sets up a lot of his drive opportunities. What I've liked is he's kind of fearless. Whether he goes in to attack the bucket or make a play for somebody else he's got an attack mentality and we love that here."

He averaged a career-high 13.9 points and 5.5 rebounds this season and was a second-team All-Big Ten selection in helping the team to a school-record 36 wins. He's a good outside shooter and made 142 3-pointers in his college career.

Finch said the Rockets have had their eye on Dekker all season. The coach said he's a similar type of player as Chandler Parsons, who now plays for the Mavericks.

"We like his shooting ability obviously," Finch said. "We like his toughness. We like the fact that he has a knack for putting the ball in the basket. He can put the ball on the deck a little bit. Certainly his size is a plus when you can get a guy his size to shoot the ball."

He joins a Houston team that advanced to the Western Conference finals for the first time since 1997 this season before being eliminated by eventual champion Golden State.

The Rockets also had the 32nd overall pick.