Marquette University Athletics
Dwyane Wade Declares For NBA Draft.
5/1/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
May 1, 2003
Quotes from Dwyane Wade's Press Conference
Dwyane Wade
Opening statement... "Three years at Marquette have been unbelievable. The fan support ahs been unbelievable, I'm saying this with courage and confidence, everything that I can think of. I know I have the backing of all my teammates, my coaches, my family, everyone in this room, you all wouldn't be here if you didn't care about Dwyane Wade as a person. It was a great year. I'm going to take my game to the NBA and see what the future holds for Dwyane Wade. I'm blessed I had the opportunity to sit here in front of your guys and make this decision at the age of 21, to make a decision where I can further my education or I can live my dream out and I'm going to do both no matter what. I want to thank my teammates, first off I want to thank God, my wife, my son, my coach, for being supportive in everything I have done. I want to thank the Marquette community for giving Dwyane Wade the opportunity to be here as a partial qualifier and for treating me the way I feel any human being should be treated. That being said, next year, I hope to be playing somewhere where all you can follow Dwyane Wade."
(On leaving Marquette...) "I think anybody in my position will say, 'He's going for the money.' It's more than that at Marquette, it has always been more than that since day one. Like coach said, my teammates support any decision I make. It was a hard decision for the simple fact that I love being here, I love the moments I share with my teammates. This run to the Final Four, was unbelievable, I'm just living a dream right now, and I will continue to do that. I'm going to get my degree, I'm going to continue to be Dwyane Wade, I'm not going to change."
(On making a decision...) "I was balancing college and the pros. The things I was balancing in college was getting my degree, it's important to me. My teammates, they are important to me. Playing college basketball is so exciting and the tournament was a dream. But playing in the NBA has been a lifelong dream. Those were my options, it wasn't easy and it wasn't hard."
(On signing an agent...) "No, I will be going through the process in finding the best person for my family, someone we can trust. I'm the kind of person that is committed to what I'm doing, I'm committed to being the best player and the best person I can be at Marquette. So I'm committed to the decision I made."
(On the possibility of being a top-10 pick...) "You listen to the people that matter, when it is time to go thorough the process, I went to my coaches. I didn't search on my own. Hearing good things about yourself, possibly being a lottery pick, means a lot because of how hard I worked. Everyone wants to go as high as they can, wherever Dwayane Wade falls, I hope it is the right place for me and my family."
(On if Coach Crean's contract extension had anything to do with his decision...) "It is not just one decision that makes it hard, it is many. I knew coach's heart was here, coach made the best decision for him and his family and I just made the best decision for me and my family. I know we would be supportive of each other.
Tom Crean
Opening statement... "Obviously when we first started to recruit him in the spring of '99, we had no idea that he would have the impact here that he has had in every shape and form. Not just as a basketball player, but far more importantly as a human being. You as a human being, you look at what kind of teammate he is, you see what kind of relationship he has with them, how he has made everyone here better not only as a player, but as a person because of the way he lives his life, the way he carries himself, the way he loves his family. We could have never imaged that he would get this good this fast. He has put so much in to being...I can't describe to you what kind of teammate he is and I can't describe to you how it is to coach him. We are going to miss him. Certainly, you don't replace a talent like he has on the floor, but don't misunderstand me here, we are going to miss him a lot more as a person. We have a very special thing happening here. The legacy that he leaves will be a strong one because he is going to get his degree; I think he is committed to that as anyone as I have been around. He is very very close, he is a head of schedule. And when you write about him, make sure you write that, and when you write about the impact he has had, be sure to put in somewhere that he is doing everything he can to get a 3.0 GPA. And that should be a great credit to who he is. It has been an absolute joy and honor to be his coach and I say that...he is special beyond belief, he is humble, he is courteous, it has been a real pleasure for everyone to cover him and everyone in the back to be able to be a part of his life. He will make Marquette better and Marquette has made him better. I can't say enough about Fr. Wild having the belief in me and the belief in him for letting him come here. Don't measure him just with 53 wins and with the All-American awards, measure him by the kind of person that he is and the kind of family member he will be. He has an incredible future ahead of him and he will always, always be a member of this program, our lives and this universe. It has been an honor, it really has."
(On Dwyane's decision...) "A small percentage of players are faced with the opportunities that he has. We put a plan in place for him to follow through the year that we followed. I have a lot of respect for him in terms of how he handled the distractions. He did a great job of focusing completely on his academics, his teammates and building this team. He did a great job of that."
(On Dwyane...) "I'm going to miss seeing his competitiveness. When you have the kind of relationship that this program has with one another, we will miss him as a person, the daily involvement, listening to him on the bus. You strive to build a lot of good memories here that bothers me. We have a great thing here. Wherever he goes, he's going to be a part of it. I'm not going to let my relationship with him waver one bit and I know he won't. I can't put into word what he has done here and you can't measure just by what he has done on the court. He will help build the lives of people who come in here. These guys are great teammates to each other. They are great. I think he has learned a lot in three years. He is going to go make whatever team he is on better next year. He will impact whatever team he goes to and most of us will never see it. You can't just measure him on the points and the wins, you have to measure him also as what kind of person he is and the more I am with him and these guys...that is the way it is here."
