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3.8 % Body Fat??? MAN!
Hair comes burly Big Ben to beef up Bulls
(
http://www.suntimes.com/sports/mario...-jay12.article)
October 12, 2006
BY
JAY MARIOTTI Sun-Times Columnist
Cornrows or the 'Fro? That's what we need to know, bro. A windy chill always whips off West Madison Street as winter nears, but Ben Wallace has brought $60 million worth of warmth and absurdly overdue championship hope, comforting us with his rebounds and his blocks and his 3.8-percent body fat and, of course, the way he wears his hair.
Wednesday night in his United Center debut, for those braiding at home, Ben trotted out the cornrows. I was looking forward to the 'Fro, which can take on the shape of a dented popcorn bag fresh out of a microwave or a cat electrocuted by a live wire, but Wallace apparently saves his big puff for regular-season home games. This intimidating concept was known in Detroit as Fearing the 'Fro, which sure beats waiting for Tyson Chandler to catch the ball with two hands and muscle a point guard out of the lane.
''He's a man,'' Kirk Hinrich said.
A legitimate savior, too, I dare say.
For the first time since -- whoa, would you believe, Bill Cartwright? -- the Bulls finally are truthful in their advertising. ''THE MAN ... IN THE MIDDLE,'' intoned public-address announcer Tommy Edwards, ''FROM VIRGINIA UNION ... NO. 3 ... BEN WALLACE!'' At once, the small but excited crowd stood and greeted Wallace like he was Mick Jagger at Soldier Field, gazing at his massive arms and cut physique and realizing they weren't watching Jared Reiner or Dalibor Bagaric anymore. Nor were they watching a team that hopes to make the playoffs, the previous mantra this decade. No, the Bulls are seriously pondering postseason glory, honest to Shaq, and if they may be short a few offensive weapons to pull off a Grant Park party so soon, Ben's presence allows a hot franchise and a jazzed-up fan base to dream at last.
Even after a sloppy preseason win over the Wizards, Wallace made it known that he won't suffer collective sluggishness. As Scott Skiles pointed out, Big Ben showed up with defensive intensity when some of his mates did not. ''They say losing builds character, but to me, losing sucks,'' said Wallace, in a trim-and-save quote. He played 20 minutes and contributed seven points, nine rebounds, two steals and a block in the 87-86 win, but he already sounded apologetic to the customers.
Old-school all the way
''We didn't quite play the way we wanted. The fans came out and supported us, but hopefully, we'll put out a better product for them,'' he said. ''It ... lets us know we're not as good as we thought we were.'' In other words, he didn't come to Chicago to lose.
Never mind the 'Fro wigs and No. 3 jerseys, which should be common fashion in town once the real season begins. Wallace also has his own $49.99 blow-up doll, a 7-foot inflatable Ben that lets kids learn how to shoot by practicing over his lifesize image. We might urge Hinrich and Ben Gordon to try the same, knowing they'll have to be more accurate jump shooters to reach a title level. But for now, the idea is to marvel that the Bulls actually have a bull.
In a league filled with showoffs, egomaniacs and problem children, Wallace is a refreshing symbol of work ethic who won't spill one less sweatbead because he hit the free-agent jackpot. For John Paxson and Skiles to throw $60 million at a player, the object would have to be someone in their image. Ben is all that, old-school and the best defensive player in the world, an intimidator who could melt the Michael Jordan statue -- though not Jordan, I don't think -- simply by glaring at it.
There was Ben, hustling to keep a ball from bouncing over the baseline and deflecting it, volleyball-style, about 20 feet to Gordon. The fans, unaccustomed to such prowess in the paint, roared in approval.
There was Ben, routinely elevating and snatching a rebound like a father saving his baby from a kidnapper. The fans, unaccustomed to such aggression, were slack-jawed.
There was Ben, reaching up a paw and blocking a shot at his hip by Washington star Gilbert Arenas. The fans, unaccustomed to perfect defensive positioning and such a mountainous obstacle, hooted and hollered.
Suddenly, our last memories of the Bulls in this building were purged. They had the Miami Heat on the ropes in the first-round series, but so-called big men Chandler and Michael Sweetney allowed Shaquille O'Neal to dominate with 30 points and 20 rebounds in the Game 6 clincher. Wallace will not let that happen. Maybe the Heat still has more ways to consistently score than the Bulls, but this time, they won't be Shaqed. In fact, Wallace recalls how he and the Pistons beat the Heat in 2004, Detroit's championship season, and sees similarities in the Bulls. ''I had the opportunity to play against this team the last couple of years and watch them in the playoffs. They remind me a lot of the way [the Pistons] played,'' he said.
A little offense, too
Free of Flip Saunders, a coach he openly loathed when he benched him in the fourth quarter of the elimination game in Miami last spring, Wallace doesn't want to be known as a one-dimensional defensive force. He has no delusions of 30-point games, but he would like the ball a little more, which was discussed when Paxson and Skiles flew to his Michigan home in July and hijacked him. Wednesday night, Wallace was delivered the ball seconds after the opening tip -- and impressively passed it away. Minutes later, he was dunking, setting off another crowd explosion. ''We think he's a good passer,'' Skiles said. ''He can catch the ball, he can put it on the floor once or twice and kick it to people. We'll use him with those things in mind.''
''All I expect is to play hard and hopefully they can find ways to get me involved on both ends of the floor,'' Wallace said.
With any hope chest, there is a wart. Ben can't shoot free throws. Rather oddly, Skiles says, ''I don't want to make an issue of it. I truly believe ... I don't care if he makes them or not.'' Wednesday night, Ben made 1 of 6. Damn right, Skiles cares.
But given the pain of the last eight seasons, the hundreds upon hundreds of losses, clanking will be merrily tolerated.
Jay Mariotti is a regular on ''Around the Horn'' at 4 p.m. on ESPN. Send e-mail to inbox@suntimes.com with name, hometown and daytime phone number (letters run Sunday).
Big Ben in Chi-Town
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