Dwyane Wade returns to Marquette campus to host book signing - Examiner.com

Since departing the Marquette men’s basketball program in 2003 following one of the most decorated careers in the university’s history, Dwyane Wade has certainly made a name for himself.

A native of Chicago, the 30-year-old Wade, entering his tenth season with the Miami Heat, has claimed two NBA championships; earned an Olympic gold medal; been named an All-Star eight times, including game MVP honors in 2010; nabbed a scoring crown (2009); been named to the All-NBA First Team twice; and is the all-time leading scorer in the history of the Heat franchise.

Well, the man known as “Flash” can now add author to the aforementioned list of accomplishments.

Wade, who holds the MU record for points scored in a season (710), wrote his first book, entitled “A Father First: How My Life Became Bigger Than Basketball,” and held a signing at the Al McGuire Center on the Marquette campus on Tuesday one week after its release.

“I realized that the platform I have, I want to use it for something positive,” noted Wade at a brief press conference prior to the signing, as reported by jsonline.com. “I felt that sharing my life experience, sharing things that I have been through, the successes and failures, that could help young kids out. When I talk to them they might look at me and see Dwyane Wade now. I can say, ‘You don’t know what I’m dealing with.’ I can talk with them like I have been there before. I have had a lot of obstacles in my life and I still made it. I have been successful. Still, with that, I have obstacles in my life.

“So it was just sharing of everything that happened in my life in the sense that it wasn’t easy. I decided to do it because I thought it might help someone else.”

The 2003 Conference USA Player of the Year, Wade, who played two seasons for the blue and gold, signed more than 500 copies of the book on Tuesday and advised that his tenure in Milwaukee continues to be a source of pride.

“No matter how many times I see Marquette on television any time, whatever the case may be, there is always that proud moment,” cited Wade, the fifth overall selection in the 2003 NBA draft, according to jsonline.com. “There have been so many classes that have come and gone since I have been here. It’s a proud moment knowing of what we were able to build here at Marquette…We are proud of the level Marquette has stayed at. And hopefully they can stay there for a long time to come.”