Gradey Dick set the Kansas freshman file for 3-point subject targets, recorded the primary double-double of his profession within the Jayhawks’ opener within the NCAA Tournament and is on observe to be an NBA lottery choose in June.
His mother, a participant of her personal accomplishment, is happy with him, in fact.
But Carmen Dick concedes nothing to him as a basketball participant. That’s not how their uber-competitive household operates.
Her son performed the starring function in a first-round win over Howard on Thursday and subsequent he’ll lead the top-seeded and defending champion Jayhawks (28-7) right into a Saturday sport towards No. 8 Arkansas (21-13).
No. 2 UCLA (30-5) performs No. 7 Northwestern (22-11) in Sacramento, Calif, within the different West sport.
Kansas’ opening event video games are being performed at Wells Fargo Arena, which is throughout the road from Veterans Auditorium. That’s the place Carmen Dick — then Carmen Jaspers — constructed her legacy as certainly one of Iowa’s best highschool gamers earlier than she grew to become a 1,000-point scorer at Iowa State.
Since the Jayhawks arrived in Des Moines, locals have regaled Gradey Dick with recollections of his mother dominating the competitors within the previous six-girl sport Iowa excessive colleges performed till 30 years in the past.
“Yeah, he knows what I did. He’s well aware,” Carmen Dick mentioned Friday. “We have competitions, and he’s got me on a few and I’ve got him on a few.”
Gradey is the higher 3-point shooter, however Carmen notes there have been no 3s in her day. For her half, she performed in three straight state tournaments for Ackley-Geneva High at Veterans Auditorium (1983-85), averaged 40 factors per sport as a senior and nonetheless ranks tenth all-time together with her 77.6% capturing in 1984.
As a collegian, she was Iowa State’s feminine athlete of the 12 months in 1989 and nonetheless holds the varsity single-game free-throw file by going 15 for 15 towards Kansas in 1988.
“I haven’t gotten near to that, so she holds that over me,” mentioned Gradey, who had 19 factors, 11 rebounds, 5 assists and three steals in his first NCAA Tournament sport.
Gradey mentioned he admires his mother’s accomplishments. Because she performed below the basket in highschool and school, she’s even taught him a couple of inside strikes.
“You never know when he might need to use those,” she mentioned.
Carmen Dick is a private coach in Wichita, Kansas, the place she and her husband, Bart, and raised Gradey because the youngest of 4 kids. She mentioned age has taken among the luster off her sport, however she doesn’t again down from a problem on the courtroom.
“We all played a lot of games in the backyard,” she mentioned, laughing, “and there was no mercy. No mercy.”
Gradey mentioned she nonetheless has sport.
“Nowadays it’s more H-O-R-S-E,” he mentioned. “Her mid-range game, she does not miss. Never.”
Kansas performing coach Norm Roberts mentioned, “Gradey, he knows his mom is the best player in the house. We know all that. When you are coaching Gradey and talking to him about different things, his mom knows what’s going on.”
Another No. 1 for Arkansas
This marks the third straight 12 months Arkansas will play a No. 1 seed. The Razorbacks knocked off Gonzaga 74-68 in San Francisco within the Sweet 16 final 12 months and misplaced to Baylor 81-72 within the Elite Eight in Indianapolis in 2021.
“We talked about the mentality that you need to have going into this particular game,” coach Eric Musselman mentioned. “Not good luck to play three number ones in three years. I don’t know if that’s ever happened before. But if it has happened before, it certainly hasn’t happened with many programs.”
The Razorbacks had been seeded Nos. 4 and three the previous two years and are a No. 8 this time. Arkansas is a 3½-point underdog to Kansas, in keeping with FanDuel Sportsbook, after being a 2-point favourite towards Illinois.
“I don’t think many people believed in us yesterday going into that game,” Musselman mentioned. “Yeah, I think we need to play with a free mind. We need to not feel pressure. Our guys are smart. They’re on Twitter. They’re on Instagram. They know. They know what we’re playing against.”
Experience hole
UCLA’s NCAA Tournament accolades are legendary with 11 nationwide titles and 19 appearances within the Final Four.
The Bruins’ second-round opponent has only a bit much less historical past on this stage. Northwestern is making solely its second look. The Wildcats have by no means made it so far as the Sweet 16, dropping within the second spherical in 2017 of their solely different event journey.
“As a program, it would be huge,” Northwestern ahead Robbie Beran mentioned. “I knew we had something special. Really just trying to make history. … It will be a huge step for the program. But we’re just trying to focus on the game. We’re not really trying to look at how it affects Northwestern basketball legacy.”
UCLA coach Mick Cronin is concentrated much less on that discrepancy in expertise and extra on an opponent with a tricky protection that has endured a tough Big Ten schedule.
“Experience always helps,” he mentioned. “If you can have talent and experience, you got a better chance. But I’ll take talent.”
AP’s Josh Dubow contributed from Sacramento, Calif.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com
