ST. JOHN — St. John High School basketball all-stater Dean Wade signed his letter of intent with Kansas State University Wednesday. Wade has led St. John to back-to-back state basketball championships.
The Tigers beat Plainville 71-58 to capture the Class 2A state title last year at Bramlage Coliseum. The Tigers beat South Haven 70-50 to win the Class 1A-Division I championship at Emporia in 2013.
Kansas State head coach Bruce Weber also signed Barry Brown (St. Petersburg, Fla./Gibbs); and Dante Williams (Arlington, Texas/Bowie) on the first day of the fall signing period.
Kansas State was the first school to identity the 6-foot-8 Wade as a Division I basketball project.
“Dean is a Kansas kid that we have had our eye on since we got here,” Weber said. “He is a stretch forward with good length and athleticism. He shoots the ball well and has a good skill set for a player 6-foot-8. He is the leading candidate for Mr. Basketball in the state of Kansas. He has family ties to K-State with his dad (Jay) having played football. He has already had a lot of success playing in Bramlage Coliseum.”
Wade is the first Sunflower State signee since Will Spradling and current senior Nino Williams in 2010.
“It’s been a lifelong dream for Dean to play at the Division I level and to play at Kansas State and in the Big 12 is even better,” said St. John coach Clint Kinnamon. “I would describe him as a multi-dimensional player because he does so many things well.
“He has great perimeter skills for a player 6-foot-8 and has the ability to go out and shoot the three. He is also a tremendous passer, maybe one of the best I have ever coached. He sees the floor so well and can execute extremely well.”
The three-man signing class is the largest in Weber’s tenure at K-State and includes a combo guard (Brown), a power forward (Wade) and center (Williams) from three different states (Florida, Kansas and Texas).
Brown is the first Florida high school player to ink with the Wildcats since Martavious Irving (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./Boyd Anderson) in 2009, while
Williams is the third Lone Star State recruit in the last three years, following Marcus Foster and Wesley Iwundu.
“We knew that size was a major priority with this class with the graduation of both Thomas (Gipson) and Nino (Williams),” said Weber. “It’s hard to get good quality big guys, so we are pleased to be able to sign two guys we have high hopes for in Dean (Wade) and Dante (Williams). We also knew that we needed to add some depth and versatility in our backcourt, while also balancing out our classes. Barry (Brown) fits this mold of a defensive-oriented guard with the ability to play point (guard) but also some two-guard.”

6-8/215/Forward

St. John High School (coached by Clint Kinnamon)

AAU — Mid-Kansas (coached by Layne Frick)

Primary Recruiter: Chris Lowery
• Consensus No. 1 player in the state of Kansas in the Class of 2015.
• Enters his senior season with 1,103 points and 202 blocks.
• Helped St. John High School to a perfect 26-0 record, including a 7-0 mark in district play, en route to the 2014 Class 2A state title.
• Averaged 22 points on 65 percent shooting (172-of-265), including 47 percent (17-of-36) from 3-point range, to go with 8.1 rebounds, 3.7 blocks, 2.5 steals and 1.9 assists in 18.5 minutes per game. Connected on 72 percent (100-of-138) from the free throw line.
• Averaged 19 minutes per game because St. John won its games by an average of 30 points with 15 games using a running clock.
• Named to the Wichita Eagle All-State team.
• Scored in double figures in 20 of 21 games played. Tallied 20 or more points in 14 contests, including 30 or more point twice. Recorded a season-high 32 points vs. Central Plains (2/7/14) on 10-of-11 shooting. Also had a 31-point performance vs. Ness City (1/10/14) on 14-of-21 field goals.
• Posted a triple-double against LaCrosse (2/11/14) with 29 points on perfect 10-of-10 shooting with 12 rebounds and 12 blocks in 19 minutes.
• Registered seven double-doubles, including five 20-point/10-rebound efforts.
• Starred for the Mid-Kansas AAU team, helping the squad to the title game of the Great American Shootout in Dallas, where he scored 30 points.
• Averaged 16 points, 7.7 rebounds, 3.6 blocks, 3.2 assists and 2.2 steals as a sophomore in 2012-13.
• Dean’s father, Jay, lettered one season as a flanker on the Kansas State football team in 1985. He played in two games with one catch for 5 yards.