Okey quits Badgers

The rocky road that has been the 1997-98 Wisconsin men's basketball season got a little rougher yesterday. Forward Sam Okey announced he was quitting the team and would transfer after the spring semester.

This brings to a halt what has been a tough season for the 6-foot-7 junior. Okey was suspended from the Badgers' first two games for disciplinary reasons. The Capitol Times, a newspaper in Madison, Wisc., reported the suspension was for smoking marijuana. He missed four other games due to back problems.

Okey was not available for comment, but his mother, Amy Okey, read a statement Sam prepared in a phone interview last night.

"Three years ago I couldn't wait to announce my desire to be a Badger. My love for this state, its fans, and most of all, my teammates, has never wavered. But in basketball you have to be excited to play and motivated to practice and work hard.

"And although I've tried to work through it, it is no longer possible to nurture my love for the game in this negative environment. I thank my family, friends and fans for their support."

The decision to transfer apparently came when Okey was bumped from the starting lineup for today's game against Penn State. Okey was averaging 9.8 points per game for the Badgers this year. But he didn't look like the same player he had been last season when he was second-team All-Big Ten, or in his freshman season when he led the team in points, rebounds, assists and blocked shots.

"Sam has struggled," said Wisconsin coach Dick Bennett in an interview with The Daily Collegian yesterday morning before Okey announced his decision. "He has not gotten it going this season. He is not going to be in our starting lineup."

Bennett told The Associated Press he confronted Okey on Monday about a missed weight-lifting session. After Okey told Bennett he didn't know about the session, the coach told him he was out of the starting lineup.

The Badger coach went on to say the two had a meeting yesterday morning and it was then Okey told Bennett he was leaving the team.

Wisconsin (8-7, 1-2 Big Ten) had already lost point guard Ty Calderwood for the season with a knee injury, and has struggled all season, averaging a Big-Ten low 63.6 points per game.