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Wade an All-American in many ways
By ARNIE STAPLETON
AP Sports Writer
NEW ORLEANS (AP) � Dwyane Wade
blossomed soon after Marquette took a chance on the overlooked high school
player who struggled with his studies.
After sitting out his freshman
season to work on his study habits, Wade has become a 3.0 student and a
basketball star. He's also become a devoted husband and doting father.
All the responsibilities for
Marquette's All-America guard have kept him focused, more driven to succeed.
He'll take that determination on the court with him Saturday night when the
Golden Eagles play the Kansas Jayhawks in the national semifinals.
To him, all-nighters aren't
just about catching up on his studies. They're about getting up with his
1-year-old son, Zaire, for feedings and diaper changes.
``He's a regular parent. When
the baby's sick, he's up. When the baby needs to go to the doctor, he's
there,'' Golden Eagles coach Tom Crean said. ``He's got a lot of things
going on in his life, but he's not shortchanging his responsibilities at
home.''
Nor on the hardwood.
"There's not many hours in a
day, so I've got to do everything right the first time and it just makes me
more on top of my game,'' Wade said.
Wade put on his best
performance last weekend in the Midwest Regional in Minneapolis. He had 51
points, 14 rebounds and 15 assists against Pittsburgh and Kentucky, two of
the best defensive teams in the country.
His 29 points, 11 rebounds and
11 assists against the Wildcats was just the third triple-double in NCAA
tournament history (Magic Johnson and Andre Miller).
``I'm not letting my team
watch that Marquette-Kentucky game,'' Kansas coach Roy Williams said.
``That'll give you nightmares, and I don't need any more nightmares.''
Guard Kirk Hinrich won't have
an option the next time he steps on the court. He'll be one of the Jayhawks
guarding Wade, a big, strong, 6-foot-5 guard who's difficult to defend even
with a double team.
``A lot of times you get ready
to play against somebody, you try to take something away. Maybe he favors
his right hand, he favors the jump shot. But you know, I don't think you can
say that about him. He's just so versatile,'' Hinrich said.
The Jayhawks have trouble
finding any flaws in Wade's game.
``I'm not really saying this,
because you're not supposed to compare anybody to Michael Jordan, but he's
scary with all the things he can do,'' Williams said. ``I had to look a
couple of times to make sure it was No. 3 out there instead of No. 23.''
Wade credits his father,
Dwyane Sr., for instilling an unselfish attitude that has helped him make
his mark.
``He told me that if you want
to be a great player one day, you've got to be able to do more than one
thing,'' Wade said. ``It was kind of easy for me to dribble the ball a lot,
be the passer and also to shoot. I think I'm the perfect height to do what I
do. If I was a big man, it might be a different story.''
Wade got married last May to
his high school sweetheart, Siohvaughn. She and Zaire will be watching in
their matching gold-and-blue No. 3 jerseys Saturday, along with plenty of
other fans.
``Being a husband and father
has made me more focused in everyday life,'' Wade said.
And that includes schoolwork,
which has given Wade problems in the past.
``I give the school a ton of
credit for believing in me because I believed in him,'' Crean said. ``And
it's worked out on the court and in school.''
Many Marquette fans fear that
Wade has either one or two games left before he takes his skills to the NBA.
After all, his stock has
soared over the last two weeks, and he has a family to feed.
Wade swears he won't know what
his future holds until he sits down after the season and weighs the pros and
cons of returning to school.
``Hopefully when I sit down
and think about it, I'll be thinking about it as a national champion,'' Wade
said.
Copyright 2003
Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be
published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
02/23/2007 10:47:03 AM
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