By Alex Kennedy November 26, 2021<\/p>\n
Dwyane Wade is a three-time NBA champion, 13-time All-Star and a member of the NBA\u2019s 75th Anniversary Team. Among all players throughout league history, he totaled the 35th-most points (23,165), 43rd-most assists (5,701) and 32nd-most steals (1,620).<\/p>\n
Wade had a legendary career, and he\u2019s a lock to become a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer once he\u2019s eligible for induction in 2023. However, his career was nearly over before it even began.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a game that I fought very hard to play,\u201d Wade told\u00a0CBS News<\/a>\u00a0last week. \u201cMy mom went to jail when I was 9. My dad was in and out of jail. Growing up, I did not pass my ACT test to go to college. I had a baby in college. [There were] all these things that will stop you from reaching your goals, and I kept fighting. I kept fighting because it was my dream.\u201d<\/p>\n As Wade mentioned, his poor ACT scores nearly kept him from playing at the collegiate level. In his book, \u201cA Father First: How My Life Became Bigger Than Basketball<\/a>,\u201d Wade reveals that he dreamed of attending Michigan, but the program no longer had interest once officials saw his ACT score.<\/p>\n \u201cMy first set of scores wasn\u2019t bad; they were\u00a0disastrous<\/i>,\u201d Wade\u00a0writes<\/a>. \u201cThey sucked.\u201d<\/p>\n Marquette head coach Tom Crean continued to recruit Wade anyway. In fact, Crean told him that he had a place on the team even if he couldn\u2019t qualify academically \u2014 he just wouldn\u2019t be able to play in games or travel with the team. Crean was determined to get a commitment from Wade.<\/p>\n \u201c[Crean said], \u2018Look, here\u2019s what we\u2019re going to do. You\u2019re coming here and we\u2019ll stay with everything as planned. The only difference is you won\u2019t be able to play in the games or travel. But you\u2019ll do everything else. You\u2019re on the team,’\u201d Wade\u00a0writes<\/a>. \u201cLater I found out that Coach C probably didn\u2019t have the right to say that and he had to go back to the school to make sure that he could stand by that. No matter, I was sold all the same.\u201d<\/p>\n Wade took the ACT a third time, but his score was even worse. When Wade told Crean his results, they both cried. Shortly after, Wade\u2019s girlfriend, Siohvaughn, got pregnant. Some people may have quit basketball and tried to find a different career path, but Wade decided to continue pursuing his dream, and Crean (who had emerged as a \u201cfather figure\u201d) stood by him.<\/p>\n \u201c\u2018Whatever happens, whatever you decide, I\u2019m here and we\u2019ll get through this together,\u2019 [Crean told Wade]. Didn\u2019t tell me what to do or how to do it. Just that he\u2019d be there to go through it with me,\u201d Wade\u00a0writes<\/a>.<\/p>\n Wade sat out his freshman season because he wasn\u2019t academically eligible. After working hard with tutors, he managed to improve his academic standing and become eligible as a sophomore. From there, he became one of the best players in the nation, averaging 21.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 2.2 steals and 1.3 blocks. In 2003, Wade led Marquette to the Final Four for the first time since 1977. Then, he became the No. 5 pick in the 2003 NBA Draft.<\/p>\n Had Wade not had such a supportive coach who was willing to look past his poor test scores and be patient with him as he sat out a full season, he may not have gotten an opportunity to play college basketball. It\u2019s crazy to think that one of the greatest players in NBA history nearly didn\u2019t get a chance to continue playing after high school.<\/p>\n Back in 2000, a player in Wade\u2019s position didn\u2019t have many options. Fortunately, now, there are way more options for talented prospects who are academically ineligible or who just don\u2019t want to attend college such as going overseas (like Brandon Jennings and LaMelo Ball), playing for the G League Ignite (like Jalen Green and Jonathan Kuminga), doing a postgraduate year (like KJ Martin) or taking a year off to train for the NBA\u2019s pre-draft process (like Darius Bazley).<\/p>\n