Hoosierfrog
Tier 1
Former TCU guard Desmond Bane received just one Division I offer but became a two-time All-Big 12 selection. JAY BIGGERSTAFF/USA TODAY SPORTS, ILLUSTRATION BY MARC JENKINS/ USA TODAY NETWORK
Bane received just one Division I offer, which came well after his senior season ended. He went to Texas Christian University (TCU) as a virtual unknown and became a two-time All-Big 12 selection in his four seasons there, outperforming the expectations of his hometown critics.
He once again proved his doubters wrong this past summer, raising his draft stock from a projected late second-round pick to a first-round prospect. Bane said he recognizes his haters but doesn’t let them alter his focus, and to commemorate his path to the NBA, he created a shirt which bears his mantra, “Kill the noise.”
“Indiana means a lot to me and where I come from, so I wanted to make a shirt that kind of encompasses the journey that I went through to get to where I am today,” Bane said. “On draft night, I want everybody to feel as one and everybody to kind of understand that they had a part in this, a part of my journey and a part in helping me kill the noise throughout all this.”
The proceeds from the shirt and “Bane Basket” sales (which people can purchase for a raffle-style chance to win a game-worn jersey, a pair of Bane’s shoes and two tickets to one of his NBA games), will be donated to Richmond’s YMCA and to the community.
Friends from the beginning
Although Bane came up with the slogan and the idea for the shirts himself, two of his closest friends, in addition to Bob and Fabbie Bane, helped him live up to the saying.
Billie Webster III, a senior on IU Kokomo’s basketball team, and Nick Matthews, Bane’s manager and personal chef, have been alongside Bane from the beginning. They each met Bane in elementary school and formed an instant connection with him, fostering that friendship throughout the years.
Webster and Bane bonded over a love of basketball and their regimented work ethic. Webster saw how dedicated Bane was to his craft and insisted Bane was a Division I-caliber player even when he wasn’t receiving any offers. He has continued to push Bane to exceed the limits others place on him.
“Every time he’d come back (from TCU), I would see a different Des,” Webster said. “Every time you would see him he would be a better basketball player and physically more defined and more of an athlete, and that just goes to show the work he would put in.”
Matthews doesn’t share Bane and Webster’s skill on the court, but his friendship with Bane blossomed into a unique career.
As Bane improved at TCU, his coach, Jamie Dixon, told him early on that he had a chance to play in the NBA. Bane, already a hard worker, knew one of the ways he could take the next step as a player was to improve his diet. It just so happened that Matthews was learning how to cook at a restaurant in Muncie and began growing a following on social media by selling chicken sandwiches out of his garage.
By the end of Bane’s senior season at TCU, Matthews started cooking all of Bane’s meals, which has helped Bane drop from the 16% body-fat he measured as a freshman to the 6% he registers now. And as pre-draft interest for Bane began to grow, Matthews began organizing his off-the-court responsibilities as well.
Matthews is now working for Bane full-time and has helped him traverse the increased public attention. Still, Matthews says the pre-draft process has only made Bane more humble than he already was.
“He’s the same guy he was in middle school,” Matthews said. “He’s a great dude. He’ll treat the janitor like the CEO.”
Getting ready for draft day
The NBA’s pre-draft process can be a daunting one, and players who aren’t used to the immense newfound attention and scrutiny can struggle to adapt.
For Bane, neither he, Matthews or Webster really thought about Bane making it to this point. They’re navigating through Bane’s new experiences together while ensuring they all stay true to themselves and to one another.
They all also recognize how the critical noise from Bane’s skeptics has turned into praise, yet they continue not to let what others say affect Bane’s priorities, mindset or personality.
They all keep one another grounded, most times by talking about life outside of basketball.
“One of the things that I really like about Billie and Nick is that they see me no different than I was as a fifth-grader, asixth-grader, whenever we first really started cultivating a relationship,” Bane said. “They don’t treat me like I’m a projected NBA draft pick or anything like that. It’s just friendship. It’s love, so I never have to question their motives or what’s going on with them.”
In preparation for the draft, Bane has been working out in Miami, Fla., with several NBA veterans. He says former No. 2 overall pick Michael Beasley is someone with whom he’s become close, who has given him great advice on how to handle the life of a professional athlete and avoid some of the pitfalls Beasley fell into.
Bane said entering the NBA isn’t nerve-wracking. He’s understandably anxious about the upcoming draft and which team he’ll join, but he feels like he belongs at the professional level. That confidence was confirmed in Miami when he said all the guys he grew up watching on TV treated him like an equal.
Bane wishes his great-grandfather could share his professional life with him, but he appreciates having such strong support from his friends and family to help him navigate this new and exciting part of his life.
He said Fabbie is thrilled with his success and loves talking to friends and family about his progression. Bane sees how proud she is of him but admitted he’s more proud and thankful for how she raised him, feeling she deserves this even more than he does.
Webster and Matthews said they couldn’t be happier to see Bane reach this milestone, but also would still love their friend regardless of his athletic talents.
“I get cold chills just thinking about (Bane’s success). There’s nobody more deserving than this dude,” Webster III said. “There’s a reason why good things are happening to this man.”
‘I start smiling just because it’s crazy’
After meeting with all 30 NBA teams, working out in Miami, doing several interviews with media and countless other pre-draft tasks, Bane will return to Richmond to officially become an NBA player, keeping his great-grandfather in mind.
While becoming a professional athlete was his dream as a child, he knows the job is far from finished.
He says he’ll set more concrete goals once he knows what team he’ll be playing for and he’s willing to do whatever his organization asks of him.
But for now he has to wait, knowing there will always be more noise to kill.
Then-Seton Catholic High School basketball star and Mr. Basketball candidate Desmond Bane sits with his great-grandparents, Fabbie Bane and Bob Bane, and dog Spark Wednesday in 2016 in Richmond. JOSHUA SMITH PALLADIUM-ITEM
Desmond Bane, Seton Catholic High School, accepts the award for Male Athlete of the Year at the Indiana Sports Awards in 2016.
