NBA Draft lottery hopeful Gradey Dick of Kansas reveals valuable advice from his dad
A likely lottery pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, Gradey Dick credits his father, Bart, for words of wisdom imparted during Gradey’s freshman year at Kansas.
“Any season I go through, it’s, ‘Focus on the task at hand.’ My dad taught me, ‘Once you start something, finish it,’’’ Dick, the 19-year-old shooting guard from Wichita, said of not looking too far ahead during the 2022-23 campaign at KU.
Dick, a 6-foot-8, 205-pound wing, was speaking to NBA TV host Andy Katz during media availability at the 2023 NBA Combine, held last week at Chicago’s Wintrust Arena.
The 2022-23 season is one in which Dick averaged 14.1 points and 5.1 rebounds per game and earned second-team all-Big 12 honors. Dick also made the all-Big 12 newcomer team and all-freshman team and was one of five finalists nationally for the Jerry West Award (country’s top shooting guard).
“We really had no thoughts about what we were going to do in the future throughout the season but as the time got closer and the playing stopped in March Madness it was time to focus on a different goal,” Dick said of family discussions regarding staying at KU for the 2023-24 season or beginning a pro career after one year in Lawrence.
He announced his decision to enter the draft on March 31.
Dick, a graduate of Sunrise Christian Academy in Bel Aire, Kansas, hit a KU freshman-record 83 three-pointers at KU.
“I think the biggest thing I learned just from being in Lawrence and through coach (Bill) Self is resilience,” Dick told NBA TV’s Katz. “I think he’s one of the most resilient coaches I ever played for in my entire life. The stuff he kind of battled through during the season (self-imposed four-game suspension to start season and heart problem in postseason) and even before all that just seeing him going to every single practice the same as how he always is,” Dick added.
“He’d tear us apart when we’re messing up and all that, then come in the next day be his old self. That’s why I respect so much about him and it’s something I’ll definitely take into my life.”
Self has said he wasn’t 100% positive Dick would be a one-and-done heading into the 2022-23 season.
But he knew after Dick scored 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting in KU’s 69-64 win over Duke in November the Wichita native and lifelong KU fan likely was NBA bound sooner rather than later. Now Dick is predicted (by ESPN.com) to be the No. 9 overall pick in the June 22 draft by the Utah Jazz.
“I’ll be candid, I didn’t know he was a one-year guy until probably when we played Duke. And when he made those last three plays at the end of that game (scoring seven of KU’s final 15 points in the last 4 1/2 minutes),” Self said recently. “He did it off the three, he did it catching a lob moving without the ball and then he did it with the ball in his hands. I’m like, ‘We’ll he just showed a glimpse of what he can be.’
“That deal (regarding turning pro) was done a long time ago,” Self added. “I talked to his mother and father for a long time. For a couple of hours we visited and had great talks and everything. But the reality of it is, it’s time for him to go. I mean, he’s projected to be top 11 right now, is that about right?
“Have you looked at what (picks) No. 8 through 11 pays next year? I mean, and then you add 20% on top of that, because everybody can make 20 percent more than what their base would be. So I mean it’s time for him to go. He did exactly what we hoped he would do.”
The No. 9 pick in the NBA Draft will earn $4,572,600 next season. It goes up to $4,801,500 in 2024-25 and $5,030,000 in 2025-26.
Dick, who has been training the past month in Santa Barbara, California, believes he’s ready for the next level. He has a pro day scheduled to perform in front of NBA scouts Monday.
“I think the way I can just score the ball,” Dick said, asked what he brings to an NBA team. He scored a career-best 26 points on 10-of-17 shooting in a win at Oklahoma State. He also made five or more threes in three different games. He scored in double figures in 29 of his 36 games for the Big 12 regular-season champs.
“I feel I bring a lot of versatility on the offensive end and defensive end due to my size and my length. I can guard multiple positions. At the same time I’m up for the challenge. I have a mindset I want to get out there and kill what’s in front of me. That’s what I’m out there to do,” Dick added.
One writer, Tim Crean of clutchpoints.com, sees Dick headed to Orlando with the No. 11 pick.
“Age is important with this pick, as the Magic are in the midst of a massive rebuilding process that is starting to bear fruit. The younger the player they pick, the better off the team will be in the long-term if they turn into contenders down the line (as is the plan, of course),” wrote Crean.
“Orlando has made three picks in the top eight of the last two NBA drafts. In 2021, the team took Jalen Suggs from Gonzaga (No. 5) and Franz Wagner from Michigan (No. 8). In 2022, the team won the lottery and selected Paolo Banchero from Duke No. 1 overall.
“While injuries and outside shooting struggles have hurt Suggs’ development, both Wagner and Banchero look like NBA stars. Wagner and Banchero are 21 and 20, respectively, and they lead a large group of 23-and-under Magic teammates who all played over 20 minutes a game last season. This includes Suggs (21), Wendell Carter Jr. (23), Bol Bol (23), and Cole Anthony (22). At 19, Gradey Dick to the Magic makes sense as the team continues its rebuild. Coming into the team as a teenager gives him time to develop and start to reach his ceiling and, eventually, his prime at a similar time as his teammates. If Dick works out, his age also allows Orlando to keep a winning team together longer in the future.”
Fellow NBA prospect and former KU teammate Jalen Wilson said of Dick: “He had a great season. You guys (media) have seen all year he has no conscience when it comes to shooting ball (40.3% from three). What makes him a great shooter is he’s confident. Every time he shoots the ball we think it is going in just like he thinks it going in. Also the way he guards. He plays with intensity on both ends.”
Here were Dick’s official measurements at the Combine: 6-6 1/4 height without shoes and 204 pounds; 6-8 3/4 wingspan; 8-5 standing reach; 8.25 hand length.
