seaofred92
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Sophomore Gradey d!(k was one of four new players at the USA Basketball u16 trials, which were held in Florida at the University School this past week.
“It’s crazy,” d!(k said of experience. “These are some of the top thirty kids in the nation, so, just to be present in this room with them is a blessing, I’m very thankful.”
d!(k, a 6-foot-6 wing prospect out of Wichita (Kans.) Collegiate School, had a solid showing, especially considering it was his first time in this setting.
Last week, after receiving the offer from Wichita State, he told the Wichita Eagle: “I’m extremely happy because it is my hometown team. I actually got to meet Coach (Gregg) Marshall and all of the assistant coaches got to see me play. I got a lot of 1-on-1 time with them. I was kind of surprised they offered. This is my first one, so this is all pretty new to me. I’m really happy, though.”
d!(k led Wichita Collegiate in scoring last season as a freshman. He scored 31 points in a sub-state championship game loss to Kingman.
He spoke to the Eagle last week about his game.
“When I first started playing basketball, all I wanted to be was a shooter,” d!(k told the Eagle. “The past couple of years, I’ve started to upgrade my jumping ability and now I can finish above the rim, which has been a big advantage to my game. I’m kind of an all-around player now, I feel like. I can still shoot it, but now I can pump fake and put it on the ground and finish above the rim.”
Carmen Jaspers was a basketball star at Ackley-Geneva High, about an hour’s drive from Ames, Iowa.
She went on to a productive career at Iowa State, landing on the Cyclones’ career blocked shots chart. She ended up as a professional player in Japan.
Somewhere along the way, she also learned to be a Fred Hoiberg fan.
After her playing career, she settled in Wichita, Kansas, where she married a former small-college athlete named Bart d!(k.
In 2003, they had a son named Gradey, who is now a 6-foot-5 burgeoning basketball star.
Could Gradey’s and Hoiberg’s paths cross? It’s possible. Nebraska offered Gradey a scholarship on Saturday, his second Division I scholarship offer.
“My mom played at Iowa State, and we were big fans of Coach Hoiberg when he was there,” Gradey d!(k said. “We had been following Iowa State with Coach Hoiberg coaching there, and for him to go to Nebraska and for me to get offered by them would be a great situation to possibly play for him, and learning from him would be big for my game.”
Although coaches can’t call him, d!(k is able to call them. With that, he’s been able to speak with head coaches from Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Baylor, Nebraska, Purdue, Wichita State, Iowa State, Wake Forest, and Maryland.
He’s also been able to have virtual meetings set-up with staffs from Kansas, Oklahoma State, Baylor, North Carolina, Purdue, and Nebraska.