College basketball

Little eyes keep Wade in line

Marquette's Dwyane Wade gives his all in each game, making sure his son, and the rest of his family, watch with pride.

By BRIAN LANDMAN, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published March 27, 2003

MINNEAPOLIS -- To his 13-month-old son, Zaire, Marquette junior guard Dwyane Wade is known as "Da-Da."

Not D-Wade, as teammates call him.

Not Da-Best, as opponents could refer to him.

"Every time he sees a basketball on TV, he thinks it's Da-Da," Wade said Wednesday afternoon with the kind of radiance only a proud papa can emit.

"That's what he says. Just knowing that my family's at home watching me and hearing a lot of good things about me, I don't want them hearing anything bad about me. That's the kind of person I am. I just try to keep up the good name of the Wades."

Don't worry, Zaire.

Your father's doing that.

Were it not for him, the No.3-seeded Golden Eagles (25-5) would not be preparing to meet No.2 Pittsburgh (28-4) in tonight's Midwest Region semifinals at the Metrodome. Top-seeded Kentucky (31-3) faces No.5 Wisconsin (22-7) in the first game. The winners meet Saturday with a trip to the Final Four in New Orleans at stake.

"He competes every play; he doesn't take a play off," South Florida coach Seth Greenberg said. "He comes at you every single play, right at your throat every single possession on both ends of the floor, which is rare."

Wade, 6 feet 5 and 210 pounds, was voted Conference USA player of the year and is a sure-fire NBA first-round draft pick when he makes himself available, perhaps even this year. He averages 21.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 2.2 steals and 1.2 blocks.

Were it not for his son and wife Siohvaughn, his high school sweetheart from Illinois and a psychology major at Marquette, he and his team might not be enjoying such recognition and success.

The school is in the Sweet 16 for the second time since legendary coach Al McGuire led the team to the 1977 championship. It last advanced out of the subregion in St. Petersburg in 1994.

"It just makes me more mature," he said of his off-the-court responsibilities.

"He has to be focused to be a good father, to be a good husband, to be a good student, all of which he is," coach Tom Crean said. "He really knows how to balance his time. He's a very calm person. He thinks things through. I think it's done nothing but help him."

Crean is the first to tell you that Wade, 21, came to Marquette older than his years. And having to sit out his freshman year as a partial academic qualifier only accelerated the aging process.

"He really has an even keel about him," Greenberg said. "He doesn't play in highs and lows, which again, for a guy under the microscope like he is, is a great trait."

Not that he has not on occasion looked to carry his team offensively. Against main C-USA rival Louisville on Feb.27 and his main rival for the league's player of the year award, Reece Gaines, he had 28 points, eight rebounds and seven assists to key a 78-73 come-from-behind win at Freedom Hall.

"I think any player would like to be the player who everyone says can take over a ball game," he said.

In the NCAA Tournament, Wade has found more than one way to do it. He had just 15 points in the opening win against Holy Cross but had a team-high four assists, two blocks and admittedly focused on defense. Against Missouri, he struggled from the field (9-of-23) but had eight rebounds and seven assists.

"What's really impressive is that when (Travis) Diener's out of the game, he runs the point," Pittsburgh coach Ben Howland said. "He's a great passer. He's very good at finding the open man. ... Like against Missouri, the first 3 of the overtime, he had the ball in the low post, turned and hit (Steve) Novak in the deep opposite corner for a wide open 3. Like a Brandin Knight for us, he can really make others around him better because he's so good."

That kind of selflessness is the signature of Crean's team as it is for Pittsburgh, Kentucky and Wisconsin. You cannot look to shut down Wade and expect to beat the Golden Eagles.

"His numbers have been pretty good, especially this past Saturday against Missouri," Crean said. "He does all the other things. He rebounds the ball, he passes the ball, he gets a lot of attention from the other team's game plan, which frees up his teammates.

"And he wants to win. That's the No.1 thing about that guy is he puts winning first."

But, then, Zaire is watching.

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