6-foot-7 Van Dyke battled through leukemia for 3 years
By Tim Wester
Sports Correspondent
Four years ago, cancer robbed Union Grove senior boys basketball player Alex Van Dyke of part of his childhood. It took away his laughter, and made him question his mortality.
But it didn’t take away his love for basketball.
Through all the cancer treatments, frustrating fatigue, and painful memories, Van Dyke was always able to turn to basketball to keep him going.
“At first, after I was diagnosed, I was pretty scared, and then they said I couldn’t play basketball for a long time,” Van Dyke said. “But I knew right away that I was going to play ball.”
Van Dyke used basketball as a release after being diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic leukemia in September of 2010.
“We were in New Mexico when I noticed that I had red dots on my leg,” Van Dyke said. “The doctor said it was probably caused from bad hot tub water, but there was a 1-percent chance it could be from low platelets, so I had to be tested.”
The odds were not in Van Dyke’s favor, as tests confirmed the worst.
“I was immediately sent to Children’s hospital in Wauwatosa to begin cancer treatment,” Van Dyke recalled.
Van Dyke was held out of school until April of the following year, but still managed to graduate eighth grade on time with his class.
Van Dyke continued the fight into his freshman year at Prairie High School in Racine, where he played on the junior varsity team while still receiving chemotherapy.
After transferring to Union Grove High School for his sophomore year, Van Dyke continued to fight through the side effects of cancer treatment to play on the varsity team.
“Alex came to us as a sophomore while still on chemotherapy and struggled to get through practice and games,” Union Grove boys basketball coach Dave Pettit said. “But he battled through it and showed he could handle adversity. His teammates see everything he has been through and have a quiet respect for what he has accomplished.”
Van Dyke’s cancer treatment continued into the summer of 2013 before he finally received his last dose of chemotherapy.
“The whole thing was really tiring, and I slept a lot, but basketball was always there to help me fight through it,” Van Dyke said.
Van Dyke saw limited action for the Broncos’ Southern Lakes Conference championship run last year, but enjoyed every moment of the run.
“It was fun to play on a conference championship team because I didn’t think I’d be there a couple years ago,” Van Dyke said. “It was a pretty cool experience.”
Offensive game takes off
With cancer finally behind him, Van Dyke focused on improving his game last spring, which has paid dividends this season for the Broncos.
Now a senior, the 6-foot-7 Van Dyke has expanded his game and plays on the perimeter and in the post, and has become the second-leading scorer on the Broncos this season at 14 points per game to go along with seven rebounds.
“Alex is our best shooter and his versatility makes him a tough matchup for teams,” Pettit said. “He still has a long way to go, but his best days are still ahead for sure.”
The transition from backup to starter developed in his Van Dyke’s spring and summer games.
“It kind of happened overnight where something clicked in mentally where I looked to be a scorer,” said Van Dyke, who has grown 8 inches since his eighth-grade year. “It began to show in summer league games at Racine Park High School, where I shot the ball more and scored and rebounded and got more confident.”
“He just moves better now,” Pettit added. “I don’t know if he had to adjust through the mental hurdles first, but I could see his improvement toward late last season, and now he is one of our top players.”
Although Van Dyke has had a successful start to his senior season, he is focusing on putting together more wins during the second half of the season.
“We haven’t had as many wins this year as we would like,” Van Dyke said. “But my goal is still to win more games and make a run in the playoffs.”
After Van Dyke completes his senior year, he will then turn to college where he has drawn interest to play basketball.
“Last June I was just planning on going to college, but I caught the eye of a few coaches, and now many coaches are contacting me.
“Things are going pretty good.”
Van Dyke certainly has earned the right to enjoy life after agonizing through a long and painful four-year journey to beat cancer.
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