Arvia: Dwyane Wade goes camping at Lincoln-Way Central
PHIL ARVIA parvia@southtownstar.com | (708) 633-5949 July 8, 2011 9:20PM
Dwyane Wade (right), of the Miami Heat, talks to participants at the start of the Dwyane Wade Skills Academy at Lincoln-Way Central High School Thursday, July 7, 2011, at 1801 E. Lincoln Highway in New Lenox. | Matthew Grotto~Sun-Times Media
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Updated: January 23, 2012 2:57AM
Given this was among the rest of the world that is not Dallas, perhaps it came as no surprise Friday that Dwyane Wade owned the gym.
He owned it by banging in a jumper from two steps inside halfcourt, while the Bears’ Devin Hester knelt at the free-throw line, polishing a trophy he would soon be forced to hand over.
That Hester was in a shooting contest with Wade was curious enough. That Wade was winning until offering Hester double points on his final two free throws, giving him a chance to tie in advance of Wade’s final shots, brilliant showmanship. That the wide receiver drained both while 700 young voices whooped behind him, proof pro athletes are money in ways most of the rest of us are not.
But the real surprise was in what gym this all took place.
Not Richards, Wade’s alma mater, where he’d held camps the two previous years. Not Eisenhower, where the Robbins native had hosted hundreds of kids for free since going to the NBA in 2003.
Instead, he was at Lincoln-Way Central, where his longtime friend, former security chief and New Lenox Mayor Tim Baldermann combined Wade’s basketball camp with Hester’s football camp, “Eye of the Tiger” songwriter Jim Peterik’s music camp and a carnival. While that ought to help Baldermann with the tween vote in his next election, you’ve got to wonder what it does to Wade’s Q-rating in his home district (Community High School Dist. 218, if you’re scoring at home).
I asked him if it felt odd not to be at Richards or Ike.
“I’m just trying to touch another community, as I do in Miami and different places I go,” he said. “I had a great opportunity to come out here — and the vision of what I always wanted to be a part of, this is the place to do it.
“I have a great relationship with the mayor and New Lenox opened its doors for us. I did camps at Eisenhower, I did camps at Richards; I’ve tried to go and touch those communities. Now we’re in a different community and we’re trying to do the same thing here.”
Or maybe he’s just expanding his community. After all, Richards coach John Chappetto was among the 25 Chicago-area high school coaches lending a hand, happily.
“These are tremendous facilities,” he said. “We would love to have it at Richards, but I think it’s outgrown us.
Wade’s first Richards camp two years ago had 150 participants. More than 300 were signed up for basketball alone at Lincoln-Way Central.
Noting each camp’s $199 price tag — $299 for both football and basketball — Chappetto said, “You want to give them the best experience.
“At Richards, we have 14 baskets, and two of them are just about useless. Here, there are at least 24 ... I think it was a brilliant idea to bring it here.”
Chappetto also noted Wade’s efforts to ensure his old neighborhood wouldn’t be excluded. Wade’s stepbrother, Demetrius McDaniel, is a Richards assistant, and when Chappetto held a camp at the Oak Lawn school, McDaniel distributed half-off coupons to the campers. Chappetto said he saw several of those faces Friday in New Lenox.
“Demetrius and Dwyane are trying to take care of the District 218 people,” Chappetto said.
Lockout layups
The media contingent was out in full force for a scheduled availability with Wade, Hester, and Peterik — who had the good sense to bow out after playing a quick snippet of Survivor’s big hit. There was only a hint of desperation in the air, owing completely to the prospects of finding sports stories in a town with two lousy baseball teams and the NFL and the NBA locked in their respective work stoppages.
Then Wade gave the ink-stained wretches the equivalent of a two-foot birdie putt.
Asked if he’d consider playing in Europe, an option explored by several other players, during the lockout, he said, “Consider? Yes.
“If there’s an opportunity there, would I consider it? Yes, I’d consider it.”
What else was he going to say?
Naturally, The Associated Press pounced. The story moved in the Miami Herald website in short order, and I’m guessing by the time you read this Wade will be issuing a statement saying, “Hey, I was just trying to avoid questions about Eisenhower.”
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