Ben Wallace

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Ben Wallace
PositionCenter
NicknameBig Ben, The Fro, The Body, The Beast, The Beast from the East
Height6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Weight240 lb (109 kg)
TeamChicago Bulls
Nationality American
BornSeptember 10 1974 (1974-09-10) (age 34)
White Hall, Alabama
CollegeVirginia Union
DraftUndrafted
Pro career1996–present
Former teams Washington Bullets/Wizards (1996-1999)
Orlando Magic (1999-2000)
Detroit Pistons (2000-2006)
AwardsNBA Defensive Player of the Year (2002, 2003, 2005, 2006)
4-time NBA All Star
6-time All NBA Defensive Team
For the British MP, see Ben Wallace (UK politician).

Ben Wallace (born September 10, 1974 in White Hall, Alabama) is an American professional basketball player in the NBA with the Chicago Bulls. Nicknamed Big Ben and The Body, he plays the position of center and is 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) and 240 lb (110 kg/17 st). He is a four-time winner of the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award (a feat equalled only by Dikembe Mutombo), and is regarded as one of the finest defensive players in the game. Wallace was considered by many to be the cornerstone of the Detroit Pistons' success in the 2000s, culminating in a championship in 2004. On July 13, 2006, Wallace signed a four-year $60 million contract with the Chicago Bulls.[1]

Contents

[edit] High School

Wallace was a letterman in football, basketball, baseball, and track. He won All-State honors in football, basketball, and baseball.

[edit] Basketball career

He first played college basketball on the junior college level at Cuyahoga Community College for two years. He then transferred to Virginia Union, a Division II school, where he studied criminal justice. As an undrafted player, he was signed as a rookie free agent by the Washington Bullets on October 2, 1996 after playing in Italy.

In 1999, Wallace was traded to the Orlando Magic along with Tim Legler, Terry Davis, and Jeff McInnis for Ike Austin. On August 3, 2000, he was traded along with Chucky Atkins to the Detroit Pistons for Grant Hill, in what was at the time considered a one-sided trade; Hill had planned to sign with Orlando as an unrestricted free agent, but the sign and trade deal allowed Hill to receive a slightly more lucrative contract while Detroit received at least some compensation for losing its marquee player. But since the deal, Wallace has had the more successful career by far, owing in part to Hill's oft-injured status. He has been considered the quintessential defensive specialist, winning the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award in 2001-02, 2002-03, 2004-05, and 2005-06 seasons. In the 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons, he led the league in both rebounds and blocked shots. In 2003, he was voted by fans to his first NBA All-Star Game as the starting Center for the Eastern Conference.

Detroit Pistons President of Basketball Operations Joe Dumars promised Wallace that when his old contract expired, the Pistons would make Wallace the highest-paid Piston of all time, and Ben indicated that this show of good faith would be all he would need to re-sign with the Pistons. Dumars kept his promise, extending Wallace a four-year deal reportedly worth $48 million to $50 million, the richest in team history. Despite the Pistons' integrity, on July 3, 2006, Wallace agreed to a four-year deal worth $60 million with the Chicago Bulls. The deal became official July 13, and Wallace was introduced to the Chicago media as the team's newest member that day. He cited his strained relationship with Pistons' coach Flip Saunders as the primary reason for his departure.

[edit] Player profile

Ben Wallace plays the center position and is lauded as a prime defensive presence.[2] He has been voted as the NBA Defensive Player of the Year four times. He is somewhat undersized for a center, being listed at 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m), 240 lb., a frame statistically resembling more of a forward; he himself admits his actual height is 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m).[2]

However, he compensates for this by his impressive physique (even measured against the standards of his NBA peers) which allows him to out-muscle most of his opposition and "play bigger than his body", allowing him to average 10.7 rebounds, 2.3 blocks and 1.4 steals per game over the course of his entire career. He is especially intimidating with his shot-blocking and defending the basket from drives, allowing his teammates to be aggressive on the perimeter, a defensive scheme used extensively by the Pistons. His uncanny defensive timing allows him to defend with great intensity without committing a foul (his career average of 2.1 fouls per game [1] is considered low). In addition, he is seen also as one of the most reliable contributors, rarely failing to deliver in important games.

His drawback is his offensive game. Wallace's averages on offense are a mediocre 6.6 points and 1.3 assists per game. His role on offense is mainly to roam near the basket for close range shots when left open and go after offensive rebounds. Like other big men in the NBA, namely Shaquille O'Neal and Wilt Chamberlain, Wallace is a poor free throw shooter. In fact, he is the worst free throw shooter in NBA history out of any player with more than 1000 attempts; as of February 2007, his NBA career average is 41.8%. This ineptitude at the free throw line results in his sometimes becoming a target of the so-called "Hack-a-Shaq" defense (in reference to Ben Wallace, the technique is also called Whack-a-Wallace). Part of the reason for this drawback is that his right wrist has some ligaments that were cut off due to a surgery that was needed because his hand had some carpal tunnel issues. This causes his hand to "slip" sometimes when he shoots a free throw, forcing him to pop it back into place, resulting in him being unable to make them on a consistent basis. [2]

[edit] Accolades

Image:2004 Detroit Pistons congratulated by George Bush.jpg
Wallace is honored with the Pistons at the White House for the team's victory in the 2004 NBA Finals.
  • First Team: 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006
  • Second Team: 2007
  • 5-time All-NBA:
  • Second Team: 2003, 2004, 2006
  • Third Team: 2002, 2005
  • 2-time NBA regular-season leader, rebounds per game: 2002 (13.0), 2003 (15.4)
  • NBA regular-season leader, blocks per game: 2002 (3.5)
  • 2-time NBA regular-season leader, total rebounds: 2001 (1052), 2003 (1026)
  • NBA regular-season leader, total defensive rebounds: 2001 (749)
  • 2-time NBA regular-season leader, total offensive rebounds: 2003 (293), 2006 (301)
  • NBA regular-season leader, total blocks: 2002 (278)

[edit] NBA records/achievements

[edit] Detroit Pistons franchise records (15)

  • Most blocked shots, all-time: 1,297 (2000–2006)
  • Most blocked shots in
  • Highest blocks-per-game average, one season: 3.48 (2001-02)
  • Most defensive rebounds, one quarter: 10 (November 18, 2002 vs. New York Knicks).
  • Most rebounds, one half, playoffs: 17 (Game 4, 2003 Eastern Conference First Round)
  • Most rebounds, one quarter, playoffs: 13 (Game 4, 2003 Eastern Conference First Round)
  • Most offensive rebounds, one game, playoffs: 11 (Game 3, 2004 Eastern Conference Semifinals)
  • Most offensive rebounds, one half, playoffs: 7 (Game 3, 2004 Eastern Conference Semifinals)
  • Most defensive rebounds, one game, playoffs: 17 (Game 1, 2003 Eastern Conference Finals)
  • Most defensive rebounds, one half, playoffs: 12 (Game 1, 2003 Eastern Conference Finals)
  • Most defensive rebounds, one quarter, playoffs: 9 (Game 1, 2003 Eastern Conference Finals)
  • Most steals, one game, playoffs: 7 (Game 4, 2003 Eastern Conference First Round)

[edit] International competition

He played for the US national team in the 2002 FIBA World Championship.[6]

[edit] References in popular culture

Wallace has been mentioned in various songs. In the song "Too Much", the Game mentions himself as "on the rebound like Ben Wallace in the D-town" and then corrects himself by saying "in the Chi-town". Wallace is also mentioned in the Hot Karl song "Blao," featured in the NBA Live 2003 soundtrack, in which Hot Karl refers to himself as, "The white Ben Wallace without the yolked up bod." Ben and his afro were also mentioned in the movie Four Brothers, which takes place in Detroit. R Kelly mentions that he will "Put the D on chicks like Wallace" in Young Jeezy's song "Go Getta."

Wallace was interviewed by Ali G, who accused him of "playa-hating".[7]

On Homestarrunner.com's Halloween special Strong Mad was dressed as Ben Wallace during his Detroit Piston days.

[edit] Endorsements

Wallace appeared on the cover of ESPN NBA 2K5. An inflatable basketball training aid of Wallace's likeness, called the Inflatable Defender, is manufactured by PlayAir Systems. [3] His new sneaker, the Big Ben was released November 5, 2007 under Stephon Marbury's Starbury label and is retailed at $14.98 at Steve & Barry's stores. [4]

[edit] Trivia

  • Former basketball player Charles Oakley is Wallace's mentor, having discovered Wallace at a 1991 basketball camp. Coincidentally, Oakley attended Virginia Union as well.[8]
  • Wallace had gained great notoriety in the Detroit area and nationwide, and fans often arrived at his games sporting wigs in honor of his trademark afro hairstyle. However, he usually only had the afro for home games; for away games, he had his hair styled into cornrows. He stated he was made fun of at away games for his hair styles. However, this season, Wallace has yet to sport his afro, primarily because his Bulls are currently struggling.
  • During his tenure with the Pistons, whenever Wallace scored or recorded a block on Detroit's homecourt, the Palace of Auburn Hills, the sound of a gong was played, an allusion to the Big Ben, Wallace's nickname. After Wallace became a member of the Chicago Bulls, this tradition has continued on their homecourt, the United Center.
  • Recorded a notable block of Shaquille O'Neal on June 1, 2006, in Game 5 of the 2006 Eastern Conference Finals between the Miami Heat and the Detroit Pistons. O'Neal was stuffed so completely that he tumbled to the floor. Heat coach Pat Riley called it "a hell of a play", while Shaq claimed it was an obvious foul and told the press not to ask him stupid questions after being asked whether he thought it was a block or a foul.[9] A photo of this won "Photo of the Year 2006" by NBA.com

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2508742
  2. ^ a b http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?section=nba&id=2437567
  3. ^ a b http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/w/wallabe01.html
  4. ^ http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/o/olajuha01.html
  5. ^ http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/r/robinda01.html
  6. ^ http://www.usabasketball.com/history/mwc_2002.html 2002 USA Basketball
  7. ^ http://www.respectandtruth.com/ Ali G interviews NBA stars
  8. ^ http://www.suntimes.com/output/bulls/cst-spt-oak07.html
  9. ^ http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4196/is_20060602/ai_n16460817

[edit] External links

Image:Flag of the United States.svg United States squad - 2002 FIBA World Championship - 6th place Image:Flag of the United States.svg

4 Finley | 5 B.Davis | 6 A.Miller | 7 O'Neal | 8 A.Davis | 9 Pierce | 10 R.Miller | 11 Marion | 12 Williams | 13 Wallace | 14 Brand | 15 LaFrentz | Coach: Karl

v • d • e
Detroit Pistons 2003-04 NBA Champions

1 Billups (Finals MVP) | 3 B. Wallace | 7 James | 8 Ham | 10 Hunter | 13 Okur | 22 Prince | 30 R. Wallace | 31 Miličić | 32 Hamilton | 34 Williamson | 41 Campbell | Coach Brown

bs:Ben Wallace da:Ben Wallace de:Ben Wallace es:Ben Wallace fr:Ben Wallace id:Ben Wallace it:Ben Wallace he:בן וולאס lt:Ben Wallace nl:Ben Wallace ja:ベン・ウォーレス no:Ben Wallace pl:Ben Wallace pt:Ben Wallace ru:Уоллэс, Бен sv:Ben Wallace zh:本·华莱士
Preceded by
Dikembe Mutombo (2001)
Ron Artest (2004) 		NBA Defensive Player of the Year
2002, 2003
2005, 2006 		Succeeded by
Ron Artest (2004)
Marcus Camby (2007)
Retrieved from "http://india.smashits.com/wikipedia/Ben_Wallace"
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