It was announced last week that Alderson Broaddus men's basketball program had received a letter of intent from Parkersburg High School standout Ja' Darien Wade (pictured in red #5). The Big Reds are coming off an impressive season in which they advanced to the West Virginia AAA state basketball tournament where they were beat in the quarterfinals on a buzzer beater by Hurricane. Wade had a big impact on that team. He led the team in scoring with a 21.4 point per game average. He did that while shooting 53% from the field. He also contributed 7.4 rebounds per game. For his contributions, Wade was named to the 1st-team West Virginia AAA boy's basketball team. He was also named to the 1st-team all Mountain State Athletic Conference team. The MSAC is a highly competitive AAA conference in the state of West Virginia. We caught up with both Ja' Darien and his high school coach Jeff Mennillo to get their thoughts on: Wade's game, his senior year of high school and his prospects as a Battler.
We asked Wade when did ABU first starting recruiting him. "It really all started at the state tournament", said Wade. He said his accomplishments, as this past season progressed, led to more interest. But Ja' Darien was the first to say "the team awards were far greater than my individual awards". Parkersburg competed night in and night out against some of the best AAA schools in WV that included the likes of Capital, Huntington, South Charleston, Hurricane and rival Parkersburg South. His head basketball coach agreed with our assessment of Wade being a major impact on the Big Reds season. "JD was a huge part of our success. He showed up every game. In the locker room, he was a great leader. And off the court, he was a great son." stated Parkersburg head coach Jeff Mennillo.
Wade's production and attitude toward winning looks typical of what Alderson Broaddus Men's Basketball Coach Greg Zimmerman recruits. Zimmerman wants more than a player that produces statistics. He wants a player that produces against the best competition and leads his team to victory while maintaining that production. Ja' Darien Wade certainly did that this past season against some of the best teams and players that the state of West Virginia has to offer. When Wade squared off on the road against South Charleston and WVU commit Brandon Knapper, Ja' Darien finished the game with 20 points and 10 rebounds. When the Big Reds went against an athletic and highly rated Capital team, Wade produced a 17 point / 8 rebound effort. In the state tournament, he scored 24 points against a well-seasoned Hurricane team. This type of production was against three teams that finished the season rated in the top 6 of the West Virginia Class AAA poll. This is the type of thing that Greg Zimmerman wants from a player. Wade will need to continue to produce like that as the G-MAC becomes more and competitive with the likes of 8-time Division II national champion winner Kentucky Wesleyan and a Findlay program that won the Division II national championship and finished 36-0 in 2009. Coach Zimmerman wants winning players in order to continue to defend their back-to-back regular season and tournament championships that they earned in the G-MAC.
We asked Ja' Darien what position on the floor he thought he would play when he arrived in Philippi. "I think primarily I will be a shooting guard. But really, I can play a little bit of every thing", stated Wade. His coach didn't disagree and added more to that assessment. "I see JD playing a big guard such as a two or three. He has good ball-handling skills, a great 3-point shot and a good explosive first step", stated Coach Mennillo.
Coach Mennillo didn't stop there with his praise of Wade. Coach Mennillo is a veteran high school basketball coach in the state of West Virginia. He has led several teams to the state tournament as head coach. His words of praise should be ringing to all AB fans. "JD spent more time in the gym than any other player I coached in the past 28 years. He is a good teammate and completely committed to winning. Players and coaches will enjoy being around Ja' Darien. He is likeable.", stated Mennillo.
That type of words coming from a coach is impressive. But every coach realizes that no player is perfect. We asked Coach Mennillo if there was one thing in Ja' Darien's game that he needed to work on when playing for a successful and demanding coach like Greg Zimmerman. Coach Mennillo was honest in his assessment. "Ja' Darien will really need to work on the defensive end. If there is an area of improvement, it is his defensive skill set." state Mennillo. But the coach was quick to add: "I am sure that he will work on it". Coach Mennillo also noted that going from high school ball to college ball has differences. "He may need a year to get comfortable with the speed and physicality of the game." said Mennillo. That may not be a problem though. It would appear on the surface that there may not be as much stress for Wade in his first year in Philippi since AB is returning five seniors and three all-conference performers. That experience factor should allow Wade to gradually pick up Coach Zimmerman's system.
We asked Ja' Darien what eventually led him to signing with Alderson Broaddus. "I like the school location. A lot of students there play sports so they are going to be like me. It also felt like home up there. The basketball team was polite on my visit. It just felt like I wanted to be there for 4 years." said Wade. As of now, Wade is undecided in a major. He stated he wanted to give that aspect some more time and thought.We ended our interview by asking Ja' Darien if he had any thing that he wanted to tell AB fans about himself or any message he had for AB fans. Ja' Darien didn't hold back in his response to Battler fans. "AB fans need to know they are getting a hard worker. I am committed to your team. I am excited to be a Battler." said Wade. Battler Beat congratulates Ja' Darien on his signing with Alderson Broaddus University.
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