Madison — The rocky relationship between University of Wisconsin forward Sam Okey and coach Dick Bennett finally dissolved Tuesday when Okey walked into Bennett's office and quit the basketball program.
Just a day before the Badgers play their final basketball game at the Fieldhouse, Okey was miffed at being disciplined for missing a mandatory weightlifting session.
That, however, was just the tip of the iceberg.
Okey was disgruntled by 2 1/2 seasons of bad blood between the two and probably discouraged by his poor play this season.
Bennett was just as tired of Okey's lax work ethic.
The former all-state player at Cassville High School could not be reached fr comment, but his father, Louis, said Bennett and Okey had not gotten along well since his son set foot on campus.
"Dick didn't want him here, and now he's getting his wish," said Louis Okey, whose son won't get to play in the new Kohl Center, which opens Saturday with a game against Northwestern.
Okey practiced for the first time in the new Kohl Center on Monday, but Bennett had put him on the second team and stripped him of a starting role for the game tonight against Penn State because he missed the lifting session.
On Tuesday, Okey came to Bennett's office about 11 a.m. to tell him he was leaving the team.
Bennett said their conversation was short.
"Sam came in and said something to the effect that there's really no need to talk or to say much but that he had decided to leave the program, and he had spoken with his parents and teammates," Bennett said. "I said that I agreed with his decision."
Okey was the brash, flashy renegade and Bennett was the strict, pious tactician. It was not a good mix from the start, and fault for its breakup lies on both sides.
Bennett did not deny that their relationship was stormy at times.
"When a relationship is a central piece of an organization or a team, it's a two-way street," Bennett said. "I don't absolve myself of blame for this situation occurring. I know I had a part in this and I accept that responsibility."
The relationship between Bennett and Okey ran hot and cold, and had its share of contradictions.
Okey believed in Bennett enough to tattoo one of Bennett's favorite Bible verses — Isaiah 40:31 — on his right arm.
Yet, Okey didn't have enough faith in Bennett to spend another year and half working in his system.
Bennett did not discourage Okey's decision to leave.
"If he felt this way and desired to start somewhere else, it was the right thing to do," Bennett said. "If you're asking me personally, do I think it's the right thing to do? The answer is yes."
Okey's departure casts a cloud over the closing of the 68-year-old Fieldhouse — where he led his Cassville team to state titles in 1994 and 1995 — and the opening of the $76 million Kohl Center.
"I feel bad about the situation occurring at this point in time, when it's a very festive, positive circumstance," Bennett said.
Now Bennett is faced with finishing the Big Ten season without one of his more physical interior players.
"You may feel bad, but you come out and you work so you feel better," he said. "I feel very bad about this circumstance, but I have an obligation to 14 other young men and they have an obligation to this program. If we all walk around hanging our heads and pointing fingers, it's not going to do anybody any good."
Reserve forward Brian Vraney, Okey's roommate, said the friction between Bennett and Okey was frequently a topic of conversation at their apartment.
"This doesn't come as a surprise to me," Vraney said. "Last night we talked about it and he decided that now was the time to just walk away."
Vraney said Bennett never went out of his way to heap more criticism on Okey than on any other player.
"I don't think Dick was harder on Sam than anyone else on the team," Vraney said. "In a way, he tried to do his best to get Sam to be a better player. The criticism bugs him once in a while, but that's all part of what we go through."
Other Badgers players agreed.
"He hasn't been happy in a long time," forward Sean Daugherty said of Okey. "The entire fit was not good for him, whether it was criticism or style of play or whatever. . . . Hopefully, he can put this behind himself and take the time he's going to have off with the transfer to really get refocused on what's important to him."
Freshman guard Mike Kelley said absorbing criticism was part of playing college basketball.
"Coach can wear on you. You can wear on yourself; that's part of it," Kelley said. "He's a great coach and wants us to be the best we can. Sometimes it can wear on you when you're trying to get to perfection."
Okey's freshman season was his best. He was named the Big Ten's freshman of the year and became the first player in conference history to lead his team in points, rebounds, assists and blocked shots.
But after averaging 13.2 points per game as a freshman, his scoring dipped to 11.2 points last season.
Although he came into this season as one of 25 pre-season candidates for the John Wooden Award that goes to college basketball's top player, his season began a rapid downward spiral with an off-season knee injury.
Okey spent much of the summer in rehabilitation, and then on the night of season-opening Midnight Madness he was suspended for two weeks of practice, two exhibition games and two regular-season games for disciplinary reasons. It was reported that the suspension was for marijuana use.
Twice earlier at Wisconsin, Okey had run-ins with police over underage drinking.
Okey continued to be dogged by injury. Back spasms limited his playing time at the Big Island Invitational and kept him out of games against Toledo, Ball State and Coppin State.
When he returned to the court, Okey's play was spotty. In the nine games in which he played, he scored in double figures just four times and held a season scoring average of 9.8 points.
Okey was heavily recruited by North Carolina's Dean Smith and Iowa's Tom Davis but was signed by former UW coach Stan Van Gundy.
He opted to fulfill his commitment when Van Gundy was replaced by Bennett. At the time, Okey said, "His record speaks for itself, and I'm looking forward to playing for him and being part of the program."
But things went sour early on, Okey's father said.
"Things didn't happen all of a sudden. Things happened the first year, when he was Big Ten freshman of the year. You'd be surprised at some of the things that were said (by Bennett to Okey)," Louis Okey said, declining to specify what went on.
He said his son planned to remain in school this semester and make inquiries about a transfer after receiving a release from his letter of intent.
If Okey transfers to a Division I-A school, he will have to sit out a season and then would have one season of eligibility remaining.
"It's better than beating down his fire and his desire," Louis Okey said. "He played for him, but he can't continue to do it in his system. . . . The system is the coaching staff. Sam loves Madison, the Fieldhouse, the Wisconsin fans."
Bennett wished Okey the best with whichever program lands him.
"This book isn't over yet," Bennett said. "Sam still gets to write the last chapter."
© Copyright 1998, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.