{image1}While most of us drowsily dragged our rear ends into the office last Tuesday for the truncated work week, former Marquette star Dwyane Wade was about to receive two career-shaping pieces of news.
On Thursday, after five previously named players withdrew from consideration, Wade was named to the 2004 U.S. Olympic basketball team. Over the weekend, Wade then found out the most dominating player in the NBA -- Shaquille O'Neal -- will likely be his Miami Heat teammate starting next November.
It's easy to forget that Wade was a Golden Eagles star just 16 short months ago, taking Marquette's basketball program to the Final Four and into the national sports consciousness for the first time in a quarter-century. While still digesting those accomplishments, Wade decided to enter the NBA Draft after his junior season, a decision vindicated when he was selected fifth overall by the Miami Heat.
Most of the NBA was focused on rookies LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony last season, but Wade quietly forged an outstanding freshman campaign. The Heat point guard averaged 16.5 points, 4.5 assists and 4.0 rebounds, displaying the type of well-rounded game that made him a star at the Bradley Center.
In the playoffs, Wade upped those numbers to 18.0, 5.6 and 4.0, often taking pressure shots down the stretch in series against both New Orleans and Indiana. How often does a rookie's numbers improve in the postseason? Especially points per game, considering the NBA playoffs feature as much scoring as your average bocce ball tournament.
Now, with O'Neal reportedly on his way to Miami (the deal is expected be consummated this week), Wade has a chance to become one of the league's highest-profile players. Michael and Scottie. Shaq and Kobe. Magic and Kareem. Now, Shaq and Dwyane?
It's telling that Wade was not included in the proposed package for O'Neal (at least, not yet), which includes Lamar Odom, Caron Butler, Brian Grant and a draft pick. There's no doubt the Lakers like Wade, but he's too similar to Kobe Bryant to share the same backcourt with him (if Kobe re-signs). And Heat exec Pat Riley has to be salivating at the prospect of Wade filling Kobe's role in South Beach.
According to Miami Herald writer Israel Gutierrez, Wade's presence could also attract other free agents to Miami, including Karl Malone, O'Neal's teammate in Los Angeles.
Miami guard Eddie Jones feels Wade will greatly benefit from O'Neal's arrival. "Dwyane is growing into a great, great player, and (Shaquille's arrival is) going to help him dramatically," Jones told the Herald. "He's going to see how the game opens up for him a lot more."
Fellow teammate Rasual Butler also has a high opinion of Wade. "He's a young kid that shows flashes of the greatest player to play, which is Michael Jordan," Butler said. "Who knows what his potential is going to be? He's a good kid, he works hard, he's humble."
In fact, Wade could be on the way to becoming the biggest star ever produced from a city or state college. Arguably, the biggest pro basketball star to come out of Marquette was Maurice Lucas, who averaged 20.2 points for the 1977 world champion Portland TrailBlazers. Lucas was also an All-NBA Second Team selection in 1977-'78.
Wisconsin's best could be current Mavericks small forward Michael Finley. Finley has averaged over 19 points a game during a nine-year career with Phoenix and Dallas, and he's made two Western Conference All-Star teams. He was also a member of the 2002 Team USA team, which, led by George Karl, bombed out at the World Championships.
We can't forget Bucks coach Terry Porter, also a TrailBlazers great during his playing career. Porter averaged 12.2 points and 5.6 assists in his 17-year career and was a key member of several NBA Finals teams. In longevity and overall quality, the UW-Stevens Point alumnus may be the best ever from the state of Wisconsin.
This quick comparison doesn't even mention local prep school products such as Latrell Sprewell, Nick Van Exel or the aforementioned Caron Butler. But even with them thrown into the mix, Wade could quickly move to the head of Wisconsin's hoops class.
Wade doesn't have much time to digest all the excitement; pre-Olympic training starts in two weeks, with the first Olympic exhibition game scheduled for Aug. 1 in Cologne, Germany. And MU alums can catch Wade in the red, white and blue at the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens beginning Aug. 15.
Though for Wade, the Games appear to be just the beginning.
Sports shots columnist Tim Gutowski was born in a hospital in West Allis and his sporting heart never really left. He grew up in a tiny town 30 miles west of the city named Genesee and was in attendance at County Stadium the day the Brewers clinched the 1981 second-half AL East crown. I bet you can't say that.
Though Tim moved away from Wisconsin (to Iowa and eventually the suburbs of Chicago) as a 10-year-old, he eventually found his way back to Milwaukee. He remembers fondly the pre-Web days of listenting to static-filled Brewers games on AM 620 and crying after repeated Bears' victories over the Packers.
