Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Emotional return for Wade
Guard’s first look at new Milwaukee arena sparks a trip down memory lane
MILWAUKEE — This time for Dwyane Wade returning to Milwaukee, where he played his college ball at Marquette, is a little different.
The star Miami Heat shooting guard in his final season is playing in Milwaukee’s new state-of-theart Fiserv Forum for the first time. This as opposed to the old Bradley Center, the arena he called home when he starred for two seasons with the Golden Eagles before getting drafted by the Heat with the No. 5 pick in 2003.
The Heat’s Tuesday night game against the Milwaukee Bucks comes just two days after the implosion of the roof on the Bradley Center that began the demolition project on the Bucks’ former home, which is across the street from Fiserv Forum.
“It was a little emotional,” Wade said at Heat shootaround Tuesday morning at Fiserv Forum. “A lot of memories go in that explosion for me — memories that I will always have and will always be able to talk about.”
Nonetheless, any trip to Milwaukee is always a trip down memory lane for Wade.
“Every time I come back, it’s always great. A lot of memories come back,” Wade said. “I always talk about coming to Marquette – many years ago now – and just with a hope and dream of hopefully becoming good enough to be able to play at the next level, and was able to accomplish that.”
Among Wade’s favorite Marquette moments: Leading the Golden Eagles with 29 points in their 2003 Elite Eight victory over NCAA Tournament No. 1 overall seed Kentucky; his final home game when his mother, JoLinda Wade, was released from prison and able to watch him play as Marquette beat Cincinnati for the Conference USA regular season title; a 2002 victory over Cincinnati that had the fans rushing the floor as the Golden Eagles snapped the Bearcats’ longest active win streak in college basketball at the time.
On Tuesday morning, the Heat’s pre-game shootaround, which usually would be held at Marquette, was also at Fiserv Forum.
“We usually do shootarounds and practices at Marquette for a reason,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “We could do it anywhere, but we like going back there and help him have the opportunity to go back to where he came from and for our guys to see that, that connection.
“It was really cool early in his career when Coach [Tom] Crean was still at Marquette. He’d come to our shootarounds and practices, and you could just feel the legacy that he had created at that school.”
The Heat still have one more game in Milwaukee as they’re set to visit the Bucks on March 22, when it will truly have the “One Last Dance” feeling of Wade’s final season.
“I think it speaks to the Hall-of-Fame career that he’s had,” Spoelstra said Tuesday of Wade’s reception around the league. “But, I think, it also reflects the type of class and grace he exhibited over the years. Fans notice those things, and I love seeing them celebrate those qualities.”
There’s another very important quality being celebrated for Wade.
“And, he won,” Spoelstra said. “So many young players don’t understand that component, which is probably the most important component. You have to win for people to truly remember you, and Dwyane has been about winning his entire career, going back to college.
“He’s been willing to sacrifice and be the right kind of teammate to have championship teams really thrive. A lot of star players aren’t willing to do some of the things that he’s willing to do, including what he’s doing this year, coming off the bench.”
As Wade’s Milwaukee return marks the first game of a four-game road trip, he also will be honored back at Fiserv Forum, which Marquette now uses as its home arena, during the Golden Eagles’ game against Providence on Sunday.
The Heat play in nearby Chicago against the Bulls on Saturday and have Sunday off before visiting the Boston Celtics on Monday.
“I’m humbled and appreciative of the opportunity on Sunday to be able to just say thank you once again for all the support,” Wade said.