NORFOLK, Va. – This is the first in a series of stories providing updates on the lives of former Norfolk State student-athletes. Today we catch up with former Spartan basketball players Jonathan Wade and Kiara Phillips, who played at NSU from 2015-17. 

Five years after love met basketball at Norfolk State, Jonathan Wade and Kiara Phillips are still going strong. The former NSU basketball players are still chasing their dreams, and doing it together. 

The two – who began dating after meeting on the court at Gulf Coast State junior college – continued their relationship after transferring together to NSU in 2015. Phillips averaged 7.6 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.1 steals per game in two years for the Spartans. Wade started just twice in his first year before blossoming into an All-MEAC first-team pick as a senior, averaging 19.4 points and 6.8 rebounds per contest.

Wade and Phillips became engaged the day they graduated from NSU in 2017.

"It was the best day of our lives," said Phillips, a native of Melbourne, Australia. "Both our families were together for the first time and it was just meant to be."

Wade and Phillips were married by the court system in Florida – Wade's home state – before leaving for his first professional basketball stint playing in Switzerland in 2017. With Phillips by his side, Wade enjoyed two strong seasons for Pully Basket, averaging 20.4 and 17.3 points per game, respectively. 

Wade split the 2019-20 season between teams in Kosovo and then New Zealand before the season was interrupted by COVID-19. The pandemic had other effects on the couple: Phillips, who works as a massage therapist, couldn't see clients for three months. And their wedding ceremony, which they had been putting off for three years, has been indefinitely postponed from its original Aug. 8 date.

"From a professional athlete's perspective, it was hard to adjust," Wade said of the pandemic. "Nobody ever thought we'd get to this point but it's a good wakeup call to have a plan B."

Wade continues to consider his options for next season as professional sports gradually begin to resume normal activities. So far, his professional career has met expectations.

"It's been an incredible experience," said Wade, who maintains a YouTube channel where friends, family and fans can follow his career. "The relationships you form and the people you get to meet is like no other. I love the excitement of travelling to a brand new country and adapting to a new culture." 

Wade hopes to eventually play in the NBA or Euro League, with an eye toward possibly playing in the National Basketball League in Australia as a next step. A psychology major and business minor, Wade hopes to one day open sporting facilities around the globe to impact the lives of children.

Phillips, meanwhile, recently received a diploma in remedial massage therapy and plans to pursue a master's degree in physiotherapy. She aspires to own three rehabilitation and massage clinics around the world – one in her native Australia, where the couple currently resides; one in Europe, and another in the United States. A sociology major while at NSU, Phillips' ultimate goal is to invest in an orphanage in a third-world country. And yes, starting a family is part of the plan, too.

Their careers may take them all over the globe, but Wade and Phillips both say they will always cherish their time at NSU. Phillips recalls the team's double-overtime win over Howard her junior year (she scored a career-high 21 points in coach Larry Vickers' first win as head coach) and the team's winning MEAC season her senior year as highlights. Wade fondly recounts the Spartans' run to the MEAC tournament title game his senior season and the amenities of the NSU campus as some of his fondest memories.

But they shared a similar answer when asked what they most enjoyed about their time at NSU: the feeling of family among their coaches and teammates, and a positive campus environment that fostered their growth.

"Growing up in Australia my whole life, although I am half American, I was able to experience and learn about African American culture more at NSU. I never knew what a HBCU was all about until I got to experience it firsthand," Phillis said. "Another great thing is the staff cared about us. It was like a big family."

Wade echoed that sentiment.

"NSU has all the essentials an athlete needs," Wade said. "It was a big family. The coaching staff respected us individually and as a couple. NSU really displayed that Black lives do matter, and I am proud to be a Spartan."

Do you know a former NSU student-athlete who could be featured in "Where are They Now?" Email your story tips to mmichalec@nsu.edu.