Marquette University has sent dozens of basketball players to the NBA but none are as famous or accomplished as Dwyane Wade. before attending Marquette University, an 11,500 student college in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Dwayne grew up in nearby Chicago, Illinois (90 miles south)where he spent his youth looking up to Chicago icon Michael Jordan. Dwayne Wade now admits modeling his game after MJ while coming of age in the South side of Chicago during the era when Jordan reigned supreme over the NBA and more specifically the Windy City.
After his sophomore year of basketball at Harold L. Richards High School Wade was not attracting college scholarship looks from schools like Marquette as he was barely even receiving playing time on the varsity basketball team. to be a late bloomer is something of an uncommon occurrence for eventual NBA superstars that often start getting courted by agents and powerhouse college basketball programs when they are in middle school. Wade persevered through a lack of playing time and through his resolve and growing four inches between his sophomore and junior seasons posted impressive high school stats of 20 points and nearly eight rebounds per game coming off a season when he rarely saw the court. Despite an exceptional senior season in which Wade took his team to the state championship game while averaging 27 points and 11 rebounds per game the college basketball options for Dwayne were limited due to academic constraints.
Wade was able join the Marquette University Golden Eagles basketball team after high school but was ineligible to play during his freshmen season due to NCAA academic mandates (specifically Proposition 48 which requires student athletes achieve certain academic requirements). once again Wade overcame adversity to excel on the basketball court. through hard work and tutoring Wade gained his eligibility and put up impressive numbers during the 2001-2002 season in which he led the conference in steals (2.47 per game) while scoring 17.8 points, grabbing 6.6 boards, and dishing out 3.4 assists per night.
The following year the 2002-2003 campaign would prove to be even more successful for Dwayne Wade and in turn Marquette University. Wade again led the team in scoring (21.5 points per game) and also took the school to its first Conference USA title. Conference success translated into NCAA Tournament success as the Marquette squad went all the way to the Final four. during that historic run Dwayne Wade recorded only the fourth triple double (29 points, 11 assists, and 11 rebounds) in the history of the NCAA Tournament when the Golden Eagles upset the number 1 seed Kentucky Wildcats in the Elite eight.
The play Wade showcased in just two years at Marquette warranted the retiring of his jersey on February 3, 2007. In this instance Marquette made an exception to their usual rule of graduation being a prerequisite for jersey retirement. In the case of Dwayne Wade discretion was used by Marquette University in light of his NBA success which includes a NBA championship to his name.
Marquette University – Dwyane Wade
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