Before Kansas basketball star Gradey Dick came to Des Moines, his mother was an Iowa 6-on-6 legend
Workers buzzed about in the cool morning air Wednesday, placing flowers, moving traffic cones and tidying the sidewalk. Fans had already begun to assemble an hour before the doors would open for practices and the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament would once again begin in Des Moines.
Even in a year in which six of the state’s teams will play across the men’s and women’s tournaments and with the electric Caitlin Clark and the Iowa women hosting down Interstate 80, Wells Fargo Arena will be the epicenter of March Madness in Iowa.
Tens of thousands of fans will flock to the city and the arena for the third time in seven years to participate in one of the country’s most prestigious sporting events. Eight teams will come with both their fan bases and dreams in tow, hoping to be part of the magic that makes this tournament unparalleled in its drama.
More:March Madness in Des Moines: Live updates, analysis from NCAA Tournament Wednesday press conferences
Among them are defending national champion and No. 1 seed Kansas, one of the most storied programs in the sport, once again fortified with some of the top talent in the country, including star freshman and a potential top-10 pick in this summer’s NBA Draft, Gradey Dick.
Wells Fargo Arena will serve as the national stage for Dick’s first and potentially last NCAA Tournament. The top-seeded Jayhawks play 16-seed Howard at 1 p.m. Thursday in the first round. But it was just across the street where his family’s basketball legacy was first on statewide display.
It was there at Veterans Memorial Auditorium where Carmen Jaspers, the future Carmen Dick and mother to Gradey, poured in basket after basket for Ackley-Geneva in the Iowa girls 6-on-6 state tournament throughout the mid-1980s.
“Those were great memories,” Carmen, now of Wichita, Kansas, told the Register this week. “That was a big deal to go to the state tournament in those days.”
Now the reason for coming to Des Moines is an even bigger deal. Gradey’s Kansas team is one of the favorites to capture a national championship and be the first program to win back-to-back titles since Florida in 2006 and 2007.
"To be in this position is really special,” Gradey said. “I’ve always wanted to play in March Madness, to be actually here and be in those shoes I’ve watched so many years is super special.”
More:Iowa State basketball has its NCAA Tournament opponent as Pitt wins First Four matchup
And just like in the mid-80s, the arena will be full of the Jaspers family coming in from places like Parkersburg, Greene, Grundy Center and Iowa City.
“I know a ton,” Gradey said of his mother’s high school career. “Obviously through this year it’s been a lot more with her being on TV (during Kansas games) and everything like that.
“It’s more about hearing about her stats and playing 6-on-6 basketball and the crazy points she put up.”
Carmen’s name still appears in the IGHSAU’s 6-on-6 record book. The 77.6 percent she shot from the floor as a sophomore in 1984 is the 10th-best in state history. The 3,321 points she scored throughout her career are among the most ever.
She averaged 40 points per game as a senior and would go on to be a 1,000-point scorer at Iowa State University.
“Heck of a player," Randy Mills, Carmen’s coach at Ackley-Geneva, said. “Carmen was a hard worker, became very proficient as a scorer.
“A great kid.”
More:How to watch, stream and listen to Drake men's basketball in the NCAA Tournament vs. Miami
That great kid helped Ackley-Geneva, the predecessor of today’s even more consolidated AGWSR High School, to three straight trips to Veterans Memorial Auditorium from 1983-85. The tournament was not the orchestrated, stratified event it is today, but instead something purer, if more of a free-for-all.
“We didn’t have classes at that time,” Carmen said. “We were all lumped into one class.
“We were a small, small town, then we get to Des Moines, and we were lumped with Des Moines Hoover and Dowling (Catholic) and some of those big schools. That was always kind of an eye-opener.”
The Raiderettes lost their first game of the 1983 state tournament but returned in 1984 to claim a 19-point first-round win over Sioux City Heelan. It was there they ran into Hoover, which bested them by three despite Jaspers scoring 35 of Ackley-Geneva's 46 points.
The following year Jaspers scored 54 points in the Raiderettes’ 1985 regional final to keep them undefeated and send them to Des Moines for the third straight year.
“Everybody came,” Carmen said. “Our town would bring buses full of people. That was a big deal to go to the state tournament in those days. Since you had all towns playing, it wasn’t in classes, you never knew if you were going to be playing a big school or another small school.
“It was a lot of fun to be able to do that.”
Carmen tallied 51 points in the state tournament’s first game to keep Ackley-Geneva alive, but the Raiderettes were again stopped in the semifinals when the final 36 points of her career weren't enough to beat Waterloo Columbus.
“We kind of came up with an offense that suited her,” Mills said, “and it was fun watching her because she became so proficient at running it.”
More than three decades after Carmen Jaspers scored buckets across the state of Iowa, her son arrives in Des Moines as one of the best players on one of the top teams in the country. Gradey Dick is averaging 14.1 points and 4.9 rebounds per game for the Jayhawks, who won their 17th Big 12 title in coach Bill Self’s 20 years at the helm.
“I watch every chance I get,” Mills said, “and then I look for Carmen in the crowd. I’ve spotted her a bunch.
“It’s exciting. I really enjoy following Gradey and seeing his success.”
More:Iowa State women's basketball coach Bill Fennelly spent 7 seasons at Toledo. He almost stayed there.
His success bears some resemblance to his mother’s.
“I would say the biggest similarity is shooting,” Mills said. “Carmen was a good shooter, and Gradey, that’s what he’s known for, is shooting. He’s also got a nice driving game. He can drive to the bucket when they need him to or when he has the opportunity."
Carmen stands 6-foot-1, so most of her shots came around the bucket. Her 6-foot-8 son is shooting nearly 40% from 3-point range. His size and stroke make him a coveted NBA prospect.
“That’s kind of Gradey’s special shot, his three,” Carmen said, “so that would be the big difference between us.
“Otherwise, I taught him some of the moves he can do inside.”
More:Four things to know and watch when Iowa basketball plays Auburn in NCAA Tournament
They won’t be loading onto buses in Ackley and Geneva, but Gradey will have a significant cheering section with Carmen’s family still stationed across eastern Iowa. As they make their way into the building, they’ll cross 3rd Street, which runs between the old Veterans Memorial Auditorium and Wells Fargo Arena.
It’s a small stretch of road that separates the past from the present. On one side are the days when small towns would relocate for single-class, 6-on-6 girls basketball in a brick fieldhouse. On the other side is a $1 billion international extravaganza inside a modern arena.
Just as much as it divides, though, it connects. It links humble beginnings to a captivating future. It spans a city, the history of basketball in it and the generations of players who have made it so.
Travis Hines covers Iowa State University sports for the Des Moines Register and Ames Tribune. Contact him at thines@amestrib.com or (515) 284-8000. Follow him at @TravisHines21.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: How Kansas' Gradey Dick's mother tore through Iowa 6-on-6 hoops
