Central Basketball Association

Aside from actual talent on the court, there are a variety of skills needed to succeed as a professional basketball player. One of the more important ones players need to develop is adaptability and adjusting to whatever is thrown their way.

That is only exemplified in the NBA D-League, where call-ups and assignments can send a player from only playing a few minutes directly into a starting role.

Luckily for Mardracus Wade, who played last season with the Iowa Energy, he has had to deal with changing circumstances all throughout his career, but the running theme throughout has been his ability to adapt and thrive in each of them.

While this skill is something that he’s spent his whole life honing, his first big test with it was when he attended the renowned Hargrave Military Academy for high school. As Wade tells D-League Digest, those years helped him prepare for anything that he would face as a player. 

“It was a different experience with all of the instructors having been involved in the military. It was very strict on a few different levels, but it was all to put us on the right path. Once I got into the swing of things it became habit and prepared me for the next level,” Wade said.

With the lessons that he learned during his time at Hargrave, Wade chose to attend the University of Arkansas. He was used in a bench role throughout his freshman year, but during his sophomore year he broke out in a big way, starting each of the team’s 32 games and scoring nearly 11 points per game on 45% shooting.

“Going into that summer I remember telling myself that I didn’t want to have another year like my freshman year. I stayed at school the whole summer and I would just shoot all day long before and after classes. I just tried to be more consistent with it and I did that and I had so much confidence every night,” Wade said.

His playing time took a bit of a step back as a junior, but during his senior season he was relegated to a bench role and wound up playing less minutes than he did as a freshman.

“It was very frustrating knowing that all of the hard work that I had put in through the years. I felt like I was better than most of the guys at my position and I was a senior so I had been through the system before, it really hurt me and I had to try to stay focused and be the best teammate that I could. It was tough but I knew that I had to get through it,” Wade said.

The massive cut to his minutes did not bode well for his NBA draft stock, nor did the fact that his agent at the time wasn’t working as diligently as Wade would have liked.

“Once school was out, I signed with an agent and our main thing was just to get some NBA workouts in and get some feedback because I didn’t play much my senior year,” Wade said. “I tried to play Summer League and then I wanted to get a decent job overseas to build my way up and that didn’t happen and so I felt like after awhile my agent was working as hard as he needed.”

With the summer having passed and Wade’s opportunity to get in front of NBA teams gone, he chose to sign with the Mississippi Eagles of the Central Basketball Association after a brief stop in Mexico.

Though his mind was still set on the NBA, he was focused on the task at hand and wanted to prove his critics wrong.

Luckily for him, it didn’t take long. He was given a big opportunity out of the gate and didn’t disappoint, scoring over 22 points per game and averaging almost four assists, Wade was named the league’s Most Valuable Player.

“It meant a lot to be named MVP. I had wanted a job in the NBA or D-League, but once that didn’t happen I stayed patient and just kept working hard. It felt great to be able to deliver on the expectations that people had for me.”

Along with his strong season in Mississippi, he was able to travel to Taiwan as part of the CBA’s Global Opportunities Program as they squared off against teams from Mongolia and Japan.

“I really did enjoy the atmosphere and the people and the different culture, just getting to see how other people live. Playing with other guys from around the world and see their upbringing it was good to just open up to those guys and connect with guys that were in my situation,” Wade said. “I played really well and led the whole tournament in points, too, so that was great for me.”

Even with these positive experiences in mind, Wade was unsure of what the future held for him. With a connection he made years ago however, his future became much more clear.

“My AAU coach is really close with Dave Joeger and they just told me to show up to one of their tryouts. I wasn’t going to go to the open tryout because I didn’t think that they would pick me up, but they called me and told me to show up and I played really solid, nothing too spectacular, and they liked me and I joined the team,” Wade said.

It was his first chance playing under constant NBA supervision and he welcomed the opportunity with excitement.

“I was kind of back in my comfort zone and in a system that was structured. I was excited to be around other professionals that had played in the league; Cartier Martin and Perry Jones and to be around those guys and learn from them it was really good experience,” Wade said.

The opportunity was a tremendous one, but it was again another adjustment for Wade. Having been the CBA MVP just one year prior, Wade had to make the transition to dealing with inconsistent minutes in the D-League.

“It’s just one of those things to let you know that you still have work to do. It was one of my main focuses going in, come in ready to work and know that many players would be more advanced. It was tough at first, but I got into a rhythm with the offense and the coaching staff and it was uphill from there,” Wade said.

The added trust from the coaches was certainly earned and his additional playing time had immediate benefits. Throughout the month of March, Wade saw his minutes jump to nearly 23 per game, and he was scoring almost eight points on 50% shooting throughout the month.

It was a strong finish to an impressive rookie season, but his development as the year went on was not only limited to on-court production.

“I learned to be professional and come in to work and be ready to go. It’s not like back in college where you have class and then practice and people are there to guide you, here it’s all about your job and it’s about business. Come in with a mindset of getting better than you were yesterday, not just basketball but in my life as well.”

He will be playing in The Basketball Tournament this summer, but he’s still unsure of where he will be suiting up next year. He would be open to returning to the D-League for another season, but his ultimate dream is still to join an NBA team.

“It would mean the world to me, even beyond just a personal level. To be someone that made it out of where I’m from would give the community something to believe in. We have to give back to communities and the more people that are successful that can show kids the right path, the better. To be able to look into the eyes of my friends and family after all of the hard work and sacrifices that I’ve made and say I’ve made it would be so huge for me,” Wade said.

(Article courtesy of: Brian Rzeppa (@brianrzeppa) of D-League Digest (@DLeagueDigest) and can further be accessed online via the following link: http://dleaguedigest.com/2016/07/19/mardracus-wade-hopes-carry-momentum-strong-rookie-year/)

(Photo courtesy of: Getty Images / NBA Photos)