Dwyane Wade Kevin Macchia
EARLY LIFE
On January 17, 1982, in Chicago, Illinois a star was
born. He is known as Dwyane “Flash” Wade.
Dwyane and his sister, Tragil, became very close to each other. He admired her mental strength and her commitment to their
church. Religion was very important to the entire
Wade clan.
Dwyane liked sports,
particularly football and
basketball, but never
really thought of playing
professionally.
His thoughts began
to change when he
moved in with his
father and his new
wife and three sons,
an arrangement
agreed to by
Dwyane's mom.
Dwyane’sloveforbasketballgrew.Despitehispassion,Dwyanewasnotmuchmorethananaverageplayer.Butwhathelackedintheskillsdepartmenthemadeupforwithtoughnessandintelligence
Dwyane followed in his
brother Demetrius’s
footsteps and attended
H.L. Richards High
School.
Determined to earn
playing time on varsity,
Dwyane worked out all
summer long before his
junior year with the
teams assistant coach
Gary Adams. He improved
his ballhandling skills,
and also his outside
game, shooting hundreds
of jumpers a day.!
Dwyane now had the size
and skills to excel in all
aspects of the game.
Recognizing an emerging
star, coach Fitzgerald
made the junior his go-to
guy.
Heading into his senior year,
Dwyane was becoming popular
among midwest schools.
Marquette, DePaul and Illinois
State were all interested, and he
responded to the extra
attention with an outstanding
season.!
The scholarship offers didn’t come. The problem was
Dwyane’s low score on the ACT. Most schools backed off because they feared Dwyane
wouldn’t make it academically.Marquette was an exception.
Assistant coach
Tim Buckley
loved every
aspect of
Dwyane, on and
off the court. He
helped convince
head coach Tom
Crean to give
him a shot.
Marquette accepted Dwyane as a partial qualifier which meant he could practice
with the basketball team as a freshman but not dress for games.
By the fall of 2001, Dwyane was eager to start his college hoops career. Coach Crean who was in his third year as coach was excited to welcome Dwyane aboard.!
Dwyane’s impact was felt
immediately. In just his first five games which happened to be all wins, he
averaged more than 20 points, nine rebounds, and nearly five assists a game!!
As the 2002 season came,
Dwyane continued his excellent play.
The Golden Eagles headed
into March Madness with
high hopes.
Sadly,
Marquette
was
eliminated in
the first
round despite
a solid effort
from Dwyane.
For the 2002-03 season, he swore to maintain a more
consistent energy level. He also spent plenty of time working on his jumper from outside the 3-
point line.!
As the Golden Eagles
prepared for March
Madness again, Dwyane
was determined to
avoid another early
elimination.
Marquette’s magical season ended in the Final Four against Kansas. The overpowering Jayhawks destroyed the Golden Eagles with their versatility defeating them by a double digit margin.!
Evenwiththeloss,theseasonwass>llahugesuccessforDwyane.HeimpressedNBAscoutswithhis
versa>lity,leadershipandcomposure.DwyaneoptedtoentertheNBADraB.EveryoneatMarqueEewished
himthebest.
Dwyane lasted until the fifth pick on draft day. LeBron James went first to the
Cleveland Cavaliers. Then three teams that regret not picking Dwyane—the Detroit Pistons, Denver Nuggets and Toronto Raptors—passed on
him. That left the Miami Heat with a steal of a pick
with Dwyane.!
He is most dangerous with the ball in his
hands mostly driving hard to basket. His
ability to slice through the defense is absolutely amazing.
Dwyane has already
accomplished something that some NBA
players never will in their
career. He has already won a national
championship and was named MVP.!
Dwyane is respected and thought of as a
leader in the eyes of his teammates. His work ethics are flawless and that is why he is as successful and
as great of a basketball player as he is today. !
“I've only scratched the surface of where I want
to be in my career, ... And I know one thing, I haven't won anything yet so there's a lot more I can do there.
But I'm going to continue to get better and do what I can to help my team be the
best it can possibly be.”
- Dwyane Wade