Dean Wade questionable for Big 12 Tournament because of yet another foot injury
The Dean Wade foot saga has taken another unfortunate turn.
Kansas State basketball coach Bruce Weber announced Sunday that he is listing Wade, the team’s star senior forward, as questionable for the Big 12 Tournament this week at the Sprint Center in Kansas City because of “discomfort in his foot.”
Wade has missed several games over the past two seasons because of various foot injuries, including most of last year’s NCAA Tournament, and they could force him to sit out a few more as his college career comes to an end.
He apparently injured his foot at some point Saturday during a 68-53 victory over Oklahoma that clinched a share of the Big 12 championship with Texas Tech.
“Dean got hurt today. We had to take him out,” Weber said following the game. “Kamau (Stokes) got hurt today. We had to take him out. But they both finished the game and were part of something special.”
Weber didn’t elaborate on how Wade got hurt. He seemed fine when he was in the game, finishing with 11 points and seven rebounds in 33 minutes of action. He even threw down a reverse dunk at one point.
Then he partied with his K-State teammates and celebrated the team’s first Big 12 championship since 2013.
But Weber was also noncommital when asked if he would consider resting either Wade or Stokes at the Big 12 Tournament. Stokes has been playing through a toe injury, but it’s hardly showed. He had a game-high 19 points against Oklahoma.
“I have got to see how Dean is,” Weber said Saturday night. “That will be the determining factor. Every day I kind of hope and pray that we have been able to practice a little bit. You can see we are a little better. Dean is a little better, moving better. I have got to protect them and their future. Obviously, we want to be ready for the NCAA Tournament.”
Wade is averaging 12.9 points and 6.2 assists this season.
If he is unable to play for the Wildcats in Kansas City, and perhaps beyond, that would put a damper on what has been a terrific season for both Wade and K-State.
Earlier on Sunday, Wade became the first K-State basketball player since Jacob Pullen to earn All-Big 12 first team honors in back-to-back seasons.
K-State will be the No. 1 seed at the Big 12 Tournament. Its first game is about 2 p.m. Thursday in the quarterfinals against TCU or Oklahoma State, who will play in the opening round Wednesday night.
Wade coincidentally sustained a stress fracture in his foot in K-State’s first game of the Big 12 Tournament last season and was limited the rest of the way. He saw eight minutes during a Sweet 16 victory over Kentucky, but missed K-State’s other three games in the NCAA Tournament.
He was sidelined for six games earlier this season because of a torn ligament in his foot and has battled foot pain recently. He played on a limited basis in late February, but seemed back at full strength this month.
This story was originally published March 10, 2019 at 5:12 PM.