Dwyane Wade to Receive Highest Honor

631 letterwinners. Fifty NBA draft picks. 24 All-Americans. Dwyane Wade’s name can be found on each of these lists. The legend personifies the 90 years of history, tradition and mystic that is Marquette basketball. He is, without a doubt, one of the most storied figures to ever wear the Marquette uniform.

Dwyane Wade to Receive Highest Marquette Basketball Honor
Jersey to be retired on February 3

MILWAUKEE,  January 29 - Six hundred and thirty-one letterwinners.  Fifty NBA draft picks.  Twenty-four All-Americans.  Dwyane Wade’s name can be found on each of these lists. The legend personifies the 90 years of history, tradition and mystic that is Marquette basketball.  He is, without a doubt, one of the most storied figures to ever wear the Marquette uniform. On Feb. 3 against Providence, Wade will garner the highest honor an athlete can receive from the university, joining yet another class that will grow to nine names long. The basketball jersey no. 3 flashed up and down the court 66 games in his career, will be retired during a halftime ceremony.

“I’m honored and humbled to be recognized in this way by Marquette University.  To see my jersey hang in the rafters with all the other great players in Marquette Basketball history is a tremendous honor,” said Wade.  “I want to thank Coach Crean, the Marquette administration, as well as my former coaches and teammates for making this day possible.”

Wade played for the Golden Eagles during the 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons, helping Marquette to a 53-13 record, two NCAA Tournament appearances and a trip to the 2003 NCAA Final Four. He holds the record for most points scored in a season with 710 and ranks 21st all-time with 1,281 career points. As a sophomore he was named an Honorable Mention All-American by the Associated Press, and as a junior, garnered All-American honors from the AP, Sporting News, the United State Basketball Writers of America, ESPN.com, Basketball Times, FOXSPORTS.com and CNNSI.com.

“In a short period of time Dwyane Wade has made an impact across the world with his ability as a basketball player, but more importantly as a human being,” said Marquette head coach Tom Crean.  “We had an opportunity at Marquette to see that first hand and are better because of him.  We have great admiration, respect and love for Dwyane, and are excited to see him receive this honor.”

The Miami Heat drafted Wade with the fifth pick of the 2003 NBA Draft and in his three-plus seasons in the league has garnered numerous awards with the Heat. His most recent came after helping lead Miami to the NBA Championship in 2006, when he was named the NBA Finals MVP. Wade is a three-time NBA All-Star, has earned All-NBA Second Team honors twice and All-Defensive Second Team honors once and was a unanimous All-NBA Rookie Team selection. He holds numerous Heat records, including single-season records for points (2,040 in 2005-06) and scoring average (27.2 in 2005-06).  Wade has represented the United States in international competition twice, in the 2004 Olympics and last summer as a tri-captain of the bronze-medal winning world championship team.  In December, Wade was named Sports Illustrated’s 2006 Sportsmen of the Year.

In the ninety years of Marquette basketball, the jerseys of eight basketball greats have been retired: Dean Meminger (#14), Butch Lee (#15), Maurice Lucas (#20), George Thompson (#24), Bo Ellis (#31), Glenn “Doc” Rivers (#31), Earl Tatum (#43) and Don Kojis (#44).

The university has also retired three numbers. The number eleven was retired in honor of the Apollo 11 crew, the number 38 in honor of the 38 years of service given by the late Robert Weingart as Marquette’s athletic trainer, and the number 77 to honor legendary head coach Al McGuire, who led the 1977 team to the NCAA Championship.