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BY TYLER CLIFTON
KFYN SPORTS DIRECTOR
Dick somewhat fulfilled his dream after being invited by Longhorns
coach Rick Barnes on May 21 to walk on to the team. Things got even better
Sept. 2, when he was one of two officially added to the roster and will suit up
as a freshman.
“It’s like a fairy tale, and it’s so unbelievable, it really
hasn’t hit me yet,” Dick said. “It’s all about getting in shape and putting in
a lot of work in the weight room. It’s important to get stronger, quicker and
adjust to the speed of the next level.”
The epitome of hard work and perseverance, Dick had a light
work load, with the first official practices approaching later this week.
Although he’ll certainly take the results, his journey to the capital city
hasn’t been easy.
A staph infection forced Dick to sit out some of his junior
year, while he missed nine games last season due to mononucleosis.
“I’ve put so much work into getting to this point,” Dick
said. “It’s nice to see things pay off now.”
Dick got a taste of what it was like to play against
top-notch competition after working out with former Longhorn stars T.J. Ford and
Royal Ivey.
“It’s amazing how much they grasp the game of basketball and
the way it’s supposed to be played,” Dick said. “They play so fast, but they
are under control, and people sometimes can’t understand how they are able to
do both so well at the same time.”
The second of four sons to Greg and Lisa Dick does have some
athleticism in his blood, as his father was a golfer at the University of
Northern Illinois and is in the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame, while older
brother Jeff currently plays there as well.
Several coaches with winning pedigrees have helped Dick
along the way, including high school coach Jeff McCullough, who has taken the
program to new heights, including a 27-8 record and trip to the Class 4A Region
II semifinals in Garland earlier this year. Summer-league coach Chris Oestreich,
a former coach at Division III Austin College,
joined McCullough and others in sending letters, videos and making phone calls
in support of Dick.
“Coach McCullough set such a good example and allowed me to develop
a solid set of skills I’ve been able to fall back on,” Dick said. “I’ve learned
a lot of fundamentals from him, and he’s done so much for Sherman basketball
and me as well.”
It certainly showed how a little help from others can go a
long way, and now Dick gets to play collegiately with another coach who settles
for nothing less than 100 percent in Barnes.
“He’s very demanding and focuses so much on the little
things,” said Dick of his new coach. “He definitely keeps you on your toes and
makes you think.”
A typical afternoon consists of class and workouts in the
morning along with conditioning sessions in the afternoon. Dick is taking
courses geared toward entering business school.
“I spend a lot of
time studying and trying to stay focused, Dick said. “I’m here for school
first. This is such a great school academically, and it’s an honor to be here.
I thank God for all this.”
It all started at the Boys & Girls Club and continued to
his days as a Bearcat, where he was a member of the 2009 Academic All-State
team and won the Sherman 110-percent Award three straight years while also
winning the Coaches Award and being named second-team All-District in 2008 and
2009.
It didn’t hurt playing with such a talented group of
Bearcats, including Cameron Clark (who recently announced his intentions to
play at the University of Oklahoma), as well as opponents such as Denison’s
T.J. Taylor (who has also committed to OU) and Coleman Furst
as well as McKinney High’s G.J. Vilarino, who is now
at Gonzaga after originally committing to the University of Kentucky before
backing out due to the firing of former coach Billy Gillispie.
“We had a lot of good players on our team and in our
district,” Dick said. “It was a nice thing for all of us to have the
opportunity of playing against better competition. It certainly helped me get a
better feel for things before I took the next step.”
He fondly recalls the school’s “sixth man,” a section of
rowdy, but mostly well-behaved Bearcat students, to tailgate parties with
Shelton and friends before football games to one-on-one games against older
brother Jeff.
Dick still has reminders at home with him in Austin,
including Shelton and Austen Blalock, a former Bearcat football and baseball
player as well as avid member of the “sixth man” club. As far as being one of
the numerous freshmen walking around campus, Dick admits he will have to get
used to the situation.
Similar to what happened in high school, not many knew his
name before the game, but Dick’s style of play had opponents and coaches alike
knowing it afterward. The same could eventually become true as a Longhorn.
“It hasn’t really sunk in yet,” said Dick, who is eagerly
anticipating putting on the burnt orange and white for the first time.
“Whenever it does, it’s going to be an awesome feeling knowing the hard work
has come together and realizing I’m playing basketball for the University of
Texas.”
Dick takes pride in being one of a quintet of Bearcat
seniors to make straight As, and he said it will be
interesting to see Clark in an Oklahoma Sooner uniform.
“Cameron is such a good player, and he’s going to have a lot
of fun up there,” Dick said. “I wish him the best of luck, and it will be neat
to see him next season when our teams get together and play ball.”
Dick won’t be able to attend this weekend’s Red River
Rivalry in Texas, and although it’s more than a year away, he knows where
former coach McCullough’s ties will be whenever he’s watching his two former
players going against each other.
There’s no doubt,” Dick said. “Coach McCullough is a Texas
fan.”
Something Dick used to be as
well, but he will be on the court instead of in the stands watching.