http://www.mlive.com/pistons/index.ssf/ ... esses.html'Warrior' Ben Wallace impresses Pistons' John Kuester, teammates with weekend effort
Detroit Pistons center Ben Wallace is 35. He had 13 points and 21 rebounds -- both season-highs -- while playing 41 minutes Friday in an overtime win over the New Orleans Hornets. The next night, he chased New York Knicks center David Lee all over the court. Some would probably expect, 30 minutes after the Knicks game, an exhausted Wallace would have been in a chair in front of his locker, with his head hanging, huffing and puffing for air. That was hardly the case. "He played all those minutes," Pistons guard Chucky Atkins said, "and he's in the weight room right now."The message is clear: After struggling through a couple of injury-plagued seasons, Wallace is doing just fine.
Pistons coach John Kuester often cites Wallace's age when using Big Ben -- or "Body," as Wallace commonly is called by teammates -- as an example of how hard work can pay off. About 90 minutes prior to the Knicks game, Kuester said he would keep an eye on Wallace's minutes."I just talked to him a few minutes ago and asked him, 'How do you feel?' He said, 'I'm ready to go.' I said, 'All right. Just lie to your body. That's all you can do is lie to your body,'" Kuester said. "He had such a big game (Friday) night, and we have to be very cognizant of what's going on with those minutes." Wallace played 29 minutes Saturday night and finished with five points, seven rebounds, three assists and four blocked shots. All four of his blocked shots came in the second half, and three were against Lee. Two of his blocks came on consecutive shots by Lee that were 4 seconds apart in the third quarter.
Those 29 minutes were not easy ones, either. Lee is an athletic center who keeps defenders moving. He finished with 26 points, 17 rebounds and nine assists, but he had just 10 points after the first quarter. "Ben Wallace is a warrior, man," Atkins said. "He's been doing his thing for a lot of years. I think a lot of other people make more of the age thing than we do. This guy's a top athlete. He knows what his body can do and what he can't do. "I think coaches sometimes and the media make more of the age thing than us players do. The guy leaves it out there on the court every night for you, so what can you say?" Wallace certainly did that Friday against the Hornets in what might have been his best game of the season. "When you see him elevate for the rebounds he was getting tonight, he was head and shoulders over everybody," Kuester said after that game. "I was like, 'Whoa, Body's ready to play.'" It was an impressive performance. But it was no surprise to his teammates. "Nothing surprises me about that guy," Atkins said. "He's a rare breed."
