This story appears in SLAM 240.
Wherever there’s a hoop, you’ll find find Gradey Dick.
“My dad instilled that in me at a young age. If I haven’t found a place, he’s probably already found five,” he tells SLAM with a laugh.
As one of the newest faces on the Kansas Jayhawks roster, Dick has been residing in Lawrence, KS, since mid-May and joins our Friday morning Zoom call from the stairwell of the Forrest and Sally Hoglund Practice Facility. Not a hint of fatigue can be found in his voice despite the team having just wrapped up their morning conditioning workout. After our call, he’ll run to get changed for a 9 a.m. practice, a hint at a schedule rife with constant movement and few breaks. If you’re privy to Kansas’ style of play, you know it’s fitting. Cutting, screening away, initiating dribble-handoffs, there’s never a stagnant body on the court.
“It’s a lot of stuff you gotta actually be in shape for from day one,” Gradey says.
Over the dog days of summer, the 18-year-old’s typical schedule on The Hill consisted of an hour and a half of lift followed by practice, then immediately transitioning to getting his allotted amount of makes for the day.
But, Gradey’s father, Bart, adds over Zoom: “I think Monday morning got real.”
On September 12th, the program’s inaugural two-week bootcamp began. It consisted of less than a handful of drills that involved an actual basketball. Physical exhaustion is the goal. The coaching staff set on preparing their roster for the mental fortitude required when an inevitable wave of fatigue hits down the stretch.
Jared ebanks 