Friday, October 08, 2004
Dwayne Wade's Cellphone
Tom Crean wins this off-season's good samaritan award."I told Bracey [Wright] he can do for Indiana what Dwyane Wade did for Marquette," [coach Tom] Crean said. "You can learn how to always keep your head up and make everybody around you better. That's what separates the really good players from the great players."
Then Crean told Wright another thing: You'll have to work the way Wade worked — and nobody Crean has coached outworked Wade...
"[Last] season doesn't exist anymore. Coach Crean got my head in the right place. He convinced me I have a great chance to make a statement about what kind of player I am."
The kind of player Wright can be is one of the top five in America. He can shoot the ball from Malibu. Squeeze him to take away that jumper, and he'll dunk on you. And he can handle the ball well enough to play guard or forward. That scouting report sounds like Wade, the former Marquette All-American who was one of the top NBA rookies last season...
Crean even handed Wright the number to Wade's cell phone. The two players discussed what Wright must do to have the kind of junior season Wade had when he carried Marquette to the 2003 Final Four.
St. Louis is a stretch, but Bracey could very well welcome D.J. White and Robert Vaden to Division 1 by leading the Hoosiers back into the NCAA Tournament.
