Charles "Butch" Wade (June 6, 1945September 16, 2018) was an American collegiate basketball player. He was a member of the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame, and the Indiana State University Athletic Hall of Fame.

High school career

Born in

Columbus, Indiana Columbus is a city in and the county seat of Bartholomew County, Indiana, United States. The population was 50,474 at the 2020 census. The relatively small city has provided a unique place for noted Modern architecture and public art, commissio ...

, Butch Wade attended Columbus High School (which was renamed

Columbus North High School Columbus North High School (CNHS) is one of the public high schools located in Columbus, Indiana. It is part of the Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation (BCSC). Columbus North High School was previously known as Columbus High School. It ...

in 1973). He led the Bulldogs to an undefeated regular season in 1963; they finished the year at 25-1, including an IHSAA Sectional and Regional titles to reach the 3rd round (Sweet 16) of the State Tourney. They lost to the eventual State Champion Muncie Bearcats, 70-79 in the first round of the Semi-State (Sweet 16). He was selected for the All-State Team.

College career

After high school, Wade attended

Indiana State University Indiana State University (ISU) is a public university in Terre Haute, Indiana. It was founded in 1865 and offers over 100 undergraduate majors and more than 75 graduate and professional programs. Indiana State is classified among "D/PU: Doctor ...

. He played basketball under head coach

Duane Klueh Duane M. Klueh (born January 6, 1926) is an American retired basketball player and coach. Born in Bottineau, North Dakota, he was raised in Terre Haute, Indiana and still lives there today; he was the head men's basketball coach at Indiana State ...

; leading the team in scoring and rebounding his entire career; he finished his career as the #1 career scorer and the #1 rebounder. He helped lead the Sycamores to two consecutive

Indiana Collegiate Conference The Indiana Collegiate Conference (ICC) was a college athletic conference in the United States from 1951 to 1978. It consisted solely of schools in Indiana. The charter members of the conference were Indiana State University, Butler University, ...

Championships and two NCAA College Division (now Division II) Tournaments. He was part of the "Columbus Connection," as he and two fellow Columbus teammates—

Jerry Newsom Jerry Newsom (born May 19, 1946) is a former American college basketball player. High school career Columbus Born in Columbus, Indiana, Jerry Newsom attended Columbus High School. He led the Bulldogs to consecutive undefeated seasons in 1963 ...

and Steve Hollenbeck) all played at Indiana State. These three players led the Sycamores to a record of 46-11 during their two seasons of varsity play. In his senior year, he led the Sycamores in scoring with 27.3 points a game while being named a ''Consensus All-American,'' and received his third straight ''First Team All-ICC'' selection. He was named the MVP of the Steel Bowl Tournament in December 1966, the Sycamores were the Finalists, dropping a hard-fought contest to Columbia. He was a 2nd team All-American following his sophomore season. As a junior, Wade led the Sycamores to a record of 22-4 and the 1966 NCAA Men's Division II Basketball Tournament; his senior season, they were equally successful, finishing with a record of 20-4 and returned to the

1967 NCAA Men's Division II Basketball Tournament Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establ ...

Professional career

Butch Wade was selected as the 72nd overall pick in the

1967 NBA Draft The 1967 NBA draft was the 21st annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on May 3 and 4, 1967 before the 1967–68 season. In this draft, 12 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball play ...

by the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

. He was also drafted by the Oakland Oaks of the ABA in the 1967 draft. He did not appear in a game but went on to a successful twenty year career in education in his hometown. He was a health and physical education teacher for Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. from 1985-2005. He spent 10 years as a boys varsity assistant coach at Columbus North, two years as girls varsity coach at Columbus North and 16 years as a coach at Central Middle School.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wade, Butch 1945 births 2018 deaths American men's basketball players Basketball players from Indiana Guards (basketball) Indiana State Sycamores men's basketball players New York Knicks draft picks Oakland Oaks draft picks People from Columbus, Indiana