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Ben Wallace

Ben Wallace
BenWallaceDP.jpg
Wallace playing for the Pistons in 2010
Personal information
Born (1974-09-10) September 10, 1974 (age 42)
White Hall, Alabama
Nationality American
Listed height 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight 240 lb (109 kg)
Career information
High school Central (Hayneville, Alabama)
College
NBA draft 1996 / Undrafted
Playing career 1996–2012
Position Center
Number 30, 3, 6, 4
Career history
19961999 Washington Bullets / Wizards
1999–2000 Orlando Magic
20002006 Detroit Pistons
20062008 Chicago Bulls
20082009 Cleveland Cavaliers
20092012 Detroit Pistons
Career highlights and awards
Career statistics
Points 6,254 (5.7 ppg)
Rebounds 10,482 (9.6 rpg)
Blocks 2,137 (2.0 bpg)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Ben Camey Wallace (born September 10, 1974) is an American retired professional basketball player. A native of Alabama, Wallace attended Cuyahoga Community College and Virginia Union University and signed with the Washington Bullets (later Wizards) as an undrafted free agent in 1996. In his NBA career, Wallace played with the Washington Bullets/Wizards, Orlando Magic, Detroit Pistons, Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers.

He won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award four times, a record he shares with Dikembe Mutombo. In nine seasons with the Pistons (2000–2006; 2009–2012), Wallace made two NBA Finals appearances (2004 and 2005) and won a championship with the Pistons in 2004. The Pistons retired his jersey number 3 in 2016.

Wallace was born in White Hall, Alabama, a small town in Lowndes County, and is the tenth of eleven children. He later attended Central High School in Hayneville where he received all-state honors in basketball, baseball, and football (as a linebacker). Former basketball player Charles Oakley is Wallace's mentor, having discovered Wallace at a 1991 basketball camp, and later recommended Wallace to his previous college, Virginia Union.

Wallace first played college basketball on the junior college level at Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland for two years. There, staples of Wallace's defensive prowess were shown as he averaged 17.0 rebounds and 6.9 blocks per game. He then transferred to Virginia Union, a NCAA Division II school, where he studied criminal justice. Wallace averaged 13.4 points per game and 10.0 rebounds per game as a member of the Virginia Union Panthers, whom he led to the Division II Final Four and a 28–3 record. As a senior, Wallace was named to the First-Team All CIAA and was selected as a First Team All-American (Div. II) by the NABC. Wallace was a letterman in football, baseball, basketball and track. He won All-State honors in all but track. After leaving Virginia Union and going undrafted, Ben Wallace travelled to Italy for a tryout with the Italian team Viola Reggio Calabria.


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Wikipedia

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