Back to school: Wade doesn't forget Richards

There was praise for Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade everywhere you went around Richards last week. And rightly so.

''I can't tell you how lucky I am,'' Richards boys basketball coach John Chappetto said.

''He's spoiling us,'' junior boys basketball player Eliud Gonzalez said.

''This is the experience of a lifetime, and he's one of the few guys who would do this,'' athletic director Ken Styler said.

They're all heaping kudos on Wade, a 2000 Richards graduate who starred at Marquette, because last Monday he was part of a pep rally (via satellite) at Richards during which the administration announced a $150,000 donation from the cell-phone company T-Mobile and Wade. The money will be used to put in a new gym floor and bleachers. The school already has used part of the money to get new scoreboards, a sound system and a video projection screen.

Wade and T-Mobile also are donating $5,000 to Richards the next three years for an academic scholarship.

Styler said T-Mobile called the school about a month ago and told him that Wade wanted to donate money to renovate the gym. Wade said he had been planning the donations since he signed a new contract last summer.

''I put the price tag of it at $130,000 or $140,000,'' Styler said. ''Since then, it's been crazy with a lot of calls and questions.''

The pep rally lasted a little more than an hour. Wade appeared via satellite from his Miami home because he's rehabbing after a shoulder injury. But his mother, Jolinda, and his wife, Siohvaughn, were in attendance and spoke to the student body. And former Richards coach Jack Fitzgerald, who coached Wade, also spoke.

At the end of the assembly, everyone was surprised to see Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Hudson appear onstage and introduce singer Kanye West, an Eisenhower grad who belted out a few.

''All kids come through high school and finally get an opportunity to make a decision, either good or bad, and get a taste of what the real world is about,'' Wade said. ''I always wished I could be as lucky as other kids.''

When more and more pro athletes are finding themselves in the news for the wrong reasons -- DUI arrests, domestic violence, shootings or just being in the wrong place at the wrong time -- Wade is working with corporations that use him as a pitchman to give back to the community. He already got Converse to donate shoes, uniforms and other athletic apparel to Richards' girls and boys basketball teams.

''We're so fortunate that he's been our guardian angel,'' Chappetto said. ''He wanted to do something for Richards, and this is how they went about it.''

The floor at Richards is now known as D. Wade Court with a logo near the center. Too bad that it came just as Wade's stepbrother was graduating. Senior Kodhamus Llongbey led the Bulldogs to a 26-3 record this season. The team started 20-0.

''He's doing a good thing and is a real generous person,'' Llongbey said. ''He gave us a lot, and he also gave our girls some shoes. He asks me how the team is doing, and I ask him [for advice], mainly about school.''

Llongbey said he'd watch Wade play early in his career, and he always knew his stepbrother would go far. But he didn't have an inkling that his brother would one day win an NBA championship and be the player he is now until Wade played at Marquette.

''I didn't realize [how good Wade was] until he was in college and they went to the Final Four,'' Llongbey said. ''I liked that, watching him progress.''

Jolinda Wade wasn't surprised her son wanted to give back to Richards. She described his actions as ''so perfect'' because Wade has a passion and love for the school and community.

''He takes my breath away,'' she said.

Siohvaughn, a 1999 Richards grad and Wade's high school sweetheart, said Wade had talked about helping Richards renovate its gym as far back as college. But she was still in awe of her husband's generosity.

''[The donations and pep assembly] haven't sunk in yet, and this has so much sentimental value,'' Siohvaughn said. ''A lot of our history is here.''

How much will this warrant in the sports pages or in Sports Illustrated? It deserves a lot. Wade has kept his nose clean and is making an effort to help the lives of those still at Richards, those who might not make it past college ball or even high school.

Wade spoke to the student body at the end of the assembly and emphasized that he wants kids to remember that books come first, not athletics.

''No joke, school is very important,'' Wade said. ''I went to college, and I had to sit out my first year because I didn't take care of the books.''

Gonzalez thinks pro athletes should do more for the communities they once called home.

''They should do more for their schools, but a lot think it could bring a lot of negativity,'' Gonzalez said. ''[Wade has] given us shoes, uniforms and scoreboards. I would thank him for everything. He's a role model to all kids.''