When the 2017 high school football season started back in August No.3 Warren Central opened up with No.4 Center Grove. By the time the smoke cleared Warren was walkin’ off of the field with a 27-24 win and I was impressed with several kids. One in particular was WR/QB Dean Tate.
Ole boy would line up in the slot and then move over to quarterback seamlessly. He could catch the rock, throw it, and run with it like he was born to do just that. Talk about bein’ crazy athletic! It was NUTS and he did it all season long.
Then hoop season started and he’s killin’ ‘um on the court when he’s all of 5’6″ bruh! Yeah, I know that they’ve got him listed at 5’8″ but he’s not that tall. I make that point because he’s better than good in both sports and he’s typically the smallest cat on the floor or field. The lil’ homie led Warren Central to a 32-0 season and topped it off with a Class 4A State Title averagin’ 11.9 points, 2.8 assists and 1.6 steals per game.
He’s so good that he’s been named as both an Indiana All-Star in basketball and an IFCA All-Star in Football. When has that ever happened? I’m waitin’ for somebody to tell me because I can’t remember it ever happenin’. Did I mention that he’s got a 3.5 GPA too? That’s called bein’ a triple threat.
Let’s keep it real or all the way 100, whichever comes 1st! When you see the Lil’ homie give him a pound and keep it pushin’. He’s reppin’ the FAR EAST SIDE and that’s motivation for every kid in the city but most importantly those that rep the East Side. Why? Because people love to turn their noses up at kids from that side of town. Well playas, these kids have overcome and shown the city what resilience actually looks like. You better recognize greatness when you see it.
I’m so proud of what these kids have been able to accomplish this year that I don’t know what to do but keep singin’ their praises. The football team finished, in my opinion, as the second best team in the state behind Ben Davis who was clearly the best and both their girls and boys hoop teams won the Class 4A state championships. That’s incredible and Dean Tate was the leader on both squads. I wish him much success goin’ forward! He’s been a true role model for the FAR EAST SIDE and for every kid that looks like him. Duns want to act like our young black men are invisible but they aren’t and I’m not goin’ to let one walk past that doin’ big things without acknowledgin’ his success. Stop me when I start lyin’!
Playas Thesaurus:
1) Ole boy: noun – the person that I’m currently talkin’ about.
The G is excluded from the endings of all words because the G is near and dear to my heart because I’m from “The G” which is Gary, Indiana. So I only use the G when I’m talkin’ about “The G!”
The caption under the photo isn’t real but its real talk!