How Kansas Jayhawks basketball freshman sensation Gradey Dick became a TikTok star
Gradey Dick tried to hold back a smile. His iPhone was propped up inside the Jayhawks’ locker room; “No Hands” by Waka Flocka played through its speaker.
Wearing a gray Kansas basketball tank top, Dick clasped his hands together, then enthusiastically sidestepped to his left while staring into the camera.
He cracked a smile and looked back. A teammate, Bobby Pettiford, jumped into the frame and started dancing with him.
The duo threw up playful finger guns. Then Dick jump-kicked the wall, caught his phone and smirked at the camera. The 12-second video, posted in September after a KU men’s basketball practice, racked up 262,000 views and 31,100 likes.
Dick is unafraid to be himself. Dancing after practice, posting photo dumps, cat videos and reviews of different types of fruit — you can find pretty much anything on his TikTok feed.
“I’ve always been goofy and I’ve always done goofy stuff growing up,” Dick told The Star. “With social media getting so big, it was kind of a no-brainer to get on the apps and be myself on there.”
The star freshman guard is preparing to play in his first NCAA Tournament. The No. 1-seeded Kansas men’s basketball team faces No. 16 Howard on Thursday.
Dick plays a pivotal role as KU’s best shooter and second scoring option, averaging 14.1 points and 4.9 rebounds, which earned him All-Big 12 second-team honors. He’s quickly become a fan favorite and built a large following on TikTok with 144.4k followers and 3.6 million likes across his collection of videos.
“People get so mad,” Pettiford said. “You see somebody that gives you 25 points and goes on TikTok and posts some goofy dance. I think that’s just hilarious.”
Dick started the account for fun, a place where he could be his authentic self, but sponsors are taking notice — Bose, Tommy’s Car Wash Express and others have ads with him on TikTok.
“When I get on the court, It’s really just locking in and focusing on who I got in front of me,” Dick said. “I think it’s kind of cool you can be goofy but at the same time be a killer.”
The makings of a TikTok star
Dick has never been shy around cameras.
So when his Sunrise Christian high school team was followed around by two Overtime videographers during his junior year, Dick was ready to unleash his goofiness.
Those videos garnered millions of views, showing off his skills on the court as well as his personality. It was Dick’s first foray into social-media stardom.
“He’s very comfortable in front of the camera,” his mother Carmen said. “I think it’s just because he’s himself.”
In summer 2020, Gradey created a TikTok account and posted his first video: a mixtape of his basketball highlights. Initially, his entire feed was basketball content. The views ranged from 16,000 to 32,000 views.
It’s safe to say he was comfortable in the spotlight by the time he was selected as a McDonald’s All-American during his senior year. After all, he had been posting on TikTok for more than a year and a half and had experienced a near-reality TV atmosphere amid the attention from Overtime.
During his McDonald’s All-American photoshoot, he laid on the ground, held his head in the palms of his hands and crossed his legs with a basketball between them. He stared into the camera with a soft smile. He shared the image on TikTok with the caption: “I could never stare at pics of myself tehe.”
How often do basketball prodigies strike that sort of pose for an official photo, much less post it on social media? Not often ... but those who know Dick best weren’t exactly surprised.
“That’s just Gradey being Gradey,” said his father, Bart Dick.
As Dick became more comfortable on social media, he started to showcase how funny he is off the court. More people started to follow him as he expanded his feed to non-basketball content.
“He never went out to create a brand — he was just being himself,” Bart Dick said. “That’s just funny stuff he does. He’s done his whole life. He just happened to put it out there and people love it.”
Keeping the focus on hoops
Dick lives by one simple rule when posting on social media: “If you wouldn’t show your grandma, don’t post that stuff online,” he said with a laugh.
That maxim has more or less kept Dick from getting yelled at by his parents. But he hasn’t been entirely in the clear. Sometimes his sister, Kelsey, checks him by telling him to tone it down.
His most-watched video (2.7 million views) shows him celebrating the Jayhawks’ Big 12 championship. Dick mean-mugs into the camera and mouths the words, “Mama, don’t worry, you raised a gangster; I’m a survivor.”
There’s something comical about watching a 6-foot-8 basketball player who typically struggles to hold back a smile attempt to look tough on camera. Perhaps that’s part of why the view count is so high.
Last summer, Dick partnered with WME Agency, which helps him choose the right sponsorship partners. He’s a natural, but his parents remind him that he’s a student-athlete first and rising influencer second.
“The one thing we’re careful with is the main thing stays the main thing,” his dad said. “That’s preparing, taking care of his body, going to school and helping (his) team win.
“If he can kind of do some of this other stuff and he enjoys doing it, great, but don’t let it take one second away from doing any of that other stuff.”
Fun in the locker room
Last summer, KU sophomore forward KJ Adams heard stories about a goofy incoming freshman named Gradey Dick.
Dick’s former high school and current KU teammate, Zach Clemence, told Adams about Dick’s antics. At first, Adams and his teammates were puzzled ... but they’ve come to appreciate his personality.
“It’s kind of weird; I was like, ‘Dang, is he really this goofy on the court?’” Adams said. “But it doesn’t work like that. He knows when to switch it on and off.”
“I had seen him on social media and seen the pictures of him with his feet, and I was like, ‘Is he this goofy?’ Pettiford said.
Now, Pettiford says Dick’s goofiness and TikTok dances are locker-room assets. He credits Dick’s lighthearted personality with helping settle the mood after a bad game.
“I think it’s a good thing to have,” Pettiford said. “A lot of basketball players only want to be known for basketball. You can see that in the NBA. Gradey is one of those guys (who’s just himself), and I think that’s what makes him so likable.
“You will see him in interviews just being goofy, but I mean, that’s just who he is and he doesn’t hide it. That’s what I love about him; he’s a great person.”
This is something Dick’s TikTok audience has known for quite some time now.
“People are obviously are going to see you on TV or social media through what you are doing on the court,” Dick said. “You will gain fans that way, but I like when people see my real personality.
This story was originally published March 15, 2023 at 10:52 AM.
