Ben Wallace

Ben Wallace earned All-State honors in baseball, basketball and football at Central High School in Hayneville, Alabama before playing his college basketball at Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland for two years and then joining Virginia Union in 1994. During his two years at Cuyahoga he averaged 17 points per game and was a defensive force. From 1994 to 1996 he led the Virginia Union Panthers to unprecedented success on the basketball court, averaging 13.4 points and 10 rebounds in route to helping them to the NCAA Division III Final Four and a 28-3 overall record. During his time at Virginia Union he also earned all-conference honors in baseball, football and track. In 1996 he signed an amateur free-agent contract with the Washington Wizards and went on to play 16 seasons in the NBA with the Orlando Magic, Detroit Pistons, Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers. During that span he earned four All-Star selections, five All-NBA nods, six NBA All-Defensive Team selections and four NBA Defensive Player of the Year honors. He also led the NBA in blocks in 2002 and rebounding in 2002 and 2003. In 2004 Wallace was an instrumental member of the Pistons NBA Championship team, and retired in 2012 with 6,254 points, 10,482 rebounds and 2,137 blocks.