Marquette alumni were very proud of their school on Sunday after the Golden Eagles punched their ticket to the Sweet 16 of the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
This includes its most famous basketball player: Dwyane Wade.
“Let’s ssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss? The Sweet Sixteen is coming. 🦅 🦅” .
Wade led Marquette to the Final Four in 2003 before becoming a three-time NBA champion with the Miami Heat and a Hall of Famer.
Wade has watched Shaka Smart’s team up close several times this year, including watching them reach the championship game of the Maui Invitational early in the season.
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Marquette will play NC State in the Sweet 16 on Friday night in Dallas.
Wade wasn’t the only former player from that Final Four team to react to the Golden Eagles’ thrilling win.
That team’s two second-year starters – Travis Diener and Todd Townsend – also expressed their happiness for the team.
Diener, whose shining moment on the 2003 team came in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, when he scored a game-high 26 points in a 101–92 overtime win over Missouri, wrote: “These young guys are there for each other. Play with passion and emotion! The culture that Shaka and his staff have established in such a short time is incredible. And having the best point guard in the country doesn’t hurt! We are Marquette!”
Diener, of course, was referring to two-time All-American Tyler Kolek, who has had two stellar performances in the Golden Eagles’ first two NCAA Tournament games. He has posted double-doubles in points and assists in both rounds and produced clutch plays on Sunday to help Marquette end its 11-year Sweet 16 drought.
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What stood out most to Townsend was the passion in which Smart and Kolek spoke during their post-game interviews: “That win for Marquette… watching the post-game interview… you could tell it was that It means a lot to the team and the staff. They’re very connected. They love each other. It’s really hard to build that type of culture in college athletics but it can be done.”
Here’s the on-court interview:
