The late Phil “Scooter” Rizzuto, all 5’6” and 150 pounds of him, once stated that, “I’ll take anyway to get into the Hall of Fame. If they want a batboy, I’ll go in as a batboy.” While his 1950 MVP Award, five All-Star Game appearances and seven World Series rings earned the former Yankees shortstop entrance into Cooperstown in 1994, Rizzuto’s comments, while intended for nothing more than comedic relief, speak volumes to the prestige and esteem that individuals hold for the hallowed grounds that exemplify a Hall of Fame.

While most commonly affiliated with athletics, there are indeed Hall of Fames all around us. From science, furniture, fashion, paper (at his current rate, Dwight Schrute is a clear first-ballot candidate come 2020), technology and music, the lionization and preservation of excellence has no boundaries.
On Saturday, August 22, Jim Allen, Bill Cords, Kate (Gordon) McGeeney, Lisa (Oldenburg) Kanning, Dwyane Wade and the 2002-03 men’s basketball team will be forever woven in the MU athletic fabric as the newest members of the Marquette Hall of Fame.

Including former athletes, coaches, trainers, teams and administrators, the Marquette Hall of Fame is comprised of 66 of the most influential, impactful and history-making figures in MU athletic history.
So before the ceremonies commence at the Bradley Center in one week’s time, here is a look at the aforementioned inductees’ impact during their time in Milwaukee:

Dwyane Wade

The main course of this year’s Hall of Fame class, Wade played two electrifying years for the Marquette men’s basketball team (2001-02 and 2002-03) and reignited MU men’s basketball in the process.

Ineligible to suit up for the Golden Eagles during his freshman year (2000-01) due to the NCAA’s Proposition 48 (which mandates student-athletes to reach certain academic eligibility requirements), Wade led the Golden Eagles in scoring during his sophomore year (17.8 ppg), was Conference USA’s steals per game leader (2.47), an All-Conference USA First Team selection and helped lead Marquette to a 26-7 mark—it’s best finish since the 1993-94 campaign—and their first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 1997 (ultimately losing to 12th-seed Tulsa, 71-69, in the First Round).

Wade’s junior season, however, proved to be a foreshadowing of what was to come in for the Chicago, Ill. native. Averaging a team-leading 21.5 points per game (Wade’s 710 points during the 2002-03 season established the single-season Marquette scoring record), Wade led the Golden Eagles to a 27-6 record (including a school-record 14 victories in Conference USA) and MU’s first C-USA Regular Season Championship. At season’s end, Wade was a consensus First Team All-American and was named Conference USA’s Player of the Year as well as its Defensive Player of the Year.

As a three seed in the 2003 NCAA Tournament, Wade helped will the Golden Eagles past Holy Cross, Missouri, Pittsburgh and Kentucky before losing to eventual National Runner-Up Kansas in the Final Four, 94-61.

Wade’s performance against the Kentucky Wildcats (the No. 1-overall seed in the Big Dance) in the Elite Eight, however, stands as perhaps the most dazzling individual performance in Marquette basketball history. Registering only the third triple-double in school history (as well as the tenth in NCAA Tournament history), the man now known as “Flash” registered 29 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists as the Golden Eagles upended the heavily favored squad from Lexington in Minneapolis, Minn.

Upon being selected with the fifth overall selection in the 2003 NBA Draft by the Miami Heat, Wade has compiled a career (in six short seasons) this is more befitting of a 15-year veteran: NBA champion (2006), NBA Finals MVP (2006), five-time NBA All-Star (2005-09), All-NBA First Team (2009), Second Team (2005-06) and Third Team (2007) selection, All-NBA Defensive Team selection (2005, 2009), an NBA scoring title (2009), Olympic Gold (2008) and Bronze (2004) medalist and the 2006 NBA Sportsman of the Year.

For his Blue and Gold career, Wade’s career scoring average of 19.7 points per game stands as the second-highest in MU history, whereas his 1,281 career points rank 25th.

In February 2007, Wade’s #3 jersey was retired by Marquette (while the university requires student-athletes to graduate in order to have their uniform retired, a special exemption was made for Wade).

2002-03 Men’s Basketball Team

Comprised of three future NBA players (Travis Diener, Steve Novak and Wade), possessing the second-best winning percentage in school history (.818, behind only the 1977-78 squad) and the third Marquette team to punch a ticket to the NCAA Final Four, the 2002-03 Marquette Golden Eagles stand as one of the most accomplished basketball teams ever assembled in MU history.

While the season ended in bittersweet disappointment (see above), the Golden Eagles of 2002-03 were littered with individual and team accolades.

In only his fourth year as MU head coach, Tom Crean was named the Ray Meyer Conference USA Coach of the Year, the recipient of Coach Clair Bee Award and the USBWA District V and NABC District XI Coach of the Year.

From a player standpoint, aside from Wade’s Fist Team All-American selection and C-USA Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year selections, Diener and power forward Robert Jackson were named to the All-Conference USA Second Team while Novak walked away with the Conference USA Sixth Man of the Year Award.

Compiling a 27-6 record, the 2002-03 Golden Eagles—who defeated the conference champions of the ACC (Wake Forest), Big East (Pittsburgh), Big Ten (Wisconsin) and SEC (Kentucky) throughout the course of the season—earned a No. 6 ranking in the final ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll and a No. 9 ranking in the Final USA Today Top 25 Poll.

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