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Iconic former Wisconsin Badgers player steps away from basketball career

One of the unsung heroes of he Wisconsin Badgers' 2014 and 2015 Final Four appearances is retiring from basketball after a strong professional career.
Cam Wilhorn|
Apr 6, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Wisconsin Badgers players Bronson Koenig (24), Nigel Hayes (10) and Duje Dukan (13) react after a foul call against the Duke Blue Devils in the second half in the 2015 NCAA Men's Division I Championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images
Apr 6, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Wisconsin Badgers players Bronson Koenig (24), Nigel Hayes (10) and Duje Dukan (13) react after a foul call against the Duke Blue Devils in the second half in the 2015 NCAA Men's Division I Championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

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Wisconsin Badgers

Wisconsin's legendary basketball teams of the mid-2010s were chock full of talent that carried over from the collegiate level to the professional ranks.

Four members of the Final Four and National Championship Runner-Up teams advanced to the NBA level in some form.

Frank Kaminsky and Sam Dekker highlight the list, with Nigel Hayes-Davis shortly behind. The fourth player goes overlooked in the bunch: Duje Dukan.

Dukan played a supporting role on both teams before going on to have a successful professional career in the NBA G League and overseas.

But now, at the age of 33, Dukan is retiring from the sport.

A Croatia native, Dukan played his high school basketball in Deerfield, Illinois before committing to the Badgers.

He spent five seasons in Madison, and appeared in 76 of Wisconsin's 78 games across the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons.

Dukan was a fixture of the Badgers bench, playing over eight minutes per game as a junior before expanding doubling that as a senior and averaging nearly five points per game.

He participated in all 11 of Wisconsin's NCAA Tournament games as an upperclassman, including an eight-point performance in the Final Four loss to Kentucky in 2013-14.

The 6-foot-10 stretch big got a look at the NBA level, signing a two-year contract with the Sacramento Kings. He appeared in just one NBA game before being waived one year into the deal.

After a few years in the NBA's G League, Dukan returned to Europe, playing in Spain, the Netherlands and Austria over the course of five seasons.

He returned to Madison last November when Wisconsin honored of the 2014-15 Final Four Teams. He was one of 14 people to be honored that night, a group that including Kaminsky, Josh Gasser and Bo Ryan.

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Cam Wilhorn
CAM WILHORN

Cam Wilhorn is a University of Wisconsin School of Journalism Graduate and Wisconsin native. He's been covering Wisconsin sports since 2023 for outlets like BadgerBlitz.com, Badger of Honor and The Badger Herald.

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