A lot of players see basketball as a means to an end, a way out of poverty, but for Dion Waiters, he genuinely loves the sport just for what it is and it showed right from his childhood. Despite losing his father, Dion Waiters Sr., to the penitentiary system, at the time of his birth and getting raised by his mother, Monique Brown, Dion simply spent most of his time playing basketball.
The Miami Heat shooting guard, who was born on December 10, 1991, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania made basketball his life. His high school B-ball career saw him get ranked as the number 2 Best Shooting Guard in the ESPN 100, 15th overall best recruit by ESPNU and 29th best overall recruit by Rivals.com.
At college, where most players have the last chance of impressing NBA teams before the door is shut and they give up on a professional basketball career, Waiters played for Syracuse for two years and secured a fourth overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft. His short but fulfilling college career saw him average 6.6 points, 1.5 assists per game in his freshman season, and 12.6 points, 2.5 assists per game in his sophomore season. It was his sophomore season that rolled in the accolades and national recognition with awards such as Big East Sixth Man of the Year, AP Honorable Mention All-American.
