When Marquette University retired Dwyane Wade's number before the Golden Eagles' Feb. 3 game against Providence, it didn't seem the least bit unusual.
After all, Wade is arguably the best player in Marquette history. Heck, by the time his career is done, he just might be the best player in NBA history, too. He's already a three-time All-Star, an Olympic bronze medalist, an NBA champion and the reigning Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year. And he's still just 25 years old.
Nevertheless, the second his No. 3 jersey was raised to the Bradley Center rafters, a vocal group of fans and sports journalists across the country, apparently looking for something—or anything—to complain about, voiced their displeasure. As it turns out, there is something unusual about Wade's career being honored by MU. Of the nine players whose numbers have been retired by the school, he's the only one that hasn't graduated from the university.
Marquette apparently has a rule stipulating that in order to have your number retired, you first have to earn your diploma. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, when Wade left Marquette after his junior year, he too was told his number wouldn't be retired until he graduated.
Wade is still about a year away from doing that, and although he still promises to earn his diploma, there naturally are people who feel he shouldn't be honored until that time. But why not? How does a diploma have anything to do with his exploits on the basketball court?
Marquette isn't honoring his academic achievements. It isn't even honoring his character, which by all accounts, is impeccable. It is simply honoring his basketball career at Marquette, which, was undeniably spectacular.
The fact that Wade doesn't have a degree from Marquette takes nothing away from his accomplishments on the court or the amazing effect he had on the university. Would a degree make Wade a better person? Probably not. Would a degree help Wade find a better job? Definitely not.
As ""Pardon the Interruption"" co-host Michael Wilbon pointed out, the reason most students go to college is to prepare for a good job. You'd be hard pressed to find a Marquette grad that has a better job than Wade—diplomas and all. And it certainly seems Marquette played a role in preparing him for his current job with the Miami Heat.
The critics of Wade's recent honor also point to the fact that he only played two seasons for the Golden Eagles. As a partial qualifier out of high school, he was academically ineligible to play basketball his freshman season, and he left the school after guiding Marquette to the Final Four in his junior season.
However, it's that very success story that should be a source of pride for Marquette. It's the success story where a young coach (Tom Crean) took a chance on a young man who came in with no guarantee that he would ever be eligible to play. But Wade worked tirelessly both on the practice court and in the classroom. He became eligible for his sophomore season, and the nation soon saw exactly why Crean took such a gamble. While Wade wowed fans with his play on the court, he also proved to be a class act off it.
In his two seasons at Marquette, Wade led the Golden Eagles to a Conference USA championship, two NCAA tournaments and the school's first Final Four appearance since 1977. He scored a school record 710 points in his junior season, earning first-team All-American honors. During his two seasons of action, he also married his high school sweetheart and had his first son.
Wade may not have the diploma to prove his accomplishments at Marquette, but that doesn't matter. Anybody who followed his career at Marquette—who watched the superstar hustle for every rebound, dive for every loose ball and repeatedly play through pain—knows exactly what Wade meant both to the university and its basketball program. He made Marquette basketball relevant again, and for that, the school has a right to be proud.
Perhaps some schools wouldn't have bent the rules to honor a player like Wade. But more than likely, those schools have never had a player that good.
Matt is embarrassed to admit he grew up as both a Marquette and Wisconsin fan. To tell him he's a moron, e-mail him at msbunke@wisc.edu.
