Hard work, small towns and bobcats: Exploring Cavs’ Dean Wade’s roots

My interview with Kurt Fairchild, Dean’s junior high and high school coach

Question: Has Dean sought the spotlight or is he comfortable in a supporting role? He seems to be thriving as the latter right now.

"“No, he is not a spotlight seeker. He plays to make the team better. And he expects that of his teammates. And he loves to win.”"

Question: When did you first think Dean could really be a professional basketball player?

"“Actually, Coach Weber at K-State thought that Dean might be a one-and-done guy. In high school I thought he was a D1 player but when Weber said that I thought yeah, he’s probably right.”"

Question: What’s it like having a former player play in the NBA?

"“Here’s what I tell people about that: He’s more than a once in a lifetime player to get the opportunity to coach. Many, very good coaches, have coached their lifetime and hardly any of them have had the opportunity to coach anyone close to Dean off and on the court.”"

Question: When you coached Dean, did you imagine him playing in the NBA someday?

"“Dean was the best teammate imaginable. I remember during timeouts he would suggest plays or sets to run that would get a teammate an easy shot and score. It was uncanny how he understood the game.”"

Question: What has been Dean’s key to his success in his career?

"“It’s about hard work. He expects perfection of himself which made him pretty tough on himself. And great genes! His mother was a very successful college volleyball player (and had her number retired) and his dad played football on scholarship at K-State and Western Illinois. And his sister was a junior college All-American in volleyball!”"

Question: Could you ever have imagined Dean playing in the NBA when he was a youngster?

"“After Dean’s seventh grade year, I told my assistant coach I was seriously considering retiring. He said, “You can’t do that.” I said why not? He said, “Don’t you know that someday you’ll have the opportunity to tell everybody that you got to coach a D-I basketball player?” Little did he know that I’ve had the opportunity to tell my grandkids that “that guy playing in the NBA was on Papa’s basketball team for four years and football team for three years.”‘"

Question: Are there any stories of Dean as a kid, when he started playing hoops, that you knew he was going to be a special player?

"“I was at a K-State practice when Dean was a freshman and a scout for the Atlanta Hawks was watching practice. He was sitting by me, and I asked him if he was looking at Wes Iwundu? He said no, he was watching Dean Wade. He then asked me who I was watching. I said Dean Wade, because I coached him in junior high and was his assistant coach in high school! He right away said, “Did you teach him how to shoot?” I said no, his parents did and I didn’t ever want to mess with his shot. He said, ” That’s the wrong answer! You should take credit for a shooting motion like Dean has!!” LOL I always said I wanted to take a video of Dean’s shot and show it to every kid learning how to shoot a basketball!”"

Question: Are there any funny basketball-related stories that come to mind when Dean was a kid?

"“When Dean was a sixth grader, I made him our manager so that he could practice every day, but he wasn’t eligible to play until his seventh grade year. My point guard (who ended up playing at K-State also) came up to me after practice the first week and told me that he didn’t think I should allow Dean to practice against his team. I said, “Why not?” and he said, “because we can’t stop him!!” LOL and he was laughing too. He then said, “Seriously Coach we don’t have anybody to stop him!” And the two grades right ahead of Dean had two players that played college basketball.”"

Question:  Tell us about St. John and Dean’s time there?

"“St. John is a very rural community that has always loved its basketball and has great tradition. I’m sure that influenced Dean. We start kids out early playing basketball and encouraging them. Dean’s favorite thing is fishing and hunting. He’s the best hand fisherman for catfish I’ve ever witnessed, and he trapped one of the largest bobcats ever caught in a pasture I own. He called me about 6 o’clock in the morning totally pumped about catching the huge bobcat!! Scared me to death when I saw Dean was calling that early in the morning!”"

Question: Does Dean visit Kansas and St. John?

"“Dean visits every opportunity he gets, and the kids (and even the adults) love it!”"

Question: Do the Cavs have a chance at the playoffs this year?

"“Yes! I think if they get the bigs healthy and use a smart rotation of all five bigs they’ll do it!”"

Question: How do you watch the games?

"“I paid for NBA league pass on Direct TV! Worth every penny!”"

A little extra note on Dean Wade’s success story from Coach Fairchild

"“Dean grew to be 6’0 in the eighth grade. I had a couple players taller than he was. I remember measuring him during the season. He was so excited that he got to 6 feet! And then as a freshman he came in at 6’7″!! I made him the point guard on the practice squad his sixth grade year and made him my point guard on dribble-drive motion offense. (Remember the story about the eighth graders who couldn’t slow him down!) I think that was a real benefit to his career to be such a good ball handler at an early age. And he was always a fantastic shooter. And he did exactly what you taught him and never had to tell him twice. He’s just so fundamentally sound and never out of position defensively.”"

The interview with Coach Fairchild was so fun because he and I have been junior high coaches and so much happens for kids in that age group. Kids like Wade grow over the summers in height: some kids that were the center and post player on their teams in sixth or seventh grade end up being a guard in high school. Talent is hard to spot completely at that age, but you can find a few players.

Wade’s demeanor and the way he plays the game has always reminded me of my own daughter who played basketball and reached the college level, so that’s why I cheer for him. Wade’s cerebral way of playing the game and his ability to do all the little things on the court are what make a player like Wade even more valuable to the team.

Enjoy watching Wade play for the Cavaliers the rest of the season. He certainly has earned his way to the top of the mountain and having the challenge of facing a player like Kevin Durant or James Harden on a nightly basis for a job isn’t too bad of a living. Wade might not be catching a bobcat in the open fields of Kansas, but he’s catching the attention of the NBA.