At the start of the week, Raptors newcomer Gradey Dick gave his welcoming conference to members of the media where he announced he’s to wear the No.1 jersey while sitting next to head coach Darko Rajakovic, with family and staff present.
The former Kansas athlete is mostly known for being a great shooter, but he insists that he’s much more than that. When asked who were his top four shooters of all time, he didn’t hesitase.
“Oooooh… Steph [Curry], Larry Bird, Ray Allen… who am I not saying? Reggie Miller,” 19-year-old said.
However, those aren’t necessarily his idols, even though he’s molded his style of play with players like Curry. “My idols growing up were LeBron [James] and MJ [Michael Jordan] and I watched a lot of LeBron so being on the court with him would be kinda cool,” Dick expressed.
Let’s take a look at some of his college highlights to further understand why the press seems so obsessed with his shooting skills:
Well there you have it. His averages of 14.2 points per match while shooting at 40.3% efficiency from field goal attempts and 44.2% from beyond the arc speak volumes.
Another who wants to change the narrative that he’s just a shooter is Toronto’s GM Bobby Webster, who said that one of the qualities that most stood out from the youngster is his basketball IQ. Dick believes his understanding of the game comes from learning from failure.
“I think a lot of times with the IQ stuff it kinda comes with playing and seeing live reads, just playing game-type situations where you’re kinda forced to be put in those kinda tight spots in a game,” he explained. “Fail a lot, I think that’s one of the most important things when growing up and still now, that’s the time you learn the most.
“Coming in as a rookie not being afraid to fail in practice and maybe some points in games can really help you in the long run, for those times at the end of the season when it’s gonna really count. Getting those down first and then setting yourself up for success.”
Back in high school, Gradey was a math tutor to younger kids, as he also enjoys basketball analytics
According to the rising star, he naturally always had young kids who struggled in math look to him as a high school player. He then found out he enjoyed helping them out.
“It was just one of those things in high school where an opportunity laid out for me,” he recalled. “I didn’t really ask for it but I’m glad they put me in that because it’s something where I could make an impact on the youth where they looked up to basketball players that are in high school.”
When asked if he takes his knowledge of math to the basketball court, he admitted that both him and his father share the love for sport analytics.
“Of course. My dad and I made a principle when I was younger that everything you do or want to do, write it out on paper so you can see it come to fruition. It started with chores, keeping responsible, finishing your chores,” the 19-year-old expressed. “Turning it into my shooting.”
