When I mention Ben Wallace, what comes to mind? Just free associate with me for a second. Okay, Malice at the Palace, get that out of your system, that’s not what I’m talking about today. How about… a Pistons Championship? Elite defense? Dennis-Rodman-like rebounding ability? Muscles, hair, “And 1.” Yeah, that’s the Ben Wallace we know.
Ben Wallace: too small, undrafted... Hall of Famer
How did a no-name role player lead a franchise to an NBA title?
But when you look at Ben Wallace through the Prism, you see someone else.
Because the guy we know as the four-time Defensive Player of the Year was once considered too offensively limited for pro ball in the States. The guy we casually refer to as Big Ben was once thought too small to play the four or five in the NBA.
The recognizable face and leader of the 2004 title-winning Pistons was once a no-name role player, whose arrival in Detroit signaled a bleak future.
He wasn’t recruited out of high school, and he only played in college because of a sort of dream-life encounter with Charles Oakley. In high school, Wallace went to Oakley’s camp and ended up playing Oakley one-on-one. Ben Wallace so impressed Charles Oakley that Oakley called his alma mater and got Ben on the team. And that was just the first of young Wallace’s hurdles to superstardom.
Come along, it’s time to put Ben Wallace in the Prism.
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