Dukan Takes Redshirt For 2012-13 Season

Junior forward Duje Dukan will sit out the 2012-13 season as a redshirt and return next season, Wisconsin announced just prior to the first game of the season on Sunday.

Dukan battled mono this fall, which he cited as the main reason why he does not feel ready to contribute to the team on the court this season. With Mike Bruesewitz returning ahead of schedule, there were not going to be meaningful minutes available either. One look at the roster and you can see that Wisconsin already has an diverse frontcourt rotation consisting of five or six forwards ahead of Dukan on the depth chart.

Bo Ryan has stressed that the decision to redshirt at Wisconsin ultimately comes down to the player's choice. The potential downside to allowing Dukan to gain another year of seasoning, now that both he and Josh Gasser will redshirt, is that it essentially caps the 2014 recruiting class at a size of one, with that scholarship already spoken for by Illinois forward Ethan Happ.

Down the road, if Dukan can continue developing, the Badgers are cultivating a monster roster for the 2014-15 season:

Back court: Gasser (sr.), Jackson (sr.), Marshall (jr.), Showalter (jr.), Koenig (So.), Hill (so.), Dearring (so.)

Front court: Kaminsky (sr.), Anderson (sr.), Dukan (sr.), Dekker (jr.), Hayes (so.), Brown (so.), Happ (fr.)

At least four of those players will have an extra year of experience due to redshirting. In fact, three of the four players in UW's 2010 recruiting class have now decided to redshirt (Ben Brust being the only exception).

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Official press release

Duje Dukan to redshirt in 2012-13

Junior forward has played 21 career games

MADISON, Wis. – Junior forward Duje Dukan announced on Sunday his intention to redshirt the 2012-13 season for the Wisconsin men’s basketball team.

“I’ve decided to redshirt basically due to the lingering effects of having mono from this fall,” Dukan explained Sunday. “I missed most of the month of September and I felt like I could definitely contribute, but the recovery process has lasted longer than I expected. I feel like I’d be playing catch-up the whole season and I didn’t want to waste a year. I can instead use this season for development and to get stronger and help my teammates reach our goals this season.”

A native of Deerfield, Ill., Dukan has appeared in 21 career games over the last two seasons. Dukan saw duty in 13 games last season, scoring nine points and grabbing seven rebounds. He will continue to practice with his teammates this season and will play as a redshirt junior for the Badgers in 2013-14.

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